Finding parking in the busiest part of the city is almost impossible (before the pandemic that is). But that's a different story now.
It was too long ago when we move to Ottawa, Ontario, so it's not surprising we haven't checked out everything there is to see.
Last weekend, we decided to close the gap, moving from unsophisticated transients to fledging locals. One step is to cross out Major Hill's Park from the map. We have been all over downtown since we arrived in September 2019. In fact, we stayed at a hotel for a month there, but we missed out on this part of downtown. Well, we can't really do/see it all at one once. More like, we didn't know the park is only a stone's throw away from where we stayed.
Now that it's springtime, we check out this year's tulip blooms in there. The year before, we went to Commissioners Park. Unfortunately, no tulip festival is observed this year just like the last. There's nothing to be done, rules have to be observed with the pandemic toying people's fears.
Anyway, Major Hill's Park sits at the heart of downtown. It is located next to ByWard Market, museums, malls, Senate of Canada, and Chipotle (our favorite Mexican Grill restaurant since Austin, Texas days.)
One entry in my travel wishlist is to take a photo of that giant spider in front of the National Gallery of Canada. Thankfully, we don't have to drive to get there since it's located across the street from the mentioned park.
Sady to say, Parliament Hill is currently under renovation during our visit. Cranes don't look nice in photos. Wait, it has been that way since the end of 2019. Again, the pandemic causes these delays.
See the photo below? This view looks magnificent in the fall.
I feel a bit guilty for dressing up as compared to my two companions -- the hubby, and the toddler. Nah, I deliberately did this so we could shoot downtown. By the way, do check out the outfit details here.
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Deterred by the smell of weed in the atmosphere -- yes it's common in public places here in Ottawa --we didn't stay long. Still, we will never tire of going back. We have to go back. Credit that to Chipotle. We're grateful they have a branch here in Ottawa. The food reminds us of our home in Austin, Texas.