Day 6: Toronto - Ottawa

Early morning, we took the Greyhound bus from Toronto to Ottawa. The journey lasted for five hours which was the longest bus ride in this trip.


Greyhound buses are quite old

A bit disappointed when we reached Ottawa bus station, it was more like a town rather than city, definitely not as cosmopolitan as Toronto. It felt a bit outdated as well considering it is the capital city of Canada. And it was raining. :(

Best Western Victoria Park Suites
Quite a nice room, and continental breakfast was included. So far only Best Western Hotels provide complimentary breakfast.



Confederation Building



Parliament Hill
The scene was different once we reached Parliament Hill. I love the Parliament buildings and its surroundings, the lawn is so big and spacious. My view of Ottawa changed completely. :P








Centennial Flame


Centennial Flame and the Parliament building












Fairmont Chateau Laurier - a luxury hotel

War Memorial





Rideau Canal
The canal becomes an ice skating rink during winter.




Balancing act - an artwork near Rideau Canal





Rideau Hall
The residence of Governor General of Canada. This place was really out of the touristy area and there's nothing interesting here. A nice picnic area but we were not going to do that in the rain. :P







Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica



National Gallery of Canada




Caught by the giant spider outside the museum :)

Bought a day pass which valid for two persons on weekends. We really had a hard time figuring its bus schedules and routes. The buses were few and limited, the frequency was about 20 minutes and not all bus stops have the route details. There was no visitor center or map to count for. Luckily we came fully prepared, we printed out all different versions of map and already had the information of a few bus routes that we would want to use. And hubby is an excellent GPS, from the bits and pieces of information we had, we managed to go to all the places. :)

Vietnamese Kitchen
The pho here was very nice too. Vietnamese food has already become our staple. :)



Sound and Light show at Parliament Hill
We went back to Parliament Hill after dinner. The show was about the history of Canada, its culture, arts and the achievement of Canadians. Brrrr.. it was freezing out there.

Day 7 >>