Planning our visit to Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, there were two tasks on our list: (1) watch the changing of the guard, and (2) see how the inside of the Centre Block (above) stacked up against our own Capitol building.
Not on the list? Crashing Parliament Hill’s yoga hour. A little before noon, yoga enthusiasts meandered onto the lawn and rolled out their mats. A trickle of yoga-ites turned into a full-fledged river and before long it was Downward Dog, Ottawa style.
Definitely wish I had brought my yoga mat, but I think we got the best view as spectators, don’t you?
I never expected to be able to say that I’ve slept in a chateau, but that changed soon after visiting Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. The chateau in question, Chateau Laurier, opened in 1912 and was built to house railway travelers passing through Ottawa at Union Station across the street. The following were taken within a stone’s throw of the chateau.
Straddling Canada and the U.S., Niagara Falls is about an hour and a half from Toronto. In order to beat the hoards of tourists, we rolled in at ten, but the hoards would not be beat. Elbows were thrown and tourists pushed over rails. Kidding (probably).
Hoards aside, Niagara Falls is hypnotizing. There is no way to truly describe it. (Perhaps that is a personal shortcoming. After all, my best color comparison would be to Crest Kids’ Sparkle Gel toothpaste.) It booms and churns and roars and sails. But mostly, it takes your breath away and keeps it there.
As if you needed another reason to go, the Visitors’ Center had a vending machine of milk (bequeathed the “Dairy Goodness Centre”), which is significant because it’s weird and I love dairy. Really though, Niagara Falls deserves all the hype it gets.
Horseshoe Falls.
When you go:
–Arrive early. We arrived at 10:00 A.M. and there were already a good amount of people. By the time we ate lunch and left, it was 3:00 P.M. and overflowing.
–Be prepared to be soaked. The mist from the falls is not a joke, so don’t wear anything that can’t get wet.
–To book a tour or not? The most popular tour is Maid of the Mist. We didn’t do at tour because really, how much better can you see the falls from below than from above? Reviews are good though, so don’t let me hold you back. Otherwise, you really only need a couple of hours to walk the area and hit all the scenic vistas.
Molly On the Move 