After Toronto, I decided to keep heading east, next stop Ottawa. As the capital city of Canada I expected it to be a big city and to feel similar to London or New York but that couldn’t be further from reality. Ottawa is a cute but tiny city nestled in Ontario close to the Quebec border. I had booked myself a room at a hostel which had previously been a jail and much of the original layout was still present in the modern day hostel. Indeed if you so wished, you were able to book yourself your own private jail cell to sleep in. Whilst I was happy enough being in a converted jail, the thought of sleeping in a cell didn’t appeal to me so much so I stuck with my usual dorm booking. It’s a really interesting concept for a hostel and it’s actually fantastically located in the city.
I was only in Ottawa for one full day so tried to fit as much as I could into that day. The hostel is right on the edge of the Byward Market district so that’s where I started. This area is so quaint. It’s got such a lovely feel to it with loads of little shops and eateries. I walked all the way through it and then out to the Rideau Falls. I’m not going to lie, I almost gave up halfway there as I was cold and tired but I persevered and I’m really glad I did. The falls are really something special to look at, and you get a decent view point of parts of the city from there too.
After having seen the falls I took a leisurely walk back towards Downtown which took me past Parliament Hill and the Royal Canadian Mint. These buildings are some of the most beautiful architecture I have seen on my travels so far. The style reminded me of the British Houses of Parliament and some of the older parts of London. Really intricate stonework and a sense grandeur added to the impressiveness of the buildings.
Whilst I had been in Jasper, AB, I had been sharing a dorm with a lovely Canadian girl from Ottawa called Jess. Jess checked out of the hostel in Jasper before I did and I noticed she had left her blanket behind. So I picked it up, let her know and promised to return it when I made it to Ottawa. I travelled with that blanket all the way across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and most of Ontario and I have to admit, it came in super handy. But! Having finally arrived in Ottawa, I dropped Jess a message and asked if she fancied getting dinner and drink with me. We met up at a really nice pub in Byward Market and I finally reunited her with her blanket. It was really good to see her again and she unbelievably kindly bought my dinner for me, for which I am incredibly grateful. Whilst walking back to the hostel, it started to snow and it really added to the magic of the city. Byward Market is one of my favourite areas that I’ve discovered so far and seeing it in the snow only increased my love of it.
Ro Wells Travel 
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