Travel Journal — Ottawa, Part II
After a couple of years, I made my way back to Canada—and I wasn’t lying when I said I go to Ottawa for the croissants
Though I’m a coffee shop tourist at heart, if the world had decided to make bakeries as prolific and abundant as it has cafes, I would be all in. As someone who’s about to take a trip to Europe, this is an aspect of my upcoming travels that I look forward to greatly.
As I mentioned in my previous post, one of my favorite aspects of traveling to any city is in the joy I get from setting aside a little time, waking up early in the morning, and setting out to explore. That’s exactly what I did last Saturday, as I woke up before sunrise and drove into Ottawa, with no particular destination except for a space with a cup of espresso.
My first stop on this trip was the Ministry of Coffee, a small cafe I happened to wander by on my last trip to the city, and decided to seek out again. My last trip was in the middle of the summer and the air was hot, so I was in no particular mood for an equally hot cup of coffee. This time, on a slightly cold and gray morning, I could think of no better place to be.
I appreciate coffee shops like this one because they reveal something small but profound about the city that they reside in. The name itself shows a playful side of a people living in the capital of their country — with the full name of the shop being “The Ministry of Coffee and Social Affairs”. I appreciate their logo which looks ready to be stamped on political documents but is instead lovingly embedded in their wooden platters. I sat here in the morning and watched a sleepy city wake up on the weekend, talking about last night’s concerts and upcoming plans.
The sun started to rise on the city, and as the rain clouds began to depart I began to remember why I loved my last trip to Ottawa so much. It’s a fun space — feeling warm and quaint while at the same time providing a bustling downtown full of unique shops open at all hours.
Now, back to the croissant. On this trip I found a new love: Bread & Sons.
If there’s such a thing as a ‘third-wave bakery’, this is it — and I appreciated the homegrown and down-to-earth feel of this small shop. I followed a line of people into the store, and watched each and every one of them pick up a croissant sandwich, wrapped up and ready to go. I fell in line, and did the same.
As someone who lives in Florida, where the oldest buildings are just now turning 100 years old, I take real delight in going places with history. Walking up to the 150+ year old Parliament building gives a sense of age to a city that is both modern and well-aged, as do the locks made for the canal back in the early 1800s.
What I love more than anything, though, are the views from the parks. I came back downtown in the evening, and walked up a set of familiar steps into a park I remembered from my last visit. As the sun set, I was given a fantastic view of Ottawa’s historic buildings from across the water — as well as the sun setting over a city skyline.
I felt at rest on this trip, because there’s something so relaxing about the city itself. I looked to my right and found other photographers taking pictures of the scene, just like me.
I hope they felt the same tranquility.
