Canada

My family spent a 5- day vacation for a long weekend getaway in Ottawa for the 151^st Canada Day celebrations. We started our trip on Saturday, and stayed in Ottawa for 3 days to attend the special events taking place there.

On the way to Ottawa, we tried to visit The Bonnechere Caves in Eganville along the beautiful Bonnechere River. Unfortunately, we got lost and could not reach the caves because our car ran out of gas. We had to turn back to look for the nearest gas station and missed the opening time to get to the caves.

In the evening of the first day of our trip, we went to Gelato café Stella Luna. It was awarded Best Gelato in Canada and Top 3 Gelato Shops in The Americas at the Gelato World Tour (Chicago, 2016). We waited in a long line for half an hour to try the famous ice cream, but it was worth it. The ice cream was so wonderful.

The next day, we took a free bus to Major’s Hill Park and get around on foot. Then we stopped at the National Gallery of Canada –  It was free on Canada Day. That museum has a collection of European & Canadian paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and photos. We spent 5 hours there. It was absolutely fantastic!

The other day, we went to the Canada Science and Technology Museum and spent the whole day in it. It was fantastic too - so interactive and neat. My kids loved this place. We had a good time with hands on experiences and tech history.

We left that museum when they closed it. After that, we drove to Gatineau looking for some park to enjoy the fresh air on the beautiful day. Unintentionally, we found the Leamy Lac Park.  We reached the supervised beach for swimming. The park also has a volleyball court, a playground for children, and a picnic area. We were very interested and spent two hours there. By searching Google, we learned that Leamy Lac Park is the largest urban park in Canada Capital’s Region. Oh, we were so lucky to reach such a nice place!

The fourth day we drove to Montreal, where we had some appointments to meet Vietnamese friends and their families. So wonderful meetings! The last day of our trip, we started in the early morning, went straight to Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal to pray. After that, we drove home. On the way, we still dropped in on Kingston, passed by Queen’s University and spent half an hour at a beautiful water front park nearby.

Our 5-day vacation finished in a myriad of enjoyment. Traveling together is one of the most wonderful things we love to do. But travelling in Canada when we are living here is the best of the best. The Canada landscape on our way and the Canada culture we met at the capital Ottawa attracted us. I love Canada.