Ontario - Ottawa

Toronto to Ottawa Travel Distance: 450 km
AirBnB accommodations: $230. 59 for 2 nights (inclusive of taxes, fees and cleaning fees)

We were up fairly early and on the road by 7 am to drive to Ottawa.
We are staying in an AirBnb for 2 nights that is downtown and close to everything. It is a quaint studio apartment with a full kitchen. A nice place to relax in while we are away.

Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It stands on the south bank of

the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec; the two form the core of the Ottawa–Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) and the National Capital Region (NCR). As of 2016, Ottawa had a city population of 964,743 and a metropolitan population of 1,323,783 making it the fourth-largest city and the fifth-largest CMA in Canada.

Founded in 1826 as Bytown, and incorporated as Ottawa in 1855, the city has evolved into the political centre of Canada. Its original boundaries were expanded through numerous annexations and were ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and amalgamation in 2001 which significantly increased its land area. The city name "Ottawa" was chosen in reference to the Ottawa River, the name of which is derived from the Algonquin Odawa, meaning "to trade".

On New Year's Eve 1857, Queen Victoria, as a symbolic and political gesture, was presented with the responsibility of selecting a location for the permanent capital of the Province of Canada. In reality, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had assigned this selection process to the Executive Branch of the Government, as previous attempts to arrive at a consensus had ended in deadlock. The 'Queen's choice' turned out to be the small frontier town of Ottawa for two main reason. Firstly, Ottawa's isolated location in a back country surrounded by dense forest far from the Canada–US border and situated on a cliff face would make it more defensible from attack. Secondly, Ottawa was approximately midway between Toronto and Kingston (in Canada West) and Montreal and Quebec City (in Canada East).

When we got in we took a bit of time to get settled in before we headed out to check the Byward Market and downtown. Roxy joined

us for our adventures that day.

The ByWard Market was established by Lt-Col. John By in 1826, making it one of Canada's oldest and largest public markets. The legendary builder of the Rideau Canal, Colonel By himself laid out the street plan of the Market, designating George Street and York Street to be extra wide to accommodate the creation of a public market and gathering place.

The ByWard Market has constantly been an area of fluid change, adapting to the increasingly cosmopolitan nature of downtown Ottawa, as well as trends in Canadian society as a whole. Recently, a multitude of restaurants and specialty food stores have sprouted around the market area, making this neighbourhood one of the liveliest in Ottawa outside of normal business hours. A four-block area around the market provides the most dense concentration of

eating places, bars and nightclubs in the National Capital Region.

A trip out east isn't complete without sampling "Beavertails". Thank goodness we decided to split one. Man are they sweet. After exploring the Byward Market we wandered around Parliament Hill and the canals for a bit before we headed back to our place. We decided that we would have dinner in and went to the local grocery store to buy a few staples before retiring to our place for the night. A pretty low key day today. Tomorrow we are planning on getting up early to have a busy day of exploring Ottawa.