Ottawa and totally Canadian

After a hell of a lot of dithering, I checked out Craig's list to see if there were any rideshares going to Ottawa.  Bus, train and plane travel is a bit pricey here (here being such a vast land an' all!).  Anyway, other than getting tips from people on hitchhiking, I've also got them about Craig's list.  Craig's list is like Gumtree and is basically what I look at first before anything else!  It's also great for catching lifts from one place to another for a share of the petrol cost, hurrah!  Okay, so you probably pay a little more than petrol costs but it's still cheaper than a bus.  Also cool, because you end up chatting to more random strangers - especially when they are full of travelling and job hunting tips!

I stayed in Ottawa with lovely friends Nadia, Shiraz and their very much loved cat Zeus (or Zeusy).  They were amazing hosts... as well as it just being a bit refreshing not sleeping in someone's lounge, it was great to catch up with them as hadn't seen them for nearly 10 years!  Also lovely to feel immediately comfortable with them ;o) 

We went out to Byward Market for food, they taught me lots more about hockey, took me to aqua fitness, hiking around the Pink Lake in Gatineau Park, out for a family barbeque (my first of the summer!).  They also introduced me to Tim Horton's.  It's a Canadian institution and although it's not the best coffee in the world (or even close), I'm really rather fond of going in one for a small coffee with cream.  We also watched hockey marathons and glee marathons.  God, I love Glee.  And think I might even really like hockey now too... (except when they go 3 periods into overtime!)