Even though it’s the capital, I feel like Ottawa is one of the lesser-mentioned cities of Canada, trailing behind Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver… I mean, it wasn’t even on my list of places to visit, until I decided it was time to head back over to that side of the pond, and I happen to have a friend there.

At the moment, there’s quite a lot of building work going on around Ottawa, as they’re gearing up for their 150th Celebrations next year – it seems weird to me that a country can only have existed for that long, especially when you grew up in a house that was 500+ years old. However, it’s good to consider how recently it was colonised and taken from natives.

Having a friend to meet in Ottawa was great, as it meant I got to start my trip off with a friendly face, and have someone show me all the best bits.

Where to stay in Ottawa

I stayed in AirBnbs throughout my trip, and this first one was absolutely lovely. My hosts Ashley and Stefan welcomed me into their bright and spacious apartment, and I felt really at home. They were really sweet and helpful whenever I had any questions or wanted to chat, and were very respectful of the times I needed to just chill out in the quiet of my private room.

I would highly recommend staying here if you are planning to go to Ottawa – they know loads of cool places, the bed is super comfy, and it’s in a really convenient location. Plus, as an added bonus, it’s very affordable.

I arrived on Monday afternoon and after having an early dinner with Will, I just needed to go home to sleep. When I lay down, my body felt like it was still moving – too much travelling.

The next day we took a drive up to Gatineau Park, driving past lots of cyclists and gorgeous homes by the lake. It was a warm day and I wished I’d brought my swimmers, but a walk in the shaded wooded area was lovely too. It was nice to be amongst hills, as a lot of that area of Canada was very flat.

I was a bit sad that I didn’t see any bears, but I did see some very cute chipmunks, as well as a few kestrels and a couple of eagles.

We hiked up to a viewpoint, and we sat and viewed our kingdom for a while, before looping around and heading for lunch at the Chelsea Pub. I opted for a smoked meat sandwich, and when it turned up, it was about 90% meat.

After heading back to Ottawa for a little rest and shower in the afternoon, I met Will and his girlfriend, Mel, for dinner at Murray Street. The food was incredibly tasty, so if you’re heading to Ottawa before 2016 is up, please go, as they’re closing on New Year’s Eve.

I had my first taste of poutine which we all shared, but it was more like fine dining poutine with duck gravy, rather than a classic poutine. For my main I had some delicious falafel and pickled veg.

We walked back along Ottawa River, with the big moon behind the parliament buildings. I felt very happy to be on my adventure.

The next day’s activity was heading to Beau’s Brewery, just outside of Ottawa. They’re an organic, family-run, independent brewery, and they make damn nice beer. After trying a few samples we had a little tour, which was super interesting. We bought a few beers as a thank you to my hosts, and then headed into the little town for lunch.

Vankleek Hill is a very sweet little town, and we went to a cafe called Vert Fourchette which was recommended to us by someone at the brewery. Lots of tasty looking cakes, sandwiches and soups for lunch.

On our way back towards Ottawa we stopped at a huge cheese shop called St Albert, where Will insisted I buy some cheese curds, as it’s a very Canadian thing. They were ok – kind of rubbery, salty cheese – I probably wouldn’t have them again though.

When I got back to my apartment, my host Stefan made me a maple syrup iced latte, and it was incredible. It’s the little touches like these that make staying in an AirBnb so much nicer that a hotel.

After a little rest I met up with Will again, and we got beavertails – a Canadian pastry treat – before heading to Chateau Lafayette (otherwise known as The Laff) for a few local beers.

We were pleasantly surprised to hear some lovely bluesy music, and we ended up staying for a lot longer than planned. John Carroll seems to play there quite often, and he is most definitely worth a watch – he has a very interesting microphone.

The next day the tiredness really hit me, and I had to have a slow day to myself. I walked to a supermarket and bought some nice things for lunch which I ate in the park, and just wandered around the area by myself for a bit.

By the evening I felt a little better, so I met up with Will and Mel and we headed to the National Gallery of Canada. It was huge, and brilliant to wander around and see a few things I loved. Sometimes I find it hard to go around galleries with other people, as everyone connects with different things.

The next morning we met bright and early, and headed to Art Is In to get breakfast to eat on the road. It’s a lovely cafe full of delicious food and good coffee – the branding is on point too. We were headed to Montreal, but there is a whole other blog post about that.

Saturday somehow rolled around, and after spending another day to myself, it was time for my last supper in Ottawa. We headed to a Mexican restaurant that my hosts recommended, as apparently they do the best tacos ever.

We stepped out into the rain (the only rainy day of my entire trip) and walked to El Camino on Elgin Street, which is a pretty cool area with lots of independent shops, bars and restaurants.

It was so cool inside – very dark and industrial, with cacti and concrete. We sat at the bar and ordered cocktails (it was my last night after all) and some salt and pepper squid to share, before deciding on our tacos.

Apart from the crisp shell taco that Will ordered, they all came together on a platter, which I liked – I’m fond of that whole food sharing thing. I went for the tacos my hosts recommended – the aubergine (or eggplant) one, and the fish taco – and Will had some meaty ones. Thumbs up all round. We finished with churros to share.

And suddenly, my last day was upon us. No idea how that zoomed by so fast.

We spent Sunday morning watching Mel and thousands of others run a half marathon, before grabbing an amazing sandwich and heading to the airport, where we finally remembered to take a photo of us two together. Just look at that ‘tache.

So all in all, Ottawa was lovely, and much better than expected.