(no subject)
So, I actually find myself with a few things to post about, but am going to post mostly drivel, a quick recap of my recent trip to Ottawa. We arrived on Saturday evening around 5:30pm, which was just in time for the evening social hour - always fun when you know no one. Luckily, I was introduced to enough people to make the hour pass, and was then invited out to dinner with some new friends. Found out quickly that there are a lot of Irish Pubs in the area, and in general, many restaurants. Very metropolitan scene, loved the area. In any case, this first night I had curry n chips for dinner, and the curry was really not good. The fries on the other hand, were an unusual level of goodness, and I soon found out that fries are an Ottawa "thing" and you cant get away with frozen crappies. A nice bonus.
The next morning I was up very early and there were no conference sessions until 8:30 so I made my first visit to the Parliament buildings. Very impressive as was expected, and absolutely beautiful in the early morning sun-lackoftourists-light. Met my first of the cats on the hill, whom I later found out is named Blackie. So, managed to start my first day away with petting a purring cat anyways! Then I went to some conference sessions, discovered the amazingness that is the By Ward outdoor market, had lunch at an Earls-like place, and walked to Quebec and back before the afternoon poster session (!). Later in the evening, due to group choice and I being one small voice, we managed to go back to the exact same Irish Pub type place for dinner I was at the night before - alas. Had Fish n chips this time, and was more pleased. We stayed there with most people drinking etc for quite awhile, watched most of the Montreal/Philly hockey game, and then I excused myself and headed back to the Hotel (I was wise, it was getting cold and buggy, and they stayed out until past 1am, which was beyond the "bed time" I had decided upon for myself). Found a candy shop that had jujubes along the way (I knew it would -it was the Ottawa incarnation of my much loved Sugar Mountain in Toronto) and all was well.
The next morning (Monday) I was up early again so went on another exploration - this time I started walking along Sussex drive in hopes of seeing the PMs place. It was a bit further than I had imagined, but I did make it so another Ottawa must-do was checked off my list. Saw a number of embassys along the way, along with NRC, where I fantasized about working while living in the charming surrounding area. After some conference sessions, I got to go on a tour of the Royal Canadian Mint. I was very excited before the tour and had visions of large coin hoppers and hot off the press coins...then I found out that the mint in Ottawa doesnt make circulation coins, it only makes collector/limited edition coins (and things like the Olympic medals). So, my visions were destroyed by the reality of slow production. I was slightly appeased by the fact that there was a lot of real gold involved, but only slightly. To try and make up for it, we went to the currency museum at the Bank of canada, and while interesting, it wasnt to-die-for amazing. And they wont let you tour the money production area as too many counterfeiters are around so boo to a boring visit to the Bank of Canada. On the way back to the hotel though, we found a stamp dealer who had an impressive shop and I spent about $30 on various cat and united nation stamps. Woo. That night I got stood up by a friend at the last minute but was lucky enough to find a dinner partner anyways and found perhaps the best restaurant I have ever eaten at in my whole life ever. Seriously. Vietnamese place on Clarence (?) in ByWard market called Saigon - OMGWTFBBQ it was so so so so good. I had this Sweet & Sour soup that was beyond expectation with such a unique flavour...all the ingredients were fresh and high quality....I had Hot Wok-ing Cashew (or something like that) as an entree and every bite was a euphoric experience. Im serious, ive heard food described in terms like I experienced, but didnt really buy it to be possible for food to be so pleasurable. There was some kind of bamboo like vegetable that was prominent in my dish that was divine! I asked what it was, and got a vague answer, its basically a vietnamese variation on bamboo that doesnt have an English name (or thats the impression I got). Im going to be incredibly busy and have dinner plans every night when Im back in ottawa next month, but I WILL be going there again I promise. My dining partner had spring rolls he proclaimed to be the best ever eaten, and a very yummy noodle dish with veggies, curry, shrimp, chicken, pork, and just about everything else in it. Highlight of my trip to ottawa for sure.
The following day was the busiest and most informative conference wise, so that was good. We went out for a very expensive dinner at a restaurant on Sussex Dr. called "Social" (http://www.social.ca/ -nice web address if you can get it). If you can get the menu to work, you can see that I pretty much ate the caprese salad and bread for dinner. Too fancy for me, but a nice experience and a great meal none the less. Wednesday we had our team meeting all day, followed by another walk around Ottawa and the Parliament, followed by a too long stay in the Ottawa airport before boarding a flight home. Somewhere in there, i forgot to mention i did go on an actual tour of centre block, and did manage to meet a lot more of the cats on the hill.
Good times in Ottawa none the less, it was way too late in life for that to be my first visit. Am really looking forward to going back again - this time I get an evening cruise too woohoo!
The next morning I was up very early and there were no conference sessions until 8:30 so I made my first visit to the Parliament buildings. Very impressive as was expected, and absolutely beautiful in the early morning sun-lackoftourists-light. Met my first of the cats on the hill, whom I later found out is named Blackie. So, managed to start my first day away with petting a purring cat anyways! Then I went to some conference sessions, discovered the amazingness that is the By Ward outdoor market, had lunch at an Earls-like place, and walked to Quebec and back before the afternoon poster session (!). Later in the evening, due to group choice and I being one small voice, we managed to go back to the exact same Irish Pub type place for dinner I was at the night before - alas. Had Fish n chips this time, and was more pleased. We stayed there with most people drinking etc for quite awhile, watched most of the Montreal/Philly hockey game, and then I excused myself and headed back to the Hotel (I was wise, it was getting cold and buggy, and they stayed out until past 1am, which was beyond the "bed time" I had decided upon for myself). Found a candy shop that had jujubes along the way (I knew it would -it was the Ottawa incarnation of my much loved Sugar Mountain in Toronto) and all was well.
The next morning (Monday) I was up early again so went on another exploration - this time I started walking along Sussex drive in hopes of seeing the PMs place. It was a bit further than I had imagined, but I did make it so another Ottawa must-do was checked off my list. Saw a number of embassys along the way, along with NRC, where I fantasized about working while living in the charming surrounding area. After some conference sessions, I got to go on a tour of the Royal Canadian Mint. I was very excited before the tour and had visions of large coin hoppers and hot off the press coins...then I found out that the mint in Ottawa doesnt make circulation coins, it only makes collector/limited edition coins (and things like the Olympic medals). So, my visions were destroyed by the reality of slow production. I was slightly appeased by the fact that there was a lot of real gold involved, but only slightly. To try and make up for it, we went to the currency museum at the Bank of canada, and while interesting, it wasnt to-die-for amazing. And they wont let you tour the money production area as too many counterfeiters are around so boo to a boring visit to the Bank of Canada. On the way back to the hotel though, we found a stamp dealer who had an impressive shop and I spent about $30 on various cat and united nation stamps. Woo. That night I got stood up by a friend at the last minute but was lucky enough to find a dinner partner anyways and found perhaps the best restaurant I have ever eaten at in my whole life ever. Seriously. Vietnamese place on Clarence (?) in ByWard market called Saigon - OMGWTFBBQ it was so so so so good. I had this Sweet & Sour soup that was beyond expectation with such a unique flavour...all the ingredients were fresh and high quality....I had Hot Wok-ing Cashew (or something like that) as an entree and every bite was a euphoric experience. Im serious, ive heard food described in terms like I experienced, but didnt really buy it to be possible for food to be so pleasurable. There was some kind of bamboo like vegetable that was prominent in my dish that was divine! I asked what it was, and got a vague answer, its basically a vietnamese variation on bamboo that doesnt have an English name (or thats the impression I got). Im going to be incredibly busy and have dinner plans every night when Im back in ottawa next month, but I WILL be going there again I promise. My dining partner had spring rolls he proclaimed to be the best ever eaten, and a very yummy noodle dish with veggies, curry, shrimp, chicken, pork, and just about everything else in it. Highlight of my trip to ottawa for sure.
The following day was the busiest and most informative conference wise, so that was good. We went out for a very expensive dinner at a restaurant on Sussex Dr. called "Social" (http://www.social.ca/ -nice web address if you can get it). If you can get the menu to work, you can see that I pretty much ate the caprese salad and bread for dinner. Too fancy for me, but a nice experience and a great meal none the less. Wednesday we had our team meeting all day, followed by another walk around Ottawa and the Parliament, followed by a too long stay in the Ottawa airport before boarding a flight home. Somewhere in there, i forgot to mention i did go on an actual tour of centre block, and did manage to meet a lot more of the cats on the hill.
Good times in Ottawa none the less, it was way too late in life for that to be my first visit. Am really looking forward to going back again - this time I get an evening cruise too woohoo!