A Canadian joke (thanks, Grant):

All the Canadians I told that joke to loved it, but as if to underscore how nice they are, they all helpfully explained it to each other.

And if Canadians are nice, then Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is the capital of nice.

I had planned to get my visa stamp at the U.S. Consulate in Montreal, but I discovered that the visa office there is only open two days a week and it was booked up until Christmas. In a mild panic, thinking that my plans were going awry, I looked at a map and found that Ottawa is only 200km from Montreal (they use kilometers in Canada). Ottawa, being the capital, is where the main U.S. Embassy is located, and this has a full visa office staffed five days a week.

So, when I got off the train in Montreal, I had to pick up a rental car and drive to Ottawa. It was an easy enough drive, thanks to MapQuest, but it made for a long day of travelling.

The next day was clear and bright - a beautiful fall day - and my appointment at the U.S. Embassy was at 9 am. The process took only about half an hour, but they then told me I would have to return later in the day to pick up my passport with its new visa stamp. That left me with several hours to simply wander around Ottawa.

Parliament Buildings, Ottawa.

Eternal Flame, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa. View the larger image to see the flame effect.

The Supreme Court of Canada.

The National Gallery of Canada and the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-d'Ottawa.

Canal locks in the center of the city.