The hardest part is just starting they always say. Finding those first words. Well, since this is my blog and I make and break the rules around here, today I'm deciding to start in the middle. Just seems like less pressure, I guess.
Since I moved to the north country last February, I have been exploring French Canada every chance I get. My husband and I cross the border which is literally 15 minutes away and head to Montreal for the weekend about once or twice a month. We have also made the longer journey to Quebec City which was such a quaint little fortressed ville! However, that is neither here nor there.
Recently we went to Ottawa, Ontario for the weekend. I thought since it's not Quebec it must be mostly English spoken. Wrong! Nearly everyone was bilingual and I was pleasantly surprised to be surorunded by the chirping of francophones. Music to my ears! Did I mention that I studied in Lyon, France in 2001 where I met my now husband? Oh, well you probably missed that since I'm starting in the middle...
Needless to say Ottawa was a nice place to visit. Did you know it's the capitol of Canada? C'est vrai! We stayed in the heart of downtown near the market. My profile pic is of me standing in front of the Marche Byward. You probably can't see it, but there are photos of Obama everywhere inside and out. It was so great to see how they embraced him, especially considering the fact that I was in France during 9/11 where I was instructed, along with the other US exchange students, that for my safety I wasn't allowed to speak English in public. If asked, they said, always say I'm Canadian. Yes, really! Again, I digress. We never ate the "Obama cookies" but we did go to the marche everyday to drink coffee and feast on an endless array of delicacies (yes Mom, that one was for you!). I will post more pics of the market when I get a chance so you can get a visual.
While there, we had a few nice dinners. I highly recommend Cyrano's in Bells Corner and Chez Lucien on Murray Street. We went to Absolute Comedy in Little Italy where we saw Nathan Macintosh who stopped at the end of his set and scolded the birthday girl for being rude which was both hillarious and awkward. The MC was also funny during the warm up. He asked if there were any Americans and I yelled "woo hoo!" He goes "where you from?" I said "Plattsburgh!" He laughed and said, "Uh, no that's just Canada south." He joshed us a bit more and between the four comedians that night we laughed our asses off! Oh yeah, and before we headed to the comedy show, I also surprised Amir with two tickets to European Union Film Festival where we saw Leo Carax's Holy Motors http://youtu.be/NWu9WjEcdbkWe
We spent most of the last day walking around doing the self guided history tool of Parliament which was right up my alley. I enjoyed my crash course in Canadian government and playing around at the cat sanctaury and whisper monument (yes, it is exactly what it sounds like...you can whisper and someone can hear you 30 feet away).
But you know what was the most fantastic thing of all? As we were meandering down the street on our way out of town Amir, my new husband (we got married April 7, 2012), started frantically calling my name. He had found chestnuts! Just like at (his) home in Bosnia. Well okay, there was no street vendor selling them hot in a cone, but we did buy two pounds to take home and roast. In case you aren't aware, all of the chestnut trees in North America died out due to a blight of Endothia parasitica brought from the Orient in 1904. Once you get a taste of the potato-like flavor of a roasted chestnut, you will finally realize what you've been missing all these the years. Kinda like me and blogging I guess...
