Gatinear Hills Ride - 4. Saturday in Gatineau

4. Saturday in Gatineau

Entrance to Mosaic Culture Show (Red Plants on the Roof)

Early morning, like always, the Club took another ride around the area. Missing for this ride were Carol and I and some other folks, like Ken, who did not feel well. Carol and I had ‘other’ plans. Carol had found a ‘garden’ show on line and she told Mike about it, but no one else was interested in visiting this garden exhibition.

Well, Carol and I, after our hotel breakfast, walked to the bus station near the hotel to take the local bus to the garden show. It was a special exhibition sponsored by Canada in conjunction with the Chinese Tourist Government Bureau. 

Holding the Mosaic Culture Brochure

The bus ride was CAN $3.80 dollars each and we had to buy the tickets at the gas station store, near the bus stop. All you have to do is ask and people will show you or tell you where to go. I bought 4 tickets, since we had to come back that way, too. Once on the bus we knew we had to count 8 stops and then get off, but I lost count and had to ask the bus driver. Remember, this is a French speaking province. I was not perfect but I made an effort and I got a polite answer back from the bus driver (in English) that he would tell us when we arrive. I find public transportation in a new or strange town a very good way to get around. If we really get lost we can always take a taxi or Uber back to the Motel, right?

Anne of Green Gables - All Made Out of Plants

The admission to the show was CAN $18.00 each but it was well worth it. 

MosaicCulture was the name of the exhibition at Parc Jacques-Cartier.  I have been to this park before, but in the winter. In the winter the whole park is converted into a winter wonderland. Snow sculptures, ice slides and snow games will greet you then, but in the summer,

Close Up of Anne - Even the Hair Is Some Kind of Grass

wow, what a display of topiary. It is just amazing to see how dedicated those gardeners are and how they love and tend to their bushes, trees and plants. I was stunned as I walked the first few minutes through this park. I could not believe the vistas, the views, the displays. This topiary is an art form I knew very little about, but I learned quickly, it was fantastic.

Why our Club did not want to see this I don’t understand.

Even the Manes and Tails Are Some Kind of Grasses

Carol told the Club ahead of time about this place, but nobody picked up on her words or her writings…well, it was their loss. This was an astounding display of plantings and besides that there was entertainment, too. Even a small food court was near if you felt hungry. Small tables under shady trees added to the ambiance. It could not have been better. Fields of yellow flowers; blue and green plants representing

Blessing of the Good Omen Dragons

water or waves; a ‘tree’ full of exotic birds, a display erected by the Chinese contingent “Joyful Celebration of Nine Lions’ as well as “Blessing of the Good Omen Dragons”. Most of the underlying theme was ‘Canada’, naturally.

Monks Are Blessing the Dragons

The Voyageur (Coureurs des Bois) I liked a lot. But the ‘Man who planted Trees’ made me smile, I love his dog. 

Hands down the best Topiary was ‘Mother Earth’ or as the First Nation here calls her “Aataentsic”.

But I liked the Buffalo, too…ah, the whole of it was just outstanding and amazing, I truly wish you could have seen it. It was a one of a kind exhibition and yes, it beats riding around and seeing nothing by a mile. 

Mother Earth With a Fawn Walking Out of Her Left Hand and a Bald Eagle Drinking From Her Right

Le Voyageur On a River of Purple Flowers

The Man Who Planted Trees - His Beard Is Long Grass

Unfortunately, you cannot now come to Gatineau and visit this place. The whole of it will have been dismantled by the time you read this. All this work, all the tender care given to the plantings and it was here just for a limited time. The park has to be reset now for the winter festival that is a yearly feature in Gatineau. The topiary ‘might’ be shown in other cities, if the contracts with let’s say Toronto or even Atlanta are signed. The organization is working on transporting most or some of the plantings to other garden shows around the world. 

This show might be in your neighborhood someplace, if it is…go there, it’s great!

We caught the bus back to the Hotel right in front of the exhibition, it could not have been easier and when we got off the bus we saw ‘La Creppa’, a French diner. Well, this place

Half a Fruit Filled Crepe

too was great. We noticed it was a very busy place (people were lined up out the door) when we went to the Topiary show in the early am, but for our late lunch we walked right in. Carol loved her fruit filled crepe; I had the assortment of cold cuts and cheeses.

This place was immediately next to the Motel, yet for dinner the Club opted to visit ‘Auld Dubliner Pour House’ Pub in the ByWard Market section of Ottawa.

Most Of Us At the Parliament Buildings

The whole Club took several taxis to the front of the Parliament Buildings, walked around the eternal flame and explored the grounds but it was too late to go inside the Buildings. Like I said, I have been to Ottawa before and I took a long tour to see the inside of this Building complex. Again, if ever you come to Ottawa, this is a must tour you have to take. Seldom have I seen a building that was so carefully built, so well thought out, so well taken care of in every small detail. Canada has wonderful Parliament buildings. 

Right next to this complex of government buildings is the beginning and the locks of the Rideau Canal. It is a hand dug canal of a bit more than 200 km in length built around 1830. It was a military defense setup to move troops from Ottawa to Lake Ontario but in all its history, the Canal was never used for that. 

Locks At the Beginning of the Rideau Canal

Today this navigable waterway is used for small pleasure boats as recreation but most of it is closed in winter. However, 7.8 km of the Canal becomes the longest skating rink in the world and Carol has skated that entire length. Naturally it needs to be cracking cold, but for Canada cold winters are the norm. 

Mmmmm Good

The food in the Auld Dubliner Pour House Pub was ‘pub food’. Good but typical. We squeezed into 2 large tables that were reserved for us in the upstairs bar. I looked at the ratings of this Pub on the internet but you can see if this is your kind of place yourself.

The ByWard Market section of Ottawa is a famous, old area that has lots of tourist shops. I believe you can find anything in the world right here. There seems to be a shop or boutique on every corner and in between. I needed a new SIM card for the camera, the old SIM was full, yes, no problem, a variety store even had an assortment of SIMs. 

Comfort Food

Like I said, this area has everything… but, you need to walk around and look, there are so many items offered that you could spend days walking about.

After dinner the Club walked through some of these streets but Carol and I took the taxi back to the hotel, we had had enough ‘new’ for one day.

ByWard Market

The trip, our short motorcycle trip to Ottawa and Gatineau ended like that. This last day, this Saturday, was the best day because of the Topiary Exhibition. 

The visit with Laura was memorable, too. 

But it is now time to leave our travels for a bit and we need to get back to our daily routine in Toronto.

We rode out of Gatineau early Sunday morning. 

For this Sunday we just had breakfast at the Motel, and then took all highways to Toronto.

ByWard Market

It was good to leave Gatineau on a Sunday, the traffic was light, and the roads were ‘fairly’ empty. We left around 8 am and arrived at home about 2.00 pm, so a good 5 hours of riding and a 1 hour stop for coffee, gasoline and lunch along the way.

So now I am finished writing blogs for a bit…. I have no clue where I will go next.

I will write about it if and when it happens.