Did You Notice I Was Gone?

We just returned from Ottawa where my family got together for a surprise 80th birthday party for my Dad. We rarely get the whole family in one place at once any more so it was good to have a reason to bring us all together. We are all grateful to Marie, my dad's wife, for making it happen.

Mr. Nag and I decided to economize and stayed at a chain hotel downtown that offered great rates and included free parking and breakfast as well as being in a good location. We haven't stayed at a place like this in a long, long time. The blood on the staircase leading to our third floor walkup (no elevator) was the first indication that this was not the type of hotel we've become accustomed to. Then there was the heating system with two settings - hellish hot and off (bear in mind that it was -25 outside so off meant bonechillingly cold). There were two towels and they were rather threadbare. The room was Paris tiny (luckily we didn't want to swing any cats!). However, it was cheap, clean and quiet so I won't complain any more.

Day 2 we went to the Museum of Civilization in Hull, just across the river from Ottawa. We had wanted to see the Petra: Lost City of Stone exhibit (left). It was very good but we enjoyed the permanent collection more. There have been a lot of changes since we were last there and they are all good. I've posted some photos on Flickr (click on the badge on the right and on the Museum of Civilization tag if you're interested). The aboriginal collection is almost overwhelming. The early Canadian lifestyle exhibits are cool as well and we ended up spending the whole day there.