Ottawa: High Tea at the Chateau Laurier

On my final day in Ottawa, April and I visited the Chateau Laurier for high tea. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier is a beautiful old hotel in the middle of downtown Ottawa, and it looks like something straight out of a fairy tale. After wandering the cavernous hallways, and checking out the wood-clad bathroom (straight outta the Titanic), we traipsed into the tea room to indulge.

Initially we were going to visit for brunch, but when April heard that they offer a gluten-free high tea, we were all over that. Usually high tea is all about sandwiches and scones, which obviously have gluten in them. April got the normal high tea, and I had the gluten-free one…and we both agreed that the gluten-free one was better!

To start we splurged on champagne to eat with our fresh fruit.

As we sat in the beautiful sunroom, watching the snow falling sporadically across the city, kept oohing and aahing over the beautiful details at the Chateau’s high tea.

We each chose a pot of tea. April chose the darjeeling, while I stuck with something more mainstream, an earl grey. Then it was time to daintily dig into the three-tiers of wonderful treats – freshly baked scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, raspberry mousse, warm banana bread, and finger sandwiches made with salmon, chicken salad, egg salad, and cucumber. Everything was so delicious. The gluten-free tea was phenomenal, and the scones were a highlight. I kept wondering aloud whether it was actually gluten-free, semi worried that it wasn’t…I mean, it was just too good to be gluten-free!

We left with full tummies of clotted cream, and dashed through the cold on our way home. Then it was time to pack up, head to the airport, relax in the Porter lounge, and take my 45 min jaunt back to Toronto island. What a whirlwind trip packed with amazing experiences and so many new memories! Thanks April!

Ottawa: A Day of Gluttony

On my third day in Ottawa, we woke early and leisurely headed out to Le Nordik in Gatineau, Quebec. It was only a 20 min drive from April’s place, but seemed a world away. Nestled in a little forest area, Le Nordik is a rustic outdoor Scandinavian spa retreat. April and I had planned to visit Le Nordik, and it was definitely a high-light of my time in Ottawa. It started, however, with a super long line winding along the inner entrance area. After waiting roughly an hour, we finally made it inside, where April surprised me by purchasing the entire spa day for both of us! Such a nice hostess she is. With robes and towels in hand we headed off to begin our day of relaxation.

During our wait, I watched a video on the preferred “spa-ing” method. First, you spend 10-15 minutes in a hot sauna. Then, you plunge into freezing cold water for 5-10 seconds. Finally, you finish things off with 15 minutes of relaxation. Repeat 3 times for maximum relaxation. Le Nordik has a ton of saunas (dry, aromatherapy, or steam) where you can complete Step 1. We opted for the aromatherapy sauna. As soon as we entered, I immediately started to panic. The steam was so thick and hot that I began to feel claustrophobic. Standing near the entrance, I whispered over and over to April that I didn’t like it! She kept telling me to breathe, and I was panicking like a whiney baby. After a few minutes of standing there like fools, with April trying to calm me down, we sat down on the little benches. It was only after we were in the sauna for a few minutes that I began to realize that it was FULL of people who could see my entire panic-induced episode because we were right by the door! When we realized that, we could not stop laughing. Then when we heard squishy noises that sounded like sweaty flesh moving around, we really could not contain our laughter!

After popping out of the sauna, we dilly-dallied outside where we got super cold. In order to do Step 2 effectively, we needed to get warm again, so we ducked into a nearby dry sauna. After another 10 minutes of that, we walked outside and directly into a freezing cold plunge pool. AHMYGOD it was cold. Frrrrreeeezing cold, we wrapped ourselves up in our fluffy white robes with hoods and padded down to an outdoor fire-pit to warm our feet. We spent the rest of the morning in the hot steam pools, and didn’t duplicate the “cold” part of the experience again.

When we had worked up an appetite, we walked over to the lounge for some lunch. In our robes, we ordered wine and some platters to share. Pure decadence. The fire-places were crackling, the wine was flowing, and the food was delish. It was the life. Seriously.

After lunch we traipsed over to the one of the hot pools, which was the only non-silent area of the spa. In all the other areas there were “guards” with little signs saying “SILENT PLEASE.” on them. How can we have our girl talk when we had to be quiet as mice all day? Yeesh. So rude. Needless to say, by the time we got into the non-quiet pool, we were super talkative and had the guy next to us in stitches as he eavesdropped on our hilarious convos (like April fainting during a C-section). As we floated there, in our wine and food induced comas, the biggest prettiest snowflakes began falling all around us. It was absolutely gorgeous. The trees began to get dusted in snow, and it really made the whole experience feel even more Scandinavian than it already did.

When we finally emerged, April’s robe was gone…including her iPhone. Terror. Panic. Anger. RAGE. Kidding, she handled it all surprisingly well. We made some attempts to track it down, asking people we knew were in the pool with us if they had mistakenly taken the wrong robe, and inquiring at the front desk if anyone had turned it in. No luck. After one more round in the sauna we glumly got ready and left Le Nordik with our bodies relaxed, but our souls a little sad.

That evening, we had dinner at Whalesbone, a cute teensy seafood restaurant located in a nondescript area of Ottawa. I had a variety of oysters to start, followed by the lobster risotto. April had a seafood medley for her app, and then the steak. The service was super slow, and there was an incident with a deep-fried clam shell…but overall the meal was quite good.

My lobster was slightly over-cooked, and when I mentioned it to the waitress, she took it off my bill (which was a big deal, considering it was $45). The rest of the evening we spent watching “The Internship” with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (horrible movie), and eating candy from the convenience store in April’s building. See? I told you it was a day of gluttony…

Ottawa: Judges, Boutiques, and Snout to Tail Dining

On my second day in Ottawa, April had class in the morning, so I headed downtown to the Supreme Court by myself. I was let up the marble staircase into the wood paneled courtroom at 9:00am. Inside, I watched as the litigators got their pictures taken by proud family members in the audience. To argue a case at the Supreme Court would likely be a career highlight – I can only imagine the hours of preparation, anticipation, and nerves leading up to this day. As we were instructed to rise, 7 of the 9 Supreme Court justices entered the courtroom and took their seats on the red leather high-back chairs. For the next four hours I watched as the litigators made their best arguments and fielded questions from each of the judges. It was, in a word, phenomenal. The case was relevant to what I had learned about in school during my 1L year (but due to a publication ban, I unfortunately can’t write about it). However, I will say that it was so surreal to see those judges whose decisions I have read and re-read for the past three years. I loved watching how the litigators presented their arguments, what issues the judges hung onto, and how they framed their questions. Four hours later, I emerged feeling proud of my chosen profession, and inspired by what I had seen in the courtroom. What an incredible experience.

When I returned home, April and I dug into a yummy charcuterie platter and salad, before getting ready for an afternoon of shopping. She had heard that the Westboro neighbourhood of Ottawa was cute, so we drove there in the cold darkness. While we could definitely see the charm of the area, with its historic old homes, quirky hipster boutiques, and cozy coffee shops, there weren’t long strings of shops to pop in and out of, which required quite a bit of driving around. We especially liked Victoire, a pretty boutique with gorgeous displays (pictured above).

Oh, did I forget to mention that we happened upon an impromptu photo shoot? No big deal. Just some modeling whilst dodging bicycles hurtling down the bike path. #ringring

After touring through most of Westboro, we headed back toward Byward Market, and stopped off at Suzy Q’s, a doughnut place, on the way. April had heard about it, and with only 20 minute before closing, we popped in. Obviously, I cannot eat doughnuts. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying the smells of the freshly baked doughnuts that the owner kept bringing out of the oven. Massive trays full of plump doughnuts with thick glazes lined the shelves. Flavours like salted caramel, maple bacon, and raspberry cassis were enough to make my mouth water. April splurged on four different flavours, while I snapped photo after photo of the food I will never eat again…wah. Just kidding, it didn’t bother me at all. Back in April’s jeep, as she took a few bites of her doughnuts, we broke into fits of laughter. April exclaimed, “what kind of friend invites her Celiac friend who is visiting her to go to a doughnut shop, and then eats the doughnuts right in front of her?!?!” Bahahaha. It was hilarious.

For dinner we went to Murray Street, a snout to tail restaurant near the market area. The restaurant itself was warm and cozy, with a rustic vibe to it. I ordered the mussels, followed by the duck confit with quince. April had the “hearts & bone” (beef heart with bone marrow), and then the beef short rib. Just like our meal the night before at Play, everything was spot-on deliciousness. I really really enjoyed my food and will be thinking about that duck for a while. Seriously, the food scene in Ottawa is super impressive. #watchouttoronto

Ottawa: Parliament, the Supreme Court, Obama cookies, and Play

Last week was our November reading week, and in an effort to make the most of my time off, I booked a trip (months in advance) to visit April in Ottawa! Unbelievably, I had never been to Ottawa before. #badCanadian. Not really knowing what to expect, I can say that I was so so so surprised at the beauty and charm of our nation’s capital. I loved it!

I flew with Porter airlines, out of Toronto’s city centre airport. It was my first time flying alone with Porter, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it only takes one hour from my condo until the time I’m sitting at the gate. So efficient.

When I arrived in Ottawa, April took me into the city centre to see Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court of Canada, and the canal. The sun was just going down over the hill, and it was truly the “golden hour” of photographers’ dreams. What a pretty introduction to Ottawa!

We headed straight for the Supreme Court, passing the Parliament buildings and the gorgeous Fairmont Chateau Laurier (the castle above), on the way.

When we arrived at the Supreme Court, we saw an Aboriginal man standing at the top of the imposing granite steps. While our access inside the court was limited to the main foyer area, we learned that I could return the next morning to actually watch a case in progress. As we wandered around the foyer, we saw more Aboriginal people celebrating a case that had just ended. Little did we know that it was the Tshilqot’n nation case that we studied in depth during our first year Property law small group section together. Totally bizarre that that was the case that happened that day.

Excited by the possibility of actually seeing a case the next day, we left happily and headed over to Parliament Hill to soak up the last of the daylight. Honestly, the Parliament building is gorgeous. It is so majestic, traditional, imposing, and downright awe-inspiring. Standing at the gates, looking straight up at the building, must be one of Canada’s prettiest views.

After having a major photo-shoot on the grounds, we weaseled our way inside to watch the House of Commons listening to disrespecting one another. When we had had enough (4 minutes later) we left and headed down to Byward Market. The Market is a cute little part of Ottawa with cobblestone streets, lots of food vendors and cute restaurants, and little shops. It really reminded me of the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco. April took me to see a random little bakery that has monetized on President Obama’s visit to Ottawa, when he ate one of their cookies. Now all over the bakery are signs saying “home of the Obama cookie!” with pictures of him eating his cookie. Ha!

We grabbed a snack and drink before heading down to Play, a restaurant in the Market where April had made a reservation. Play serves small plates, like tapas, and encourages diners to choose 2 or 3 per meal. The ambiance was cozy and warm, and we had a great time catching up over gluten free potato chips (and bread for April) with some quality wine. The staff were incredibly attentive to my dietary restriction, which made the whole experience that much better. Between April and I, and all our dishes, we had zero misses. Everything was spot on perfection. I’d highly recommend it if you’re ever in Ottawa, and it would be great for a business lunch meeting too!

Having eaten and drank way more than our fair share at Play, April and I headed down to Fat Tuesday’s for some ciders and a duelling piano show. The perfect way to start my vacay in Ottawa. #steaknfrenchfriesreunion