"Ottawa! The Capital!" a Ottawa Travel Page by duanestorey

Ottawa is easily one of Canada's most beautiful locations. For a population of over a million people, Ottawa still maintains that small town atmosphere. The downtown core is intimate, and is composed of coffee shops, outdoor patios, canals, locks and old majestic buildings. The night-life in Ottawa is amazing: cover charge is almost non-existant, and clubs are so close to each other that you can walk between them all night and not run out.

It always amazes me when people stumble upon Ottawa and are unexpectedly surprised with what a nice place it is.. I never knew what to expect in Ottawa on my first trip, but I knew my visit would be unique, and that I'd find some redeeming qualities in Ottawa. Most people I know going to Ontario place Toronto above Ottawa on their wish list of places to visit, and I never understand why. While Toronto is a worthwhile place to visit, it's basically just a large city which lacks its own identify. It's true that Toronto has a good night life (check out Queen Street at night), but Ottawa has an amazing one as well, without the burden of cover charges or yuppy-centric, elitist type clubs. While Toronto nightclubs mimic typical North American dance clubs (typical of Los Angeles, Boston, etc), Ottawa leans more toward the east-coast bar scene: most bars and pubs feature live celtic music, with an english/irish decour.

While you will find the odd meat-market type dance club in Ottawa (especially around Elgin Street -- The Inferno and Griffins are two in that area), most of the locals hang out in the Byward Market area, which favours bars and pubs over dance clubs. Clarence and York have many amazing pubs: among my favourites are Minglewoods, Patty Bolands, and the Heart and Crown. Nepean also has a few great pubs, one of which is Grace O' Malley's on Merivale Drive (one of the best pubs ever)..

Make sure you take time out on your visit to enjoy some of the nightlife.. It would be a waste of a trip if you didn't hit Clarence Street at least once.. It's one of Ottawa best kept secrets, and it's really an amazing experience. When my parents came out to visit me in Ottawa, I took them out drinking with all my friends down in the Byward Market. They talk about that night every time I have a beer with them today, saying that it was one of the most amazing experiences they've ever had anywhere.. It's a completely different atmosphere than I'm sure most people are used to, and I guarantee you'll have a good time.

Ottawa is the second coldest capital in the world, it's very humid (the humidex breaks 40C in the summer -- I remember checking the temperature at midnight one time, and it was 40C), and the terrain is almost completely flat. So why does everyone that lives there have nothing but good things to say about it?

The reason is that Ottawa is all about having a good time.. There's something for everyone. If you like the outdoors, then there's lots of winter activities (skiing and snowboarding are an hour away), and in the summer, certain roads shut down so that rollerbladers and bikers can enjoy the weather. The central core is bustling with activity all summer long: most of the bars have patios that are open all day. The whole city operates on the premise that it should be easy and affordable to go out and have a good time.. Compared to Vancouver, its so easy to go out and meet people in Ottawa.

I met so many great people during my two years in Ottawa, and most of them I'll keep in touch with for the rest of my life.

Here's a shot of some friends at a keg party in Ottawa before I left.. Left to right: Chris, Casey, Blair, Amy, Amy again, and Susan..

Leaving Ottawa was very tough for me.. It represented a complete shift in my life: it was a chance for me to leave Vancouver behind, and for the first time in over a decade, have a fresh start at life, without preconceptions. I had a chance to meet new people, experience a new lifestyle, and explore a whole new area of the world.

My dad always said that going back to Ottawa would never be the same, because it was such a unique experience, the result of being in the right place at the right time, with the right mix of people. He was 100% correct.. I went back to Ottawa in April of 2003 for visit, and without a doubt, it was a strange experience. Nothing seemed new and unique this time around, and most activities had sort of a 'been there, done that' type of feeling. It was good to be back, but it was apparent that times had changed, and there was no going back.

A few hours before I boarded a plane to come back to Vancouver, I had lunch with a few old friends that I used to work with.. After a few beers, and a few laughs, it was time to say goodbye. My friend Shawn reached over to shake my hand, said goodbye, and then, in a moment that I'll never forget, looked me searchingly in the eye and said "you're not coming back here, are you?" The question caught me off guard, but Shawn was always a a smart guy. I thought about it for a brief moment, and then replied "no, not for a very long time"..

It's not that I don't love Ottawa, because I do, but Ottawa is the summer camp of my life, a time that I can never hope to duplicate, or hope to re-live.. I'm sure I'll be back someday, and that some of my old friends may still be around at that time. But for now, there's so much of the world I have yet to see, so I'll take a break from the eastern parts of North America, at least for a while.