ottawa hotel and exhibit
 

i had a scholarship to attend an agm in ottawa last week. in the past this meeting took place @ what was a "delta hotel", which then became a "national hotel" and is now closed for a total re imaging. it's near the supreme court and the war museum.

this year the meeting was held at the lovely lord elgin hotel, more centrally located across from confederation park and diagonally across from the national arts centre

it's a beautiful 1941 pile that has been lovingly maintained. while my room was small it was in exactly the situation i had requested for both privacy and tranquility. the public spaces are quite lovely and reflective of the tail end of moderne/streamline deco esque.

everyone i encoutered at the lord elgin was helpful and friendly. the conference food was quite decent as well. the hotel is well located within a a 10 minute walk to parliament hill and the rideau centre and the canal and under 15 minute walk to the market and national gallery.

the hotel is well positioned for public transportation and around the corner for drop off and pick for the transit systems quick #97 bus to and from the airport ( adult fare $3.40!)

sadly ottawa's wonderful pink bixi bike system is gone. there is literally not a trace left. i couldn't even find the bolt holes which had fixed it to the pavement. so i did a lot more walking. most of the core museums and gov't facilities one would like to see are w/i walking distance of the lord elgin.

my longest jaunt was to the unnecessarily re named (now) museum of history. same wonderful building in gatineau; same permanent exhibitions. go figure.

i went over to see the exhibition about the loss of the "empress osf ireland" which happened just beyong quebec in the st lawrence channel with over 1000 lives lost and only 400 survivors. a huge disaster overshadowed by the media treatment of "titanic" ( "a night to remember" and the more recent film.) and the beginning soon after of world war 1.

a great visit once agin to my favourite canadian city

cheers
AndrewdDavid

An interesting report, AndrewDavid. I had heard of the loss of the "Empress of Ireland" and the vast loss of life, but not what caused it nor exactly where it happened. You have tweaked my interest in finding more information about its demise, thank you.
Dot

BTW, I am a New Zealander who appreciated your assistance when I was planning a visit to Victoria. On your recommendation we took the floatplane back to Vancouver - an experience I enjoyed very much for the views and the flight. Wish we had had much longer - on planning list if we should be lucky enough to return. :)

Hi Andrew - Glad you enjoyed your stay in Ottawa. I lived in Ottawa all my life but just now moved to a condo two blocks from the Museum of History. I also prefer the old name. We very much miss the bixi bikes. Thanks for your report.

hi micheline, yes sad that they are gone. i was in toronto about 10 days later and they are still there. i would if they still exist in montreal. i always enjoy a stroll around gatineau

hey dot, there was a segment on the cbc radio which is how i learned about it. i suspect the museum of 9gag) history website might have something about it. unlike the titanic the empress of ireland went down in minutes as the gash from the coalhauler was so huge due to it's reinforced hull

cheers
to you both

AndrewDavid

Andrew-- I didn't know Ottawa was your favorite Canadian city. I really appreciated how beautiful it is from certain angles, especially as you're crossing the Ottawa River on the Alexandra Bridge with the Chateau Laurier, Parliament buildings and Supreme Court as backdrop, when I went 10 days ago for the first time in 15 years. By the way, I went to Manx Pub while there, a cozy, friendly, charming spot that I recommend to you when you're in Ottawa next.

I agree with both of you about the name change for the Museum of Civilization in Hull being totally unnecessary and almost bizarre-- I went there this past Canada Day; the focus even seems to be more "Canadian civilization" than history. I loved the Hall of Canada exhibit upstairs; missed that highlight of the museum somehow when I was in Ottawa last. War Museum I thought was also excellent.

Happy travels! Daniel

hi daniel, thanks for the reference to manx pub. i will give it a try when i am there next. did you see the "empress of ireland" exhibition? i was impressed by the fact it's history had vanished from public memory despite the large # of deaths.

yes i agree the war museum is excellent.

here the royal bc has a big show (w/imax film) about the vikings. i hope i get there before it closes. luckily i have visitors booked for this summer. they'll remind me. amazing how i travel to see shows while missing them in my own backyard. btw have you seen/ will you see the fabrege exhibition ?

cheers
andrew

Couple of months back I've been to the city and it was a great experience. I always thought its just a city of museums and boring buildings, but I was totally wrong. I was there on the purpose of business meetings and was staying at a MAC's suite (http://www.macsuites.ca/ottawa/the-suites-of-ottawa/) . During day time I had to visit Kanata to see some clients there and by evening I tried covering the museums. I loved the whole ambience, different from other cities in Canada.
Daniel, I think I've passed across the Alexandra Bridge once, but I guess, I didn't the beauty as you explained.
Couple of days in the town and it is a beautiful experience.