Work/Play trip - Day 1

1:30
Ugh, woke up after going to bed @ 23:00. Still thinking I haven't checked everything and I'm not sure what happened to my other pair of rechargeable AA batteries. I have 2 sets of 4 and I took a pair out of my CD player, but I don't know why since only my camera uses AA. Anyways, I got up and looked up restaurants in Byward market. I hope I can make it there. I still haven't decided which museum to go to since I'll probably only have an hour or 2 to look around. Back to bed at 2:00.

4:33
Ugh, didn't really sleep. Just closed my eyes it seems. Set my alarm for 4:45...oops, didn't turn it on though. Good thing I looked.

4:54
Oops, CD player's louder than the radio. Sooooo tired.

15:00
Got to airport on time and no problem w/ security. My seatmate turned out to work at the same building but in a different branch. He's going to Montreal for his conference. Nearly lost my Darsh. Pouch hoodies aren't secure b/c it slipped out when I was shifting in my seat. Got no sleep, but my neck is hurting from tilting to the right. Took some pics of P-chan @ Ottawa airport. It's a pretty nice airport. I had the cabbie take the scenic route, so I saw the Rideau Canal, Parliament and Byward Market. It looked farther apart on the map, but it's very walkable. There's a lot of old buildings in Ottawa but not so much in Gatineau. I went a bit crazy on the tip though b/c I was thinking of how much I gave the Edmonton cabbie so I gave him more. But my Edmonton trip was 2x longer, so yeah, it was about 40% tip. Check-in took some time since they had some issues w/ their reservation system. But apparently I go ta better suite b/c my pre-assigned one wasn't ready yet. Dumped my stuff and went to get a cab. Gaw, too tired to figure out how much change to get. And as I waited for the taxi, I wandered outside. The hotel's in a corner and kinda wierd to get into. Can't quite see where the bus stop is, although I see some come from the Lac-Leamy Casino. And I had to have the cabbie turn around b/c I forgot my camera. Went to Currency Museum b/c it's free and close to the Parliament and Byward. But the cabbie is francophone and also didn't know where it was. So I just got out and found it. It was just the next building actually. It was really interesting, and did I mention free? The exhibits were really nice and there were so many examples. Great for history geeks like me, since the history of a country is reflected in its currency. Some interesting facts: China was the first to make paper money and coins (which were based on cowrie shells & farm implements). Playing cards were used as emergeny $$ by writing values on them (fairly common occurrence actually). New France coins were rejected b/c it couldn't be used as legal tender in Old France. In 1853-1857, Canada chose to go /w the US decimal currency instead of the UK £. Armies/rebels/merchants would issue their own currency (therefore those arcade tokens are just a natural fallout), and HBC issued tokens until 1946. Newfoundland had their own curency until they joined Confederation. The whole point of issuing paper notes was to make money b/c it was likely that it wouldn't be redeemed for goods until later therefore, making it an interest-free loan. Canada started issuing coloured money in 1897, and until 1920, notes were signed by hand. Some questions that I came away with were: How do you turn beaver fur into felt? I had 2 hours and I still wans't finished reading everything, and I wasn't even examining all the coins and paper currency, or went into the Collection room. It was so dark by 5, and I walked to Parliament. There were a lot of poeple taking pictures too. The bulding look really dirty and that it had been thru a fire too. There were parts that were under scaffolding. Did more walking and there are statues and plaques everywhere. Could use some lighting in some areas. What I thought was te entrance to the subway or a bomb shelter was just a pedestrian underpass. Very pedestrian friendly.

By the time I got to Byward Market, the stalls were closing up, so I went to a restaurant instead. Found the Fish Market, and I swear when I saw their menu online, I was going to get the fish & chips. But their "Choose your meal" had an awesome appetizer and dessert for $15 more. Yes, I took pictures. The escargot was sooooo good. I thnk the basil bun was for soaking up the garlic butter and wine. The mushrooms were a bit burnt(no it really broke off as charcoal) but it still tasted so good after it soaked in the sauce for a bit. The fish was lovely. I'm not sure how gweilo eat whole fish, but I ate it the way I'm used to. Didn't take a picture of the bumbleberry pie b/c the top crust broke. But it was a delicious mix of sweet & tart. A bunch of francophones sat next to me and gave the waitress some attitude b/c she didn't know much French, so I gave her a 20% tip. Wandered some more after. But by 7, the area was dead. I thought it'd be like Whyte, but no way. Tons of restaurants. I didn't know we had a monument to peacekeepers. The bells were ringing when I took a pic of the Notre Dame Basilica. I hope more things are open on the weekdays.

20:17
Back at the hotel after finding a taxi stop. So tired, but I feel like I should be doing more stuff like going online downstairs. Just realized I forgot to bring the DS Browser. D'oh! Oh, Mythbusters!

21:39
Debbie called. We're meeting at 7:15 for breakfast and then to the building. The jet tub/shower is quite different. Not quite the time of the month to be trying it out though.

22:00
It's so freaking hot after the shower, and I can't get the A/C to work. So I'm down to my panties and using ice to cool off. I love Mythbusters, it's another episode I haven't seen! Just writing while I'm watching Discovery Channel. I heart Discovery Channel.

00:00
Gotta stop flipping channels. Criminal Minds is on, and the one where Derek's abused past is revealed. Mmmm, Shemar Moore.