nequine

Peggy Cove looks indeed very idyllic and what a beautiful sunset you had!

757

Looks like an interesting trip to Peggy's Cove. I remember watching so much of the coverage of the Swissair 111 accident on the TV, and seeing photos of that light house as well too. Looks like a nice evening to visit this community.

worldtraveller73

Westin Ottawa.
Junior Suite, 1 King, Sofa Bed, City View

Tonight’s stay was courtesy of MrsWT73, who happened to be in town on business. She was staying at the Westin Ottawa. My business travel budget doesn’t allow me the luxury of staying at this hotel, since the rates are always 30-40% more than the older Sheraton in downtown. The Westin does have the better location being closest to the Byward Market and many more restaurants than deserted downtown after dark. As a double Marriott Titanium status family, she had some Suite Night Awards that were also expiring in a month or two at the end of the year. She plunked them down and they ended up clearing into a suite.











I wasn't around for check in, but the suite itself was quite large and comfortably sized. It was a full proper two room suite.











The blue grey Kate Spade purse is not included with the room.



The room also featured a large bathroom for two with a soaker tub.





Being date night, and that we hadn’t seen each other in a week thanks to competing work schedules, I had planned dinner out at Sur Lie Restaurant and Wine Bar in the Byward Market. I hadn’t been before, but I had recommendations from colleagues who indicated that it was a great place. It certainly met and exceeded our expectations.

A short walk from the hotel, the restaurant was in a renovated house.







I ended up with an east coast dish, the duck confit with poached pear, date reduction and parsnip puree with spiced beets. It was excellent.



MrsWT73 went with the traditional steak frites with mixed mushroom, truffle oil and bordelaise sauce. She reported this to be sensational.



It’s sometimes difficult to get a quality meal on the road but the meal here was terrific and is highly recommended. I would easily return to Sur Lie for a nice meal in a heartbeat.

worldtraveller73

Canada’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony,
November 11, 2019
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Every year on November 11, Canadians from all across the country gather at Canada’s War Memorial in downtown Ottawa for the National Remembrance Day Ceremony. Organized by the Canadian Legion, it is the ceremony that stands in Remembrance of all that have fallen in the name of Canada in campaigns around the world. Being a government town, ten’s of thousands arrive to spectate the ceremony, in addition to national television broadcasting of the event. I’d always wanted to take part in spectating this ceremony, having seen it on television several times. Fortunately, thanks to luck in the business and personal travel schedule, I managed to get there this year.


I had an early but full breakfast at the Westin Ottawa. I set out on a grey and cool but dry day with temperatures hovering just around freezing. The Westin Ottawa was conveniently located very close to the National War Memorial. The first sight out of the front door of the Westin is the famous Fairmont Chateau Laurier which has had several famous guests over the years; including Sir Winston Churchill photographed by photographer resident Yousuf Karsh.









I eventually located a spot to watch the parade immediately underneath the press booth areas. I ended up staying here for the whole duration of the parade. I eventually spotted Canadian Television National Anchor Host Lisa LaFlamme co-hosting the television coverage of the parade with former Chief Of Defence of the Canadian Forces Rick Hillier. Canadians will remember Rick Hillier to be one of the most outspoken change managers of the Canadian Forces. During his tern, he led as Commander to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. He was also remembered for his commentary on when he called terrorists "detestable murderers and scumbags". He went further, saying "we're not the public service of Canada. We're not just another department. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people." As you may expect, these comments were met with interesting reaction by Canadians and the media everywhere.



I eventually got hemmed in about 5 people deep with 32,000 persons in attendance to this year’s parade. Overhearing conversations around me, there were visitors from all parts of Canada; Calgary, Halifax and the Prairies. As the parade started, we had a variety of military uniforms march past into formation. With Canada being a commonwealth country, many of the uniforms, ranks and insignias are based on British structure.























Eventually, as the parade formed up, the veterans were able to march on.

















This years parade was presided over by Canada’s Governor General, Julie Payette, wearing an Army Uniform as commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.



The parade included a fly past by Canada’s Air Force. They typically fly in a missing man formation, although for some reason, they didn’t this year and flew past in a standard triangle.









Wreaths were laid by the Governor General, the Prime Minister of Canada and the Silver Cross Mother, along with other government officials.

As the formal part of the parade concluded, the War Memorial was re-opened to the public. It has become a Canadian tradition to place your Remembrance Poppy on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark the end of the period of Remembrance. This is such a popular tradition that crowds line the memorial in order to do so. I headed up to the War Memorial in order to take a look.









The attendees around the Tomb of the Unknown Solider represents one of the most poignant parts of the Parade as thousands come to pay respects.















After I had laid my poppy, I took a look around the War Memorial. I happened to see the Prime Minster Justin Trudeau shaking hands and taking selfies amongst crowd goers (dressed in black in the foreground) Perhaps unusual in other countries, it’s somewhat unique that you can come to a public event and get this close to the democratically elected leader of your country.





After the parade, I hopped in my rental car and drove myself back to the Ottawa Airport for my 5 PM transcontinental flight back home to Vancouver. I was happy to have gotten the opportunity to have taken in the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa. It was surely an interesting experience to have been involved as a spectator in one of the major memorial events of the country that takes place every year.

Thanks all for following along on this report!







Coming up:

The United Island Hopper, Honolulu and Kaua’i, Hawaii, USA via Alaska First Class

worldtraveller73

Thanks nequine - it doesn't get more Canadian than that!!

Thanks 757; I remember the coverage as well. Such a sad event of what was probably and unfortunately a "preventable" accident. I didn't make it to the official Swiss Air memorial but was later informed that there is a small stone monument in the area.

nequine

Thanks for sharing a poignant TR with us.

Interesting seeing the difference between Remembrance Day in Canada compared to the UK. I noticed the poppy wreaths are different too - less poppies and more greenery. Nice thing though with the poppies on the tomb of the unknown soldier.

worldtraveller73

Thanks again nequine. It's always interesting the differences between the ceremonies across the world; democracies to autocracies. Nothing like experiencing it!!