This is the 7th of a series of posts dealing with my 2024 trip to Eastern Canada. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports (typos, bits I don’t feel like making public). Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of a year later or to add further clarification. These are indicated by “NOW”.
Not as chilly as yesterday and it didn't rain, but I seem to recall there used to be a yellow globe in the sky. I haven't seen it in a while.
Yesterday each time I entered my room at Saintlo Jail Hostel (via stairs; probably as a heritage building there's no elevator; 7th floor, 4th after reception) the same person was in the room. Not sure if he ever left to explore Ottawa. I got some sleep but kept being woken up by his snoring. This will definitely be the last shared room I ever book, barring having a partner someday. Just before 5 I gave up and started exploring the upper floors. Since the top floor was apparently death row at one point, I suspect that this is actually a converted prison, not jail, since jails are people who've had a run-in with the law but aren't serving time for a conviction.
[NOW: Due to the sort number of days - two - and location/price, I have booked a shared room for a brief part of my 2025 Montreal/Quebec City trip, for the latter city.]
I visited the National War Memorial and then explored the Parliament area. I crossed Portage Bridge over the Ottawa River into Gatineau and explored a bit there. I suspect that the bridge I wanted to return via wasn't for pedestrians so I returned to Ottawa via Alexandria Bridge, I returned to the hostel for breakfast then got an OC Transpo daypass at Rideau Station (so all transportation today OC Transpo). I took a Line 1 O-Train (Line 2 is not yet active if I understand correctly) from there to Tunney’s Pasture Station. I was early so I walked part way, took an 80- bus part way to the last branch of the Comic Shoppe. I was tempted to visit Oddz & Endz when it opened but that would have been cutting it too close. Book Market, across the street from my bus stop, only opened as my (80) bus was arriving, so they lost out. I took the bus back to Tunney's Pasture and then took a Line 1 O-Train to St-Laurent Station. I took a 7 bus to the Donald St branch of Howard's and got some Blu-rays there. The lady accidentally overcharged me so she calculated the difference and refunded me in cash.
I took another 7 bus to Books on Beechwood. Crossing the Rideau River, I visited Barely Bruised Books. Sankofa Bookstore was gone. I got a Blu-ray at All Books. Petra Books proved to be a publisher not a bookstore. I visited Librairie du soleil (francophone bookstore). The Antiquarian bookstore Patrick McGahern books was open by appointment only. I got lunch from Tim Horton's then took a Line 1 O-Train from Rideau Station to Hurdman Station. Due to a typo I got on the wrong bus and rode the 49 bus the entire route to Elmvale. The correct bus (48) luckily also stops there and so I took it to Movies 'n Stuff. Unfortunately an ad on the side of the bus meant that all my photos were through a screen. The video store was mask mandatory. I grabbed a mask but with my touch sensitivity only lasted about a minute. I didn't want to wait half an hour for the next bus so I walked to Bank St and took a 6 bus north to Book Bazaar, which was closed yesterday.
I visited Perfect Books and got some DVDs from the Friends' Bookshop, located in the downtown Ottawa Public Library. I got some booklets from the Info Centre then took a 1-Line O-Train from Rideau Station to Tunney's Pasture Station again. I phoned the doctor office from yesterday but they said that arranging the appointment could wait until I'm back. I walked to the Spaniel's Tale Bookshop and then took an 11 bus to the Rideau Canal. I crossed Alexandria Bridge to Gatineau and had dinner at the same McDonald's as last night. I visited Parc Du Portage which has various outdoor art pieces, two involving spheres with wires through them. Crossing Portage Bridge back to Ottawa, I visited the Parliament area including climbing the steps at the Supreme Court of Canada. I did another short walk along the Rideau Canal before returning to the hostel.
[NOW: Nature of doctor office edited for privacy reasons.]
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