2014 - Vermont/Quebec City (summary)

All the way back to our early 2014 trip!

Driving, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, except the final drive which was straight from Quebec City, Quebec to Toronto, Ontario is roughly 8 hours.  Since every city we pass has been on the itinerary already, we just drove straight back with a pit stop for lunch.

Ottawa, Winterlude was awesome.  All things considered, I enjoyed my stay during winter time and I would come back again for this.  Best of all, it was FREE!  The accommodations were okay, not too far from the city centre (could have been slightly closer).

Montreal, I have been here a few times, during winter on a weekday, it is not quite what I remember it.  All the streets are pretty empty with everyone being at work. The accommodations were small, breakfast was unique.

Vermont, the shopping was decent, although the working hours seem really odd.  The outlet mall in Manchester was only open until 6:00pm, everyday.  The food was AMAZING!  We had no bad meals while we were here and they were fairly priced (roughly $10 for lunch, $20 for dinner).  Sugar Bush was a good choice recommended by my uncle.  I would go again, although I may try one of the other big mountains that they have here next time.  Accommodations were roomy and the included breakfasts were pretty good.

Quebec City, I would return just for the slide.  That thing is amazing.  The Carnaval was a bit of a disappointment due to the fact that Winterlude in Ottawa is free.  The cost is not high ($15), but the included festivities were very similar to Winterlude.  The food was pretty good here.  Accommodations were nice although a bit far from the city centre.

Highlights, Sugar Bush, Vermont food and Winterlude.

Disappointments, Carnaval I expected to be better than Winterlude.  There is nothing wrong with it, but I expected more since Winterlude was free.

Would I do this again, yes.  I might skip some parts next time, but overall, it was a nicely planned out trip.

2014 - Ottawa (Day 2)

Today we go to try the included breakfast at the place that we are staying at and it does not disappoint!  There is a Nespresso machine, someone who will make you an english mcmuffin for you (sausage, ham or bacon) and you could even order multiple!  Includes breakfast cereal, muffins, croissant, bread, yogurt, cheese, hard boiled eggs and more.  They even have travel packs for you (includes a bottle of water, a granola bar, a pack of oatmeal cookies and some candies)!

Earlier I had registered us to join a free snowshoeing event at the Gatineau Park.  It was a good event.  They provide you with a free snowshoe rental (which is normally $7) and they provide a guide who will walk you through a trail and provide you with some information on what to look or there.

Along the way back, we went to the Jacque-Cartier park which is another component of Winterlude.  Oddly, this is located in Gatineau, Quebec (if you just drive across the bridge, it is there).  This place was AWESOME!  It seems like it is meant for kids, but I had a great time here.  They have several awesome slides there which are made out of snow/ice!  Some are meant for individuals and some are meant for you to slide down as a group.  There is even an area where you can ride down snowtubes.  All of this is FREE!!!

We came back and went to skate on the Rideau Canal!  The entire length of the canal is actually 7.8km long and it is a pretty cool experience.  Every 1km or so there is a pit stop where you can take a break and enjoy some of the winter treats like Beaver Tails and Hot Chocolate.  Cross that off my local bucket list!

Tomorrow, we finish up in Ottawa and head over to Montreal.

2014 - Ottawa (Day 1)

Well, I forgot how boring the drive from Toronto to Ottawa is.  We did see a lot of trucks and even a car in the ditches along the way.  There were cranes that were pulling some of them out of the ditch.

We will be staying at The Business Inn in Ottawa.  Located about a 10 minute walk from the Parliament building, it seems more central than I thought it would be.  This place is interesting.  It includes a kitchen!  There is a stove, a fridge, microwave and more!  Also, there is a COMPUTER with a printer for you to use!  Unbelievable!

Onto the reason behind coming here, Winterlude!  Winterlude is Ottawa's winter festival that is celebrated for a few weeks in January and February.  There are a lot of sculptures and winter festivities happening in the downtown area of Ottawa.  Today, we started with CHINATOWN!  Today was the day where they were having the lion dance parade at Chinatown.  I forgot how uninteresting this is.  The only thing that came out of this was that Chinatown is about 90% Vietnamese restaurants.  Oh, and there is some pretty cool graffiti there!  We went to the Confederation Park to see the ice sculptures and they are pretty amazing.  It is crazy what people can do with just ice and tools.  We saw the Rideau Canal and there are tons of people skating on the canal.  We walked along a bit of it and it is pretty cool.

Tomorrow, we will be going to Gatineau Park for a free snowshoeing event in the morning.  We will be heading to Jacque-Cartier Park to see the events going on.  And depending on how we feel we will skate along the Rideau Canal.  Which we learned today is actually a UNESCO site!