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Canadian trip recap!
March 19th, 2015 10:11 amThursday night: Once we got settled in we weren’t up to driving much of anywhere, so we went ate Thai at a small restaurant a stone’s throw from the hotel. The food was delightful and the waiter was a riot.
Friday: After breakfast at the hotel (iced roobois tea with milk - YUM), we visited the Canadian Parliament’s central block. What an amazing building! We went up in the tower (just below the clock) and had a marvelous view of the city. After meandering around a bit, we sat in for part of a debate in the House of Commons. Just as boring as sitting in on our Congress for the part. We did both both note that in this day of tech everywhere, government is no exception and the members were on their devices are their counterparts debated. We opted to skip the guided tour and headed out for lunch since breakfast had long worn off.
An Irish pub by the name of D’Arcy McGee’s caught our fancy and we enjoyed their Irish pub fare as well as discovered Somersby apple cider - which is sweet nectar akin to alcoholic apple soda. Just as important the the cider, we enjoyed our first poutine; this version maked with fresh cheese curds and a Guinness gravy - YUMMY! Once fortified, we walked to the National Gallery of Canada where one of the featured exhibits is M.C. Escher: The Mathemagician (and to meet up with my sister-in-law). This is the third largest Escher collection in the world and was truly magical to behold. A surprise discovery for me included seeing Eadweard Muybridge’s “Annie G. Galloping” up close and personal in the Clocks for Seeing: Photography, Time and Motion exhibit.
After closing the museum, we walked to the Byward Market and peeked in a few of stores. Needing to find wi-fi and a place to sit down for a spell, we came upon the Tea Store. This little shop features the biggest selection of loose teas that I have ever seen! Customers are welcome to open the canisters and smell the tea. The staff was fantastically helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed a pot of caramel roobois (Mr. Panda also sampled one of their chai blends) while waiting for my brother-in-law to catch up with us). After dark, the shop turned into a stage featured local musicians and poets - we stayed for a few before making our way to a Indian restaurant that had been recommended by our sales girl. Another fantastic meal was enjoyed; their butter chicken was not like any other that I have had and it was quite delicious.
Saturday: A quick stop at Wool Tyme before the wedding. Wedding and then a small dinner-party reception at La Roma in Little Italy. My veal was delightful but folks who had the chicken and fish said theirs was just okay. My new BiL’s mother gifted everyone with fresh preserves from Newfoundland (made by a friend of hers). We can’t wait to try them. During dinner, the snow started and by the time we left, there was 2-3 inches of the white stuff already.
Sunday: Sunday got off to an ominous start… I woke up early and grabbed a shower while Mr. Panda caught a few extra zzz’s. About halfway through my shower, I slipped and fell. Hard. While it was scary to fall, hearing my head crack against the tile truly frightened me. Of course, Mr. Panda came running immediately. Once we figured that nothing was broken, we got me out of the tub and into bed with ice packs. After taking stock of the situation and agreeing that a trip to the ER was not going to happen, we took stock of my injuries: goose-egg on my forehead with an abrasion, my left wrist and palm was already bruising (it was my head and wrist that we were most concerned about), my right hip was painful to the touch (the bruise would take a full 24 hours to develop), both knees were red and bruising and my right shoulder was painful.
Needless to say, it took us quite a bit longer than planned to get going but Mr. Panda was a great caregiver - making sure I was no longer dizzy or nauseous before letting me get up and walk about. Once we uncovered the SUV and hit the road, out first stop was lunch at ZaZaZaPizza where there is no normal pizza at all - I had the Cheezboiga! (bacon cheeseburger ) and Mr. Panda had the Italian Too. The best part was that Wabi-Sabi was right across the street! After yarn shopping to my heart’s content, we struck out for the Canadian Museum of Nature where we enjoyed ourselves until closing. I wish we had been able to take in an Imax feature, but the day had been eventful enough. After re-focusing ourselves back at the hotel, we go to dinner at Les Brasseurs du Temps which was an unexpected culinary delight. Many brew pubs serve food as an afterthought, but the menu here was refreshing and everything we had was delicious. Poutine, of course, was enjoyed (their version was with a dark brown, peppery gravy with lots of curds). Mr. Panda ordered the duck confit and I, the braised beef rib - both were spectacular.
Monday: Pack and head for home day! The bruise on my right hip is now visible and is the size of a small dinner plate. We head to Wool Tyme on the way out of Ottowa. Lunch before the border at a family restaurant with one last dose of poutine. After an afternoon of driving, we stop in PA for the night and have dinner at Haystacks, another family restaurant where I have the best breaded pork chops ever and Mr. Panda got the biggest plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that I have ever seen.
Tuesday: Our final day of driving. We stop for a festive Saint Patrick’s Day lunch at Fitzgerald’s Shamrock restaurant in Maryland - corned beef, cabbage, Guinness and an Irish string trio. A nice finish to a fun trip.
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Friday: After breakfast at the hotel (iced roobois tea with milk - YUM), we visited the Canadian Parliament’s central block. What an amazing building! We went up in the tower (just below the clock) and had a marvelous view of the city. After meandering around a bit, we sat in for part of a debate in the House of Commons. Just as boring as sitting in on our Congress for the part. We did both both note that in this day of tech everywhere, government is no exception and the members were on their devices are their counterparts debated. We opted to skip the guided tour and headed out for lunch since breakfast had long worn off.
An Irish pub by the name of D’Arcy McGee’s caught our fancy and we enjoyed their Irish pub fare as well as discovered Somersby apple cider - which is sweet nectar akin to alcoholic apple soda. Just as important the the cider, we enjoyed our first poutine; this version maked with fresh cheese curds and a Guinness gravy - YUMMY! Once fortified, we walked to the National Gallery of Canada where one of the featured exhibits is M.C. Escher: The Mathemagician (and to meet up with my sister-in-law). This is the third largest Escher collection in the world and was truly magical to behold. A surprise discovery for me included seeing Eadweard Muybridge’s “Annie G. Galloping” up close and personal in the Clocks for Seeing: Photography, Time and Motion exhibit.
After closing the museum, we walked to the Byward Market and peeked in a few of stores. Needing to find wi-fi and a place to sit down for a spell, we came upon the Tea Store. This little shop features the biggest selection of loose teas that I have ever seen! Customers are welcome to open the canisters and smell the tea. The staff was fantastically helpful and we thoroughly enjoyed a pot of caramel roobois (Mr. Panda also sampled one of their chai blends) while waiting for my brother-in-law to catch up with us). After dark, the shop turned into a stage featured local musicians and poets - we stayed for a few before making our way to a Indian restaurant that had been recommended by our sales girl. Another fantastic meal was enjoyed; their butter chicken was not like any other that I have had and it was quite delicious.
Saturday: A quick stop at Wool Tyme before the wedding. Wedding and then a small dinner-party reception at La Roma in Little Italy. My veal was delightful but folks who had the chicken and fish said theirs was just okay. My new BiL’s mother gifted everyone with fresh preserves from Newfoundland (made by a friend of hers). We can’t wait to try them. During dinner, the snow started and by the time we left, there was 2-3 inches of the white stuff already.
Sunday: Sunday got off to an ominous start… I woke up early and grabbed a shower while Mr. Panda caught a few extra zzz’s. About halfway through my shower, I slipped and fell. Hard. While it was scary to fall, hearing my head crack against the tile truly frightened me. Of course, Mr. Panda came running immediately. Once we figured that nothing was broken, we got me out of the tub and into bed with ice packs. After taking stock of the situation and agreeing that a trip to the ER was not going to happen, we took stock of my injuries: goose-egg on my forehead with an abrasion, my left wrist and palm was already bruising (it was my head and wrist that we were most concerned about), my right hip was painful to the touch (the bruise would take a full 24 hours to develop), both knees were red and bruising and my right shoulder was painful.
Needless to say, it took us quite a bit longer than planned to get going but Mr. Panda was a great caregiver - making sure I was no longer dizzy or nauseous before letting me get up and walk about. Once we uncovered the SUV and hit the road, out first stop was lunch at ZaZaZaPizza where there is no normal pizza at all - I had the Cheezboiga! (bacon cheeseburger ) and Mr. Panda had the Italian Too. The best part was that Wabi-Sabi was right across the street! After yarn shopping to my heart’s content, we struck out for the Canadian Museum of Nature where we enjoyed ourselves until closing. I wish we had been able to take in an Imax feature, but the day had been eventful enough. After re-focusing ourselves back at the hotel, we go to dinner at Les Brasseurs du Temps which was an unexpected culinary delight. Many brew pubs serve food as an afterthought, but the menu here was refreshing and everything we had was delicious. Poutine, of course, was enjoyed (their version was with a dark brown, peppery gravy with lots of curds). Mr. Panda ordered the duck confit and I, the braised beef rib - both were spectacular.
Monday: Pack and head for home day! The bruise on my right hip is now visible and is the size of a small dinner plate. We head to Wool Tyme on the way out of Ottowa. Lunch before the border at a family restaurant with one last dose of poutine. After an afternoon of driving, we stop in PA for the night and have dinner at Haystacks, another family restaurant where I have the best breaded pork chops ever and Mr. Panda got the biggest plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that I have ever seen.
Tuesday: Our final day of driving. We stop for a festive Saint Patrick’s Day lunch at Fitzgerald’s Shamrock restaurant in Maryland - corned beef, cabbage, Guinness and an Irish string trio. A nice finish to a fun trip.
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