June 30, 2025 Ottawa

I’m writing this on July 2, but I wasn’t able to write very much about the trip while I was in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. I arrived in Montreal on a rainy Saturday, and found my hotel through a series of missteps. The hardest part with using Google Maps when I arrive in a city is figuring out which direction I’m facing based on which way I’m facing. If I can’t tell which way I’m facing, I don’t know which way to go. SInce my train arrived in the morning, just past 10 am, I wasn’t able to access the room, but I was able to drop my bags off and explore the city. Montreal is a mixture of old style European architecture, which big cathedrals, and large avenue. It’s a city that has large underground shopping centers, which is nice in the winter, but underground buildings are difficult to navigate when you don’t know where you are. My first priority was to find lunch, and I wanted to try Montreal style bagels. I found a bagel shop tucked away in the corner, which I walked by twice before I found it. I had a bagel sandwich with cream cheese, salmon, and sundried tomatoes. It was fancy, but quite tasty, and the coffee was good. After getting some food, I decided to explore, but with no real plan. I don’t like to shop, and it was still raining a little. I had a weekend pass on the Metro, so I decided to take the Metro as far as it would take me. Part of the adventure was finding the Metro station, which was harder than it looked. The sign to Metro was confusing, and when you got there it wasn’t where I thought it would be. I did get to see an ice rink, so that was a plus.

The Metro in Montreal is all underground. I would have been better served jumping on a local bus and following that to its end. I ended up on the train for a few spots, and then did the math about taking it to the end. I was just passing time until my room would be ready, so I cut the trip short, heading outside the station to see what Montreal looked like outside of the city center, and headed back to my hotel. Suburban cities are all pretty similar, but I didn’t make it out there. It was successful because my room was ready when I got to the hotel, and had time to recharge both my phone and my body.

After the recharge, I made my way back out to town. My goal was to get dinner before my soccer game, and to try a smoked meat sandwich. I found it a Rueben’s Delicatesen, which had good reviews. I was there before much of a rush, so it was a nice leisurely meal with staff who were friendly and attentive because I was the only one in the section. I would say that a smoked meat sandwich is comparable to a corned beef sandwich in New York, but not quite as flavorful. It came with a poutine, which was another bucket list item to choose. After lunch, I still had about two hours to get to my soccer game. It was too short to go back to the room, but too early to head to stadium. I went to the underground mall and checked that out. It was a nice mall, but I don’t like malls. Saputo Stadium is a soccer specific stadium in the same complex as Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The cool part of these soccer specific stadiums is that the seats are all close to the action, and it is a nice place to watch a game. I sat right next to the supporters section, so I could listen to the chants, while not having to join in. Interestingly, there seem to be a lot of kids at the stadium, and it’s a family atmosphere. The game finished about 9:30, so it was already near 10:30 when I got back to my hotel room. The biggest takeaway from Montreal is how French the city is. I know there is a Anglophone part of town, but it is hard to find signs in English. The Metro only has station announcement in French, and the prounounciation is hard to follow. It sounds like the announcer has marbles in her mouth when she pronounces the station names. The beginning consonant was enunciated, but after that the remainder were blended, and they didn’t finish the final consonants. Even the McGill station was pronounced (MA-gil), the -l part just faded away. My train to Ottawa left at 9 am. I got a business class ticket, which gave me access to the lounge, so I got to the station just past 8 o’clock. It gave me enough time to get breakfast at the hotel, and then walk to the station for a stress free wait for my train in a comfortable lounge. BTW, Gare Central in Montreal is hectic, and without the lounge, it can be stressful to stand in the long lines that Via Rail does when boarding trains. VIA rail has a reputation for making the boarding process of the train as close to airline travel as possible.

The route to Ottawa is mostly Eastern Canadian farmland. It was a lot like Iowa, which is often overlooked, but I like it. It isn’t as nice as the mountains and shore, but it’s still pretty. The ride was just over two hours, and the business car was in a 2-1 configuration. I sat on the side with the one seat, so I had my own little space with nobody beside me. The train station is just outside of town, but there is a light rail station at the train station, so it’s an easy transfer. I originally had a hotel closer to the train station, thinking it would be easier to get to the train station in the morning, but I’m glad I changed my mind.

I got to the hotel a little past noon, and this time they had a room ready for me. It wasn’t the king I booked, but it was ready and that wasn’t. I dropped the bags, settled and organized myself, and then headed to explore the town. I was right by parliament hill, so it was an easy walk to see the parliament buildings. The grounds of parliament in Canada are spectacular. They are so pretty, and they look like European castles. I was very impressed by the grounds. I walked out to overlook the river. I then walked toward Byward Market, which is an impressive outdoor market. It was mostly trivial goods, and mainly a tourist market, but still pretty cool to watch. I did get to try my next bucket list item, which was a beavertail. A beavertail is flat thin pastry that you can put toppings on top. I choose chocolate and peanut butter, which is a can’t miss combo. I liked it because it was thick enough to have a little flakiness, but the surface was crispy.

I had a day pass, and wanted to take the lite rail out to the airport, just to see what Ottawa looked like from beyond the city center. However, I realized it would take too long, so I only took it about halfway and then caught a bus back to the city center. Public busses are great ways to see what a city really is like. It also was a dress rehearsal for getting myself to the football stadium, since I went right by it on the way home. Once again, I decided to eat before the game, at around 5 o’clock. There is a pub that is right by the stadium, and I planned to eat there. So did everyone else in Ottawa; the line was out the door. No problem, there was a pizza place nearby that sold by the slice. I still had time after my slice, and found a quieter pub not too far from the stadium to enjoy a pint. While sitting at the bar I end up talking with two men who were also going to the game, which was a highlight of my trip so far. (BTW- that would be exceeded once I found my seat at the football game).

Being an American who is familiar with Canadian Football was a badge of honor for me among the crowd. I wanted to sit mid-level up and away from the sun, and I was 1 for 2. I was at the perfect level to watch a football game, first rows in the second deck, but I was in the sun the entire first half.

I literally couldn’t have chosen worse for the sun, however I was adopted by the people who sat next to me and brought me into their group as we enjoyed the game. It was so awesome! We talked, watched football, enjoyed the game, even though the Redblacks couldn’t was one of the worst games I’ve ever seen. On the plus side, I did get to see a rouge. I almost saw another one, but the returner found a lane and took it all the way back for a TD.

When I planned this trip, I knew I had to take extra time in at least one city in Eastern Canada. It was either going to be 2 or 4 nights, and I could spend those nights in any city between Quebec and Toronto. Seven years ago I spent one night in Montreal, and another night in Quebec City, both were really nice, but Quebec City was my favorite (still is). I wanted to see Ottawa, but I also wanted to see a CFL game in one of the towns. It just happened to work out perfectly the way it did. The CFL week started the day I was in Halifax, so that wouldn’t have worked out, and Montreal was the only city I could have made it to for a game on Saturday. Any other city would’ve been too tight. Thankfully, the CFL had a game on Sunday, and it was in Ottawa.