Sunday, July 22, 2018 (Richmond/Ottawa, Ontario)

We all had a pretty slow start to the day. Andrew said he was cooking waffles for breakfast, so about 10:00 we went into the house to see how things were progressing.

Andrew was following his recipe...waffles from scratch...nice! And had his helper Jeff. Steve and I sat, drank coffee and watched.

Notice the hat Andrew is wearing? Eight years ago when we first met them, Andrew was wearing the same kind of hat. Back then we had never seen a hat like that before...and thought it was his real hair and it was a visor he was wearing. Well...you can imagine our surprise when he took it off! Too funny! Of course, these hats are very common now...supporting all sorts of "hair"!
Sherry works from home and Andrew is retired now and really enjoys cooking and baking as well as all the other chores that come with living on acreage.

Sherry was busy in the background...preparing bacon and peameal or Canadian bacon.
For those who don’t know (and for Americans who claim it’s something else altogether), peameal bacon is wet-cured pork loin from the back of the hog that has been trimmed of fat and rolled in cornmeal, creating a yellow crust. Originally, it was rolled in crushed yellow peas, hence the name peameal. It is much leaner than the pork belly strips that the British call “streaky,” and Canadians and Americans simply call “bacon.”

Soon the announcement was made that breakfast was ready...and we had a feast of waffles (with real maple syrup), fruit, whip cream, bacon and peameal bacon. Delicious!!

It was early afternoon by the time everyone had figured out what the plan was for today. Jeff and Debbie had some shopping to do so they took off by themselves...and Sherry and Andrew are taking us into Ottawa for a tour (and a little shopping).

After a tour around the city, Sherry parked the car near the Byward Market...ByWard Market Square is located in the downtown area of Ottawa's oldest commercial and residential neighbourhoods and the cradle of the city's French, Irish and Jewish populations. The original market building was constructed in 1848 and the current one was built in 1926. It was renovated in 1975 and re-opened in 1976. At this time the building became a domain for Art and Craft producers. In November, 1997 a joint venture between the City of Ottawa and the ByWard Market Building Revitalization Group was put into place. The Revitalization Group undertook nearly $2 million in renovation and restoration transforming the building into the current landmark of retail food merchants, specialty boutiques and artisans.

The guy on the right looks really happy to see Steve...LOL!

 Interesting car...take a moment and zoom in all around it... amazing what's on it!

 And of course, we had to stop at BeaverTails for one of their famous pastries...

BeaverTails is truly one of a kind. Irresistibly delicious, artisanal Canadian pastry, always there to share special moments that make lifelong memories. Iconic indulgence since 1978, today we continue our heritage by uniquely combining our original recipe with premium quality ingredients. Served piping-hot, our hand-stretched whole-wheat pastries are both crispy and chewy at the same time. With endless flavour combinations, we promise you an experience you will never forget
.Oh so good!

Our next stop was at Letellier Shoes...where Sherry gets her Birkinstock sandals and where there happens to be a sale on right now. I have always wanted a pair and scored a really nice pair on sale! I love them!

With my new Birkinstocks on, we headed down to check out Parliament Hill...we are, you know, in our nation's capital!

The Rideau Canal runs between the Chateau Laurier and the Parliament grounds....

Rideau Canal Locks...

Parliament Hill has 3 main buildings...the West Block, Centre Block, and East Block. The East Block is currently under renovations...

 Centre Block...

 West Block...

After going right up to the Centre Block, we found that tours were ending for the day...so we wandered around the grounds...

...heading around to the back...there are a number of statues along the way...

 Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister...

 Fabulous view of the Ottawa River and city from behind the buildings...

The Parliament Library...

Alexander Mackenzie was the second Prime Minister of Canada...

The National War Memorial...you may recall the unfortunate fatal shooting of a soldier Corporal Nathan Cirillo on ceremonial sentry duty in front of the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier in 2014, and the subsequent shootout at the Centre Block on Parliament Hill. More info here. A French tourist captured photos of the shooter.

 Ground hogs also make their home on the lawns...

 The Lady Dive...an Amphibus.

On the way back to the car, we decided to stop here for a cold one...there is always something enticing about sitting outside on a patio on a beautiful day...

"Obama Cookies"
At the Moulin de Provence bakery in Ottawa's ByWard Market, a steady stream of tourists and curiosity-seekers stopped by to purchase -- or at least take photos of -- a display case stuffed with what have become known as "Obama Cookies." The sugar cookie shaped like a maple leaf -- "Canada" written in white block letters atop red icing -- has become locally famous since Obama bought three of them for his family during his first visit to Ottawa in 2009

In the car...and in the back seat...Steve took pictures as we headed home...

Did you know that in winter the Rideau Canal is the largest and second longest skating rink in the world. The cleared length is 7.8 kilometres (4.8 miles) long!

Back home, we were spoiled again with another delicious dinner. Here we are back in the garage with the big pot that Andrew cooks corn-on-the-cob in. Meanwhile ribs were in the oven in the kitchen.

To top off a wonderful dinner, Andrew brought out the fixin's for his Polar Bear shots...equal parts clear Creme-de-Menthe and Creme-de-Cacao...
 Cheers! It tastes just like a peppermint patty...yikes, could be dangerous! A little too smooth...

Jeff and Debbie, being good friends of Andrew and Sherry's, are very familiar with Polar Bears. By the sound of it, too many have been consumed often at their gatherings. Debbie tried to refrain but we finally talked her into having one. Andrew filled her shot glass a little too full...

 She did it in a blurr!

And that brings another fabulous day to an end....time to call it a night!