Ottawa: Two nights in the slammer
When planning my trip and looking into Ottawa, the general consensus of everyone I'd met so far was "you don't need much time there, there isn't much to do".
Well, where else do you get to sleep in an old jail? Gaol? However you like.
I finally succumbed to the HI Membership. I doubt I'll be staying in many HI beyond Canada... they're the original in the hostelling world but they always feel a bit old and in need of a refurb, the staff are generally not very forthcoming, and social aspects lack. I shouldn't expect the latter on a plate but there definitely seems to be a certain vibe. But HI is pretty much the only choice in Canada, with a few exceptions, so I hope that from Mexico onwards there will be more options.
Still, I wish I had looked into the membership sooner - it was only CAD$25 and it transpires that members get discounts with Greyhound and Via Rail. Doh!
Anyhoo, after I arrived I zombied out in a common area for an hour, having got next to no sleep on my last 2 nights at the M Hostel in Montreal. When it came time to check in I was not disappointed! My home for the next two nights was a one-person cell, measuring approximately 8 feet by 3 and containing a bed, mattress and shelf on which to place a few items (or none, as it was hanging off the wall). Complete with vaulted ceiling and original door, with a gap at the bottom and top of the bars to ensure that all noise carried.
This could go one of two ways. Best night's sleep ever or no sleep at all.
But that was for later. As I only had a day and a half in Ottawa, the city awaited so I headed out in search of fuel.
I knew Canada would be expensive but it has been like, really expensive so far. I mean, no more expensive than London but when I'm in backpacker mode I kind of expect every meal to cost £3. When in reality it has cost a minimum of £10. I've had some delicious food (mainly poutine) but you know sometimes you just want a cheap eat that's not McDonalds? Well, I finally found one in Ottawa - SHAWARMA!
I've been using Gmaps Explore function to try and find cheap eats. This threw up Castle Shawarma. Well, I just learned a new word. A Shawarma is a kebab. And after years and years of not eating dirty kebabs, I gave in to the temptation of an 8$ meal. And it was delish.
I was sat in the window, watching the rain and eating my shawarma, when a man walks in and says to the man behind the counter "this weather, it's just like in England". Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for banter about UK weather, I turned around and said "isn't it?! I thought I had escaped it".
So we talk and it turns out that the man's wife is from Leeds. "Whenever we visit my wife's family, and the sun comes out, we run outside for those five glorious minutes". "Yes", I say, "that's how we do it!". Random conversations with strangers are one of my favourite things about travelling!
It seemed like the rain had followed me from Montréal, but I felt I had to see some of the city. So I wandered round Byward Market until I found a coffee shop, and plonked myself in the window there too! Afterwards I came across a Canada 150 festival, including some teenage string bands. I got the feels when they played Hey Jude, and heading over to Major's Hill Park for sunset afterwards felt quite apt.
Well, I slept like a baby that night. I don't know if it's because I was so tired, or because I was in my own private "room", or maybe I just felt at home! But I was out like a light and had to drag myself out of bed the next day.
We won't talk too much about when I was in the bathroom before bed and the timed light went out, and I nearly pooed my pants.
For my big day in Ottawa I was a woman with a plan! After a hasty breakfast courtesy of the hostel (Canadian hostel standard of toast, bagel, hard-boiled egg and token fruit), I booked in on the hostel jail tour and then made my way to 90 Wellington to see if there were any places left on the tour of the Parliament building. Lucky for me there was a single spot available at 12:40pm (times when it pays to travel alone).
Back at the hostel for the jail tour, it wasn't quite as scary as I was expecting, phew! I had purposefully done this on my second day, having read about other people having done it and not being able to sleep afterwards!
Afterwards I hot footed it to the Parliament building. And when I got to Parliament Hill, behold, thousands of people doing yoga on the lawns. It was amazing to see, and I was gutted to have missed it! Top tip - if you're ever in Ottawa on a Wednesday morning head over to Parliament Hill for free yoga and awesome vibes!
The tour of the Parliament was great - I especially enjoyed the temporary exhibition on suffrage in Canada and the role of women in Canadian Politics.
Being a typical Brit, on my way out from the tour I saw another queue inside the building and wondered what it was for. It turned out that it was for access to the public galleries. Serendipity - about 5 minutes after I had sat down in walked Justin Trudeau. I had shown up just in time for Prime Minister's questions!
Some of the topics:
- having more women on director boards
- legalisation of marijuana (when will it pass? Because there are lots of people in addition to the Prime Minister's son, that want to be able to smoke it without fear of retribution)
- election of a new equality minister being non partisan (quoting that the current is investigating the PM)
- remembering the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in WW2
- ice hockey being used for racism (punjabi 3rd most widely spoken language in Canada)
In the public gallery there is a little headphone type phone, from which you can listen to the discussion below, with English, French or no translation, as the members of Parliament flit between English and French. A minister asks a question in French and the PM replies in French and vice versa.
I couldn't help but laugh internally - the phrasing of some of the questions was so openly disdainful! Equally in person Justin Trudeau looked kind of... smug!!
It was so interesting but eventually I had to drag myself away, the sun was shining and I only had the rest of the day to explore. I took myself off on a little walking tour and made my way over to the National Gallery cafe for lunch, before heading over the bridge to Gatineau for a wander round.
It was a heavy day of walking but well worth it. To all the naysayers, Ottawa gets my vote, so there!
Well, where else do you get to sleep in an old jail? Gaol? However you like.
I finally succumbed to the HI Membership. I doubt I'll be staying in many HI beyond Canada... they're the original in the hostelling world but they always feel a bit old and in need of a refurb, the staff are generally not very forthcoming, and social aspects lack. I shouldn't expect the latter on a plate but there definitely seems to be a certain vibe. But HI is pretty much the only choice in Canada, with a few exceptions, so I hope that from Mexico onwards there will be more options.
Still, I wish I had looked into the membership sooner - it was only CAD$25 and it transpires that members get discounts with Greyhound and Via Rail. Doh!
 |
| Spookyyyyyy. |
Anyhoo, after I arrived I zombied out in a common area for an hour, having got next to no sleep on my last 2 nights at the M Hostel in Montreal. When it came time to check in I was not disappointed! My home for the next two nights was a one-person cell, measuring approximately 8 feet by 3 and containing a bed, mattress and shelf on which to place a few items (or none, as it was hanging off the wall). Complete with vaulted ceiling and original door, with a gap at the bottom and top of the bars to ensure that all noise carried.
 |
| Home for the next two nights |
This could go one of two ways. Best night's sleep ever or no sleep at all.
But that was for later. As I only had a day and a half in Ottawa, the city awaited so I headed out in search of fuel.
I knew Canada would be expensive but it has been like, really expensive so far. I mean, no more expensive than London but when I'm in backpacker mode I kind of expect every meal to cost £3. When in reality it has cost a minimum of £10. I've had some delicious food (mainly poutine) but you know sometimes you just want a cheap eat that's not McDonalds? Well, I finally found one in Ottawa - SHAWARMA!
I've been using Gmaps Explore function to try and find cheap eats. This threw up Castle Shawarma. Well, I just learned a new word. A Shawarma is a kebab. And after years and years of not eating dirty kebabs, I gave in to the temptation of an 8$ meal. And it was delish.
I was sat in the window, watching the rain and eating my shawarma, when a man walks in and says to the man behind the counter "this weather, it's just like in England". Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for banter about UK weather, I turned around and said "isn't it?! I thought I had escaped it".
So we talk and it turns out that the man's wife is from Leeds. "Whenever we visit my wife's family, and the sun comes out, we run outside for those five glorious minutes". "Yes", I say, "that's how we do it!". Random conversations with strangers are one of my favourite things about travelling!
 |
| Byward Market by night. |
It seemed like the rain had followed me from Montréal, but I felt I had to see some of the city. So I wandered round Byward Market until I found a coffee shop, and plonked myself in the window there too! Afterwards I came across a Canada 150 festival, including some teenage string bands. I got the feels when they played Hey Jude, and heading over to Major's Hill Park for sunset afterwards felt quite apt.
 |
| The Rideau Canal at sunset. |
 |
| Major's Hill Park. |
Well, I slept like a baby that night. I don't know if it's because I was so tired, or because I was in my own private "room", or maybe I just felt at home! But I was out like a light and had to drag myself out of bed the next day.
We won't talk too much about when I was in the bathroom before bed and the timed light went out, and I nearly pooed my pants.
 |
| The start of a beautiful, sunny day. |
For my big day in Ottawa I was a woman with a plan! After a hasty breakfast courtesy of the hostel (Canadian hostel standard of toast, bagel, hard-boiled egg and token fruit), I booked in on the hostel jail tour and then made my way to 90 Wellington to see if there were any places left on the tour of the Parliament building. Lucky for me there was a single spot available at 12:40pm (times when it pays to travel alone).
 |
| Downtown. |
 |
| The National World Memorial on Wellington Street |
Back at the hostel for the jail tour, it wasn't quite as scary as I was expecting, phew! I had purposefully done this on my second day, having read about other people having done it and not being able to sleep afterwards!
 |
| The stairs had holes in them, so that guards could see if a prisoner was hiding in wait. |
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| A death row cell. |
 |
| The hangman's noose, and behind, the doors that opened so that the public could watch the execution. |
 |
| The beam from which many unofficial executions took place. |
 |
| Grisly - occasionally the executioner got the length of the rope wrong, and the man being executed was decapitated. This is the hole left in the floor from the falling bodies. |
Afterwards I hot footed it to the Parliament building. And when I got to Parliament Hill, behold, thousands of people doing yoga on the lawns. It was amazing to see, and I was gutted to have missed it! Top tip - if you're ever in Ottawa on a Wednesday morning head over to Parliament Hill for free yoga and awesome vibes!
 |
| Just wow!! |
 |
| Looking back on the yogis in their thousands, on Parliament Hill. |
The tour of the Parliament was great - I especially enjoyed the temporary exhibition on suffrage in Canada and the role of women in Canadian Politics.
 |
| The incredible ceilings inside the Parliament Building. |
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| The beautiful Parliament Library. When there was a fire in the building all efforts went into saving the library, with success! |
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| Just a part of the view from the Peace Tower, which houses the clock and bell. |
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| One of the books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chapel. The page of each book is turned each day at 11am so that the name of every Canadian whose life was lost at war, is on display for at least one day each year. |
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| The vaulted ceiling the Memorial Chapel. |
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| Another book of Rememberance. The Memorial Chapel is a humbling place. |
Being a typical Brit, on my way out from the tour I saw another queue inside the building and wondered what it was for. It turned out that it was for access to the public galleries. Serendipity - about 5 minutes after I had sat down in walked Justin Trudeau. I had shown up just in time for Prime Minister's questions!
Some of the topics:
- having more women on director boards
- legalisation of marijuana (when will it pass? Because there are lots of people in addition to the Prime Minister's son, that want to be able to smoke it without fear of retribution)
- election of a new equality minister being non partisan (quoting that the current is investigating the PM)
- remembering the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in WW2
- ice hockey being used for racism (punjabi 3rd most widely spoken language in Canada)
In the public gallery there is a little headphone type phone, from which you can listen to the discussion below, with English, French or no translation, as the members of Parliament flit between English and French. A minister asks a question in French and the PM replies in French and vice versa.
I couldn't help but laugh internally - the phrasing of some of the questions was so openly disdainful! Equally in person Justin Trudeau looked kind of... smug!!
It was so interesting but eventually I had to drag myself away, the sun was shining and I only had the rest of the day to explore. I took myself off on a little walking tour and made my way over to the National Gallery cafe for lunch, before heading over the bridge to Gatineau for a wander round.
 |
| A wander down Sparks Street, a historical street, which was one of the first to be pedestrianised in Canada. Today it is home to a slew of restaurants. |
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| I wandered over to the National Gallery... |
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| But just to have a bite to eat in the cafe, which has a terrace with this lovely view. Tip: it's free to go to the cafe, just ask at the desks at the Museum entrance. |
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| The view from the bridge, on the way over to Gatineau. |
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| I sadly didn't have time to go to the Museum of Canadian History, and instead just drooled over the architecture of the building! |
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| Back in Major's Hill Park, looking over towards Parliament Hill and Gatineau beyond the Ottawa River. |
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| The famous Rideau Canal by day. |
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| I walked along the canal until my feet could take no more! |
It was a heavy day of walking but well worth it. To all the naysayers, Ottawa gets my vote, so there!
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