Museum-ing

Every week, I swear this is the week I will finally take advantage of Ottawa’s free museum day. To be all cultural, and go museum-ing (if that were a word, which it should be.  And museum-y. As in “How was the museum?” “Oh, it was great, very museum-y”).   And every week, I find myself saying “Nah, I`ll just make dinner & catch up on the Good Wife…”

Well this week, I actually went to a museum.  Don`t worry, I still spent some time catching up on the Good Wife, but I also went to a museum- woohoo!  And best of all, it was free.

In Ottawa, most museums offer free admission on Thursdays, as well as some public holidays like Remembrance Day & Canada Day.   Check out the websites for your local museums- I bet they have some free hours as well.  The Canada War Museum is free on Thursday from 4pm onwards, and I finally went to check it out.

Along with their regular exhibits, they are running a special photo exhibit called “Eleven Women Facing War.”  It was so informative & beautifully presented.

Photographer Nick Danziger originally photographed the 11 women in 2001, and ten years later, returned to find each woman & learn what they had been up to over the past 10 years.  His photographs are beautiful, and the exhibit is very interesting; Alongside the photos, the viewer is presented with bits of information on the women, transporting you into their world.  I love how simply the information on the women was presented- rather than long paragraphs, the artist uses a style similar to bullets-points to get the message across to the viewer quickly.

If you’re in Ottawa, check out this exhibit, which is in town until April 21st.  If not, maybe you will be lucky enough to catch it somewhere else in the world!

The rest of the Canadian War Museum was interesting as always, though my photo-obsessed self preferred the photography exhibit.  The whole museum is crammed with information, and you could spend hours & hours there.  But only if you are already caught up on the Good Wife of course, which I am not yet… so on that note- goodnight blog!

Ottawa Winterlude

Winterlude in Ottawa is a yearly festival which pretty much revolves around skating & eating beavertails.  Now, I don`t really skate, but I definitely eat Beavertails.  No idea what that is?  Its basically deep-fried dough (think a flat doughnut) topped with an awesome topping of your choice: the classic cinnamon & sugar, maple butter (this is Canada, after all), nutella, etc.  There’s even a savoury one with garlic & cheese on it, but I might have to judge you just a little bit if you order it- C’mon, you can get one with nutella AND reese’s pieces AND a caramel drizzle!

The true joy of Winterlude is, obviously, the Beavertails, but there are other things to keep you entertained too.  You know, when you run out money to buy more Beavertails.  The “Crystal Garden” is full of ice sculptures, like this awesome fish:

We have a tooon of snow on the ground right now, as you can see from these snow-covered benches!

There are food stands, places set up for drinking- and the largest skating rink in the world! The Rideau Canal Skateway:

It’s so looong that some people even use it to skate to work!  A friend of mine skated the whole thing, and enjoyed a Beavertail at the beginning & again at the end.  It’s a workout- you earned it!

Walking along the frozen canal, we came across this epic little snowman that someone had made & set on a bench.  Then I accidentally knocked its head off! Don`t worry, I fixed the poor little guy.

Without further ado, pictures of my true love, the Beavertail!  I choose the “Killaloe Sunrise,” a twist on the classic Cinnamon & Sugar which includes lemon slices that you can squeeze all over the dough.  Sounds a little strange, but I swear, its amazing!

Yum yum yum!  The good news it, there are Beavertail stands & stores all across Canada- there is even one in Colorado, because we are slowly trying to fill the world with these delcious things- you`re welcome world.  But they taste best while skating (or in my case, walking) on the Rideau Canal.