Summer Evenings in Ottawa

Ottawa, Photography

Another summer of mostly staying close to home means lots of walks around the city. Golden hour walks around downtown Ottawa are the best when the light changes, the weather cools down a bit and people are chilling in the park and on patios. My favourite places are along Wellington Street, Major’s Hill Park, around the National Gallery of Canada and the Byward Market, down along the Rideau Canal close to the NAC and of course the Ottawa Locks by the Chateau Laurier. Here are some snapshots of summer evenings in Ottawa.

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A Day in Prince Edward County

Canada, Ontario, Prince Edward County, Travel

If you’ve visited this blog before you’ll know that I love Prince Edward County, it’s the perfect country escape in Ontario with wineries, breweries and good food galore! Although we have plans to visit at the end of September with family we couldn’t resist doing a little day trip in PEC. We told ourselves it was to scout places to visit with our family but that was really just a lame excuse. On this trip we did make a point of visiting some new places, or at least new to us. So come along for a little review of our day in PEC. I’ll also be updating my full PEC Travel Guide and my PEC Winery Guide in September after our next visit.

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Rembrandt Meets Black & Indigenous Voices at the National Gallery of Canada

Art, Ottawa

The National Gallery of Canada has reopened after the most recent pandemic lockdown with a new exhibition of Rembrandt and a lofty new vision for its future that aims to connect to more diverse voices and audiences through critical conversations in art. In this vain they have taken what was slated to be a pretty standard Rembrandt exhibition and infused it with Black and Indigenous voices and artists that broaden the scope of the exhibition to reflect on the time period that Rembrandt lived in and how it connects to colonization and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The exhibition runs until September 6th so there are still a few more weeks to see it!

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Memories of France

France, Personal, Travel

While going through some old photos I came across slides that my Grandpa took decades ago in Paris, probably in the 1970s. It made me think about my first trip to France about 10 years ago in 2011. I thought it would be fun to share some of my old photos from the amazing trip around France with my family. It was really a dream trip, 3 weeks around France. We started in Paris and then went north to Giverny, Honfleur and Mont Saint Michel. Then we traveled south to the Loire Valley to see chateaux then to the walled city of Carcassonne and to Provence. There were visited Arles, Nimes, Avignon the Pont du Gard and Orange and continued to Nice for some riviera sunshine. To finish off we head back north to Chartres before flying home from Paris again. It’s always fun looking back on old photos and memories from great travels. I’d love to return to France and see more of this beautiful country.

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Spring in Ottawa

Ottawa, Photography

With most things still closed in Ottawa this spring due to the pandemic I tried to enjoy spending time outside, which for me means photographing all the flowers. So here are some shots of spring in Ottawa.

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Prince Edward County Travel Guide – 2021 Update

Canada, Food, Ontario, Prince Edward County, Travel

Prince Edward County is one of Canada’s best (and littlest) wine regions with so much to offer, and only 3 hours from Ottawa. We’ve visited the County 4 times and there is still so much to explore in this great area. Now that I’ve had the chance to try more wineries and breweries, some great restaurants, do some shopping and spend some time just exploring the region I’m ready to share my favourite spots in PEC! You can also check out my complete updated Prince Edward County Winery Guide! 

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Prince Edward County Winery Guide – 2021 Update

Canada, Ontario, Prince Edward County, Travel

Prince Edward County has now become an annual trip with so much to do and so many lovely places to visit. The region has really exploded in the last 5 years and now there is just so much to do. One of the big draws is all the wineries, there are now over 40! Between my four trip I’ve visited a good number of wineries and vineyards. This guide has my favourites, some other solid places, ones we won’t be back to and ones I hope to go to on my next visit. I’ve also thrown in a cider house, distillery and brewery that are too good to miss. Be sure to check out my complete PEC travel guide too!

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Weekend Getaway to Prince Edward County

Canada, Ontario, Prince Edward County, Travel

Back in the fall we visited beautiful Prince Edward County. It’s one of our favourite places to travel and it was the perfect little getaway during the pandemic where we could easily spend time outdoors and distanced from people. This was our fourth time in PEC (you can see my other posts here!). You can also read my PEC Travel Guide and Winery Guide updated for 2021 with full details on the best places to visit. But here’s a rundown of our lovely weekend in Prince Edward County (better late than never!)

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Unity

Art, Canada, Ontario, Ottawa, Personal, Travel

Since I’ve been unable to travel for over a year I’ve enjoyed exploring my own city. Even though I’ve lived in Ottawa my whole life there are areas of the city I’ve never explored and new things that I’ve discovered. One of the fun things I’ve been doing is seeking out public art around the city. Unity by Yasaman Mehrsa is a recent installation on the steps down to the Rideau Canal in between the National Arts Centre and the new Senate of Canada building. This beautiful artwork has a lovely message too. The houses represent humans and the pathways represent nature, but together they symbolize unity. Ottawa has so much to offer and there is so much to explore in this wonderful city, especially at times like these. Now that the weather is getting warmer I can’t wait to get back out exploring.

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The Skyward Cabin in Prince Edward County

Canada, Ontario, Prince Edward County, Travel

When we visited Prince Edward County last summer we decided to stay at the new Skyward Cabin at The Edward B&B. When we visited PEC in 2019 we had the most amazing stay at The Edward but with the pandemic, accommodation options become a bit more limited since they were now renting the entire B&B instead of individual rooms to limit contact between guests. Luckily The Edward recently opened a beautiful glass walled cabin in the woods on their property. This little cabin in the woods was the perfect getaway, especially a time when you want to be a bit more secluded and away from other people.

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