Let's talk about biking in Ottawa!
I'm so excited to bring you this interview with my fellow Ottawa resident and travel lover Maria, founder of Escape Bicycle Tours and Rentals.
As many of you know, I'm an anti-adventurist. And sometimes I even get a bit nervous about bike tours, though years of experience have taught me that once I get going, I love them. In case you need a little extra encouragement like me or you just want to see all the incredible opportunities that exist for biking in Ottawa, this special interview is for you! What makes Ottawa a great city to explore on bike?
Biking in Ottawa often means crossing a bridge to take in the view from the other side.
Maria says....
Name any of Ottawa’s landmarks or your favorite spot in the city and I will take you there safely on bike! Ottawa has the perfect mix of nature and urban atmosphere. Ottawa is not only a very flat city, which makes it easy to cycle around, the city has also been investing in cycling infrastructure for the last 10 years. In fact, Ottawa is becoming one of the leading cycling cities in Canada. Several new bridges have been built to improve connectivity, new bike paths have been developed, the city has adopted special cycling signals in different parts of the city and is implementing several intersections in the Dutch style, i.e. with cyclists away from motorized traffic. Combined with the NCC pathways and the Gatineau Park, the region offers hundreds of kilometers of safe cycling away from traffic. Through biking in Ottawa, it is entirely possible to see many of the important sites such as Parliament Hill, the Museum of History, the War Museum, the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal and Rideau Hall without ever having to share the road with traffic. These investments pay off: Ottawa sees cycling tourism from as far as Germany, the Netherlands and even someone from Uruguay. Our company has seen the increased demand that this year, we have launched and will offer Ottawa’s first ever multi-day bike tour packages for cycling tourism.
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A new book highlights Canadian craft spirits - and the cozy distilleries that make them, just in time for the pandemic.
Now we're talkin'. Photo by Adam Jaime on Unsplash
What’s your lockdown libation of choice?
In my pre-pandemic life, I often kept things simple -- and alcohol free. My tipple of choice was a mix of cranberry juice and ginger ale. A pretty, refreshing blend, it never failed to remind me of travel. After all, ginger ale is this queasy girl’s best friend! But these days, there’s just something about, well, EVERYTHING that has me reaching for a stronger beverage to imbibe. Drowning sorrows and remembering simpler times? I can get behind that. I’m craving something tangy, herbaceous, and travel-y. The mix of gin, lemon, and elderflower I had at Sydney’s New South Wales Art Gallery the night I heard Rolling Stone writer Toby Creswell speak about the origins of American rock and roll comes to mind. Or perhaps I’m really hankering after a generic frothy blender concoction like the one I sipped in a Bangkok infinity pool, where the overpriced slush diluted my fears of ice and waterborne diseases. Heck, maybe a classic Sex And The City-style cosmopolitan would do the trick, so long as I call it a quaran-tini. Ginger ale just doesn’t cut it anymore. And I’m not the only one who feels this way! Memorable meals and cozy adventures top our list of the best Ottawa staycation activities for couples.
It's Ottawa staycation time! Is there anything cozier than a crowded table of wine, bread, olive oil, and meatballs?
If you were going to celebrate a special wedding anniversary, where would you go?
If you answered that you'd stay at home, you're exactly on our wavelength! We knew that an Ottawa staycation was the perfect way to celebrate our August wedding anniversary - and not just because international travel opportunities are limited at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning a cozy couple's staycation meant that we could spend more time exploring, less time driving, and we could easily work all activities around our existing schedule. It would also allow us to tackle our neglected summer adventure bucket list, soak in the last of the August sunshine before autumn rolls in, and brush up on our local knowledge (which always seems to be lacking when we host out-of-town visitors). Despite a nearly endless list of things we could possibly see and do in Ottawa, it didn't take long to decide on a plan that was very "us". We'd be exploring all things cozy, mixing and matching some old favourites with some very new experiences. This is what made our romantic Ottawa staycation itinerary perfect for us. With Ottawa's newest savings passport, there's never been a better time to discover local businesses.
Ryan cases the joint before we hit our first "target" - a local cheese shop!
Ottawa's newest local savings passport is turning things around for travel-crazy locals eager to get a taste of summer vacation fun - as well as for small businesses eager to rebound from COVID-19.
We're definitely among those who are craving travel like never before but we know that, undoubtedly, the best thing for us, our community, and the destinations we hope to visit one day, is to stay close to home. That means it's staycation time! We've been trying to support different local businesses every week and, as long term readers can probably guess, food takes a starring role for us. #MyOttawaPass is helping us discover new spots, reconnect with old favourites, and save a bit along the way. Anyone can access #MyOttawaPass for FREE. You can find the simple sign up form here, as well as a list of all the participating businesses. Hotels, spas, retail stores, tour operators, cafes, restaurants, and specialty food shops are all participating in this virtual program. With the pass ready on our phones, we headed out to explore two special spots. What You Need To Know About The Canadian Transportation Agency Flight Delay Compensation Rules16/4/2020 Is your Canadian flight delayed or cancelled? You might be entitled to compensation under the new Canadian Transportation Agency flight delay compensation rules. We breakdown your rights as a passenger.
Photo by Angela Compagnone on Unsplash
Fasten your seat belts, dear readers. You're in for one heck of a post. In 2019, a whole new set of rules and regulations about flight delays came down in Canada. And boy, were they new. For the first time ever, delayed passengers on flights in, out, and around Canada are entitled to some actual serious compensation.
But - and this may utterly surprise you - airline regulations are DULL. And confusing! And not exactly designed to be user friendly and easy to understand for the average passenger. Thus, I've tried to break things down into real terms that a jet lagged frequent flyer can easily understand. We have 21 suggestions for Ottawa travellers to discover the city's cozy side, one microadventure at a time.
I am not adventurous. Nope, not one bit. Sure, I talk a good game and occasionally do things which other people might consider a bit daunting, like walking across Victoria Falls Bridge or kayaking in the Saguenay Fjord, but I think we all know the truth. Deep down, I'll always be the girl who caused a commotion in the Athens Meat Market and braced for an attack from non-existent wild pigs in Hawaii. I'm scared of adventure and (...I like to think...) adventure is a bit scared of me. However, a conversation with a friend has completely re-framed things for me. I've been introduced to the world of microadventures!
The phrase microadventure has been popularized by Alastair Humphreys in his book Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes. The book describes a microadventure as something "close to home, cheap, simple, short and 100% guaranteed to refresh your life. A microadventure takes the spirit of a big adventure and squeezes it into a day or even a few hours." Hang on a second. That sounds like what I do. That sounds like what I do ALL. THE. TIME. I like things that are cheap, simple, short, and refreshing (aka COZY things!). Could it be that I've been an adventurer - and a trendy adventurer at that! - all along? Since the spirit of Humphrey's microadventures focus on this close to home, here are my favourite microadventures to recommend to Ottawa travellers. These are the best family campgrounds Ontario has to offer - and we've
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