Staycation

My parents were gracious enough to set us up in a nice hotel in Ottawa for our anniversary. We very rarely take time to do this sort of thing for ourselves; which is probably why they did it for us. It was wonderful! No matter where you are currently living I strongly encourage you to get to know your own home town. We saw and learned more in that short weekend than ever before. (our view from the Westin Hotel)

We started out touring the Byward Market. We stumbled upon a lovely little courtyard that was as pretty as a picture. After a short amount of window shopping we returned. What we really wanted was to people watch with a refreshing beverage (re:beer) on a patio. It was perfect! A bi-plane flew over us a couple of times, we saw a bride looking elegant in her wedding dress, toddlers staring down from the second floor of a restaurant above us, and in short, just a perfect venue to peek into the lives of other people.

Later we enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner at The Shore Club. It could not have tasted better and the service was the best I've ever experienced. It was nice on such a special occasion to feel that little bit extra special. After dinner (and slightly tipsy from champagne and wine) we went on the Haunted Walk. It was a 90 minute tour through the back allies and twists and turns of Ottawa. There was so much we had never seen in our own home before that we saw that night. The stories were, um, well not very spooky as such, but exploring the city in the dark was exciting.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast overlooking the canal. There was some sort of scavenger hunt/foot race going on. Many of the teams were dressed as pirates or other matching garb. Afterwards we walked around downtown exploring out of the way shops. Scott found one that sold hundreds of cigars and was in heaven! I walked away with one that he very much enjoyed at the end of the day.

I, always on the look out for a nice place for a cupa', tried out a local tea house. It seemed intriguing enough, however I think I could have breathed much needed life back into it! I would love to have a lovely tea house of my own one day. And a comic book shop. Are these mutually exclusive? I'm sure I can make it work somehow.

It was a wonderful long weekend! I highly recommend spending some time exploring your neck of the woods. I'm sure you won't regret it!