Spring in Ottawa

Is pretty! There has been lots of rain, alternating with gorgeous sunny days. The rains and the sun mean everything is flowering and incredibly green. Ottawans are very out-doorsy and put a lot of effort into their gardens, so just walking down the streets is usually enjoyable.

A flowering Magnolia(?)

During May Ottawa hosts the Tulip Festival. Most people have tulips all over their front lawn, and the government plants swathes of tulips all along the canals and rivers. Apparently during the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany in WWII, the Dutch Royal Family sought refuge in Canada. Princess Margriet was born in the Ottawa Civic Hospital, which was declared as the territory of Holland for the duration, so that she could be born on her home soil.


Afterwards, the Royal Family began sending 100000 tulip bulbs every year to Ottawa, as a gesture of thanks.


This weekend was the Great Glebe Garage Sale. Imagine an entire suburb in which every second house is having a yard sale. Then add in food stalls, people playing live Jazz in their front gardens, and masses of people hunting for bargains, and you have something like what goes on. We got some pretty good stuff for buttons - a microwave, a vacuum cleaner, that kind of thing. Good clean family fun!

The view from Jenny and Peter's front porch

Another thing Ottawa has is Air Shows! Elli has been very kindly chauffering an old Scottish man around (he's too old to drive). He was a pilot in WWII, and took Elli along to a showing of some fully restored WWII aircraft >.< jealous

I think this is a P41 Mustang

Elli in front of a Tiger Moth