With pandemic restrictions starting to loosen up across Canada we decided to take our summer vacation close-ish to home still. Since it’s still not a normal summer we decided just to do a small trip and to try to remain outside as much as possible. What better place to do that than a beautiful garden. I’ve wanted to visit the Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens in Québec’s Bas-Saint-Laurent region for a long time so we decided to basically plan a little trip around visiting it.
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.
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.
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.
Well it’s winter and we’ve probably got at least another month and a half of snowy, cold weather here in Ottawa so I thought I’d look back on some of my travel photos from somewhere warm. While setting up my new photography shop on Darkroom I came across all my saguaro cactus photographs from a sunset hike in Arizona. So to launch my new Darkroom photography shop and to imagine I’m somewhere warm I’m sharing the photos here that you can now buy prints of! Please enjoy!
In March I visited Mexico for the first time to eat all the food and see all the art. I’m not a beach/resort person so we visited Mexico City. It was an amazing experience exploring this massive, crazy city. There are so many district areas/neighbourhoods to explore and in 5 days we saw so much of the city and ate so much amazing food.
On our way home from a weekend in northern Québec we detoured to historic Québec City for a couple hours to wander the old city. Suffice to say, 3 hours is not enough time and we’ll be back soon to see more of this beautiful place. Until then, there are some snapshots for around beautiful Vieux-Québec.
Casa Gilardi is the last private home designed by renowned Mexican architect Luis Barragán in Mexico City. The house was built between 1975-1978 and is still owned by the original family who commissioned Barragán to build it. During our trip to Mexico City in March we visited this special house.
Mexico City is one of the most colourful places I’ve ever been so here are just a few colourful snaps. Mexico City guide coming soon!
** Due to the Covid-19 pandemic it is important to maintain social distancing when out in public and avoid congregating in groups. Please visit the flowers responsibly this season **
Springtime in Ottawa is one of the best seasons when all the flowers start to bloom and it finally feels like winter is over. It may take a bit of time for it to finally happen and there may be a number of rainy and cold days but when the sun comes out Ottawa shines. The annual Canadian Tulip Festival is the star of the spring season in Ottawa with thousands of tulips blooming through out the city.
Rachel Neilson 