Home from Ottawa

Here are a few pictures to sum up my time in Ottawa. Sorry about the doubles; I came home very tired.

It was a very rewarding week. I met some amazing young people from around the country (you adults were great too!) and had the opportunity to learn quite a bit.

A Longer Than Expected Day

So I flew out of Lethbridge yesterday and eventually made it to our fine national capital. The plane out of Lethbridge was an 18 seater- two small rows of 9. It was windy yesterday when we took off, and beginning to snow in Calgary so it was a rough ride. The view was neat, but I felt bad for the guy next to me who must have been quite certain I would retch on him during the landing; I'll admit I almost had to use my little paper bag. I was hoping for a less eventful flight from Calgary to Ottawa, and once we actually got it the air I guess it was just a run of the mill flight. I watched Elizabeth: The Golden Age and the beginning of Micheal Clayton. The new movie system is great- each person has their own touch screen and chooses not only what to watch, but when. I could pause, rewind, or whatever to my movie selection which was very convenient (no bathrom rush at the end of a movie because we all began at differnt times). Also good, the seat Historica booked my was one of the ones at the very front of the economy cabin, so I had oodles of leg room; I had to stretch to get my toe in first class. The only downside was not being able to store my carry on the floor in front of me for easy access.

Now for the trouble spots, soon after we first boarded the plane they revealed to us that they were having technical difficulties and would need to "reboot the plane like a home computer". Well, the turning off worked, but not so much the turning back on. We had no heat so they blew hot air on the plane with big hoses which helped somewhat, but eventually they admitted defeat and said, "sorry folks, this plane isn't going to work and we don't have the spare bit we need, so get off and hopefully we'll get you a different one." So we got off, and waited, and they ruslted up a new plane, and we waited, and finally we re-boarded and took off 2 hours later than originally planned.

Ottawa is quite a bit colder than Lethbridge was when I left- a plus four to minus fifteen drop; but I hear Lethbridge is back in the cold today. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I am pleases to announce that tomorrow's schedule has "skating on the Rideau" for one of the evening options so I am very excited about that!

Five Weeks To Go

Short post this morning to update everyone on our trip's progress. We're still trying to decide if we will buy the London Pass. It's difficult with city tourist passes to figure out if they are worth the money or not. The downside to them is that it makes you pretty well have to stick to the sites on the pass or else it's not worth the money. Still thinking. We shall see.

On the upside, this morning I called the box office at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields which is an historic church on Trafalgar square. The concert tickets I purchased are for a full performance of Handel's Messiah on Easter Monday. It is being performed by the Bolton Ensemble of London and the English Chamber Choir. The tickets we purchased give us seats three rows from the front with tickets on the aisle. These are awesome seats! I can't wait. Last night I found out that The Royal Ballet is performing Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden while we are there. Jenn is quite up on that. Tickets begin at only 7 pounds so that's not bad. Other than that, I am still trying to score tickets to an English Premier League match. I just may have to call Chelsea's box office too. It seems to be the easiest way to get information. It does make for some early morning phone calls however.

And one final note. On Sunday the 30th our friends are flying home while we are leaving the next day. Jenn and I have decided we are going to leave London that morning and go to Windsor. We have booked a beautiful Bed and Breakfast in Windsor town only five minutes walk from the Castle. We are looking forward to that.

And so on that note, back to dreaming.

Keith and Jenn Soon To Be on the Move Again!

Yes, it's true. Check out our blog during the week of March 22-31 and we will be broadcasting once again from the wonderful, exciting city of London, UK. We had decided with some friends of ours to go somewhere we could get a good deal on for Easter Break and we landed up getting good deals to London. As Jenn and I enjoyed it so much last summer and wanted to see more of the city and region, we jumped at the opportunity.

A few places we wish to see (or return for a better look) include:

• British Museum
• St. Paul's Cathedral (Easter Services March 23 - my birthday incidentally)
• The Imperial War Museum
• British Library
• British Gallery
• More shows
• And for me, a Chelsea football match against Middleborough. Why Middleborough? Who bloody cares? Its Chelsea football, mate!
• Windsor Castle
• A day in Greenwich (instead of two hours)
• More "Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas"
• Pub grub and ale
• British High Tea somewhere good
• Etc., etc., etc.

So keep a watch on our blog for more postings, pictures (hopefully) and news from Keith and Jenn on the road overseas.

NOTE: this journey will not be chronicled on CBC as we are too conservative for their tastes.