Ottawa

Our four day weekend in Ottawa was almost perfect, the only down side was the weather. On Friday morning it was a quick visit to a local Elementary School for Newton whilst Wendy hung out at starbucks and Ikea. Picnic lunch (subway) in the park then a wonderful afternoon tea with His Excellency Tony Negus, High Commissioner to Canada. He is a wonderful ambassador for Australia, very welcoming and friendly.

Saturday was spent touring Parliament Hill and Ottawa surrounds. We had a guided tour of Parliament House which was interesting. The ornate stonework is exquisite, the library is grand and reminded us of Harry Potter. We walked to the top of the Peace Tower for a wonderful view of Ottawa. Spent time with the Famous Five Ladies and other monuments, saw our first groundhog, walked along Rideau Canal. Our tour of the City was in an open top bus, we sat on the top deck in the rain for the 2 hour tour. It was a bit chilly but loads of fun.

A guided tour of an Indigenous camp, bison burger for lunch and then a performance by native indigenous ladies.

A quick tour of Notre Dame Basilica, the largest standing and oldest Church in Ottawa, building commenced in 1841.

May is Tulip Festival month. All the tulips were in flower, quite a spectacle.  

May 2, 1945, following five years in exile in Canada, Princess Juliana and her children were reunited with Queen Wilhelmina in the liberated part of the Netherlands. As a show of gratitude for her stay in Canada, and for Canadian soldiers’ role in the liberation of her homeland, Princess Juliana presented to the people of Canada a number of gifts, including 100,000 tulip bulbs. The following year, an additional 20,500 bulbs were received in Canada, with a request to plant them on the grounds of the Ottawa Civic Hospital. As part of sustaining the friendship that links the Netherlands and Canada, the National Capital Commission, as official gardener of Canada’s Capital, is now responsible for planting close to one million tulips every year in Canada’s Capital Region.  http://tulipfestival.ca/about/tulip-legacy/

Elmvale - Maple Syrup Festival

How Maple Syrup is made.

The maple syrup production process gets its start from one of nature’s true phenomena. In springtime, when the nights are still cold, water from the soil is absorbed into the maple tree. During the day, the warmer temperature creates pressure that pushes the water back down to the bottom of the tree, making it easy to collect the precious maple sap. The sap is gathered over 12 to 20 days, usually between early March and late April, according to the region. How many times you can tap a single tree is calculated based on the tree’s diameter, health and growth rate. Any maple tree measuring about 8 inches in diameter or more can be tapped. It is allowed to tap larger trees more than once (for every additional 20 cm) during maple harvest season, up to a maximum of three taps per tree and season. With these regulations, the tapping does not affect the growth of maple trees. After harvesting in the maple woods, the sap is transported to a sugar house where it boils down to become real maple syrup. During cooking, storage tank pipes feed sap to a long and narrow ridged pan called an evaporator. As it boils, water evaporates and becomes denser and sweeter. Sap boils until it reaches the density of maple syrup. About 40 liters (10.5 gallons) of sap boil down to one liter (about .25 gallons or one quart) of pure maple syrup. For other maple products – butter, taffy, or sugar – the sweet syrup is further boiled in the evaporator to the temperature necessary to produce the different types of maple products. After evaporation, the finished products get bottled or canned, and are shipped to their final destinations. http://www.purecanadamaple.com/pure-maple-syrup/how-maple-syrup-is-made

Tubing running from tree to tree.  A hole left from tapping the tree.

50 of these wood piles will be used during the boiling process.

Ready to make Maple Taffy

Making the Taffy.

CN Tower and Port Perry

After a quick trip back to Australia for the funeral of Wendy’s Dad, we are now back into the rhythm of sightseeing on the weekends.   Spring has sprung so on our first sunny day we went into Toronto and enjoyed the sights from the CN Tower which is 553.33 m-high (1,815.4 ft). It takes only 58 seconds to reach the first viewing pod.

Looking thru the glass floor

Street Car (Tram)

Port Perry

Port Perry is another small quaint town with an awesome bakery. Hank’s Pastries has a grand variety of breads, pies and sweet treats. We stopped in for coffee and purchased this huge apple fritter for $3.00. The crocodile bread is on display in the shop window.