Lazy days

I had a pretty lazy weekend. Friday night Christina and I went to On Tap and MTL. On Tap was really dead when we got there around 11, so we headed over to MTL to meet up with some friends. We hung out there for a while, but around 1 decided to head back to On Tap for some dancing. Unfortunately it was still dead, so we got jiggy with it for a bit on the dance floor and then headed home. Saturday I was really tired, so didn't end up doing much of anything. Treated myself to some take-out from Royal Thai and watched White Oleander with Christina. Sunday I had a pretty lazy morning. Had some of Christina's awesome blueberry pancakes for lunch and then Peter, Christina and I went to the Canada & the World Pavilion. The main exhibit was pretty cool and there was a nice balcony overlooking the Ottawa River.

Ghosts and gallows

Last night we had a SFU Co-op dinner at Tucker's Marketplace with Marcia, our co-op coordinator from back home. Good dinner -- they had an awesome buffet there (especially the dessert section!). Afterwards I went on a haunted walk of Ottawa called "Ghosts and the Gallows". It was really interesting...but pretty creepy, especially when we went into the Carleton County Jail.

On the hill

I saw The Sound and Light Show on Parliament Hill last night. It was pretty cool to see huge projections on the Parliament Buildings -- I definitely recommend checking it out (especially since it is free).

Whoa!

Christina and I are were walking home from a birthday/sangria party this evening and witnessed a car accident at the King Edward & St. Patrick intersection (very close to my house). Now that I think about it, I did recently hear that it is the interesection with the most accidents in the area.

Anyways, a van got hit by big truck (the van was turning left when and where it wasn't supposed to) and immediately after it was hit about four young people ran out of the van and took off down the road. However, they left the van in drive and it kept going...the wrong way down King Edward. Apparently it hit another car. Fortunately there were no serious injuries. The van was stolen and the kids supposedly got into another car down the street.

I didn't see exactly what happend, but it was crazy how fast they got out of the van and took off down the road. I can't believe they left it in drive.

Her Xcellency

Tonight I was part of a secret operation. My neighbour Ryan proposed to his girlfriend Aimee, and my roommates and I setup a surprise picnic near the Ottawa River Parkway for the occasion. Very romantic. Congratulations Ryan and Aimee!

It was tough getting up this morning after a long day in the sun yesterday. Canada Day here in Ottawa was awesome. I spent most of the day wandering around downtown Ottawa...Parliament Hill, Major's Hill Park and Confederation Park. There was lots of stuff going on. Much more exciting than in Vancouver. Mind you, the past few years I have spent Canada Day in Whistler with my friends, which is always pretty exciting... ;) Everything was great, particularly the fireworks. Thought about heading to a bar/club/pub in the evening, but unfortunately the lineups were huge.

Sunday I saw Jesus Christ Superstar at the NAC. It was very good...a very interesting portrayal of Jesus. I wonder how the movie compares.

On Saturday some friends and I checked out the Governor General's Party in the Garden at Rideau Hall. Wandered around; got some free cookies, juice and ice cream; checked out some performance; got up close and personal (well, maybe just up close) with Her Majesty and His Excellency (Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul -- see my photos). Also got a chance to meet Chantal Kreviazuk when she was warming up for her concert (also see photos). She was very nice, but we didn't actually see her concert (we went home before it started with plans to return, but never made it back).

Oh, and I met the Shawarma Nutsy last week (he's a crazy version of the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld). Ottawa is definitely a shawarma city, there are shawarma places everywhere. Anyways, if you ask the Nutsy for "full service", he does a little song and dance and gives you a kiss on the cheek. He's quite amusing. No shawarma for you!

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day! Had an awesome day celebrating the nation's birthday in the nation's capital. More details to come...