Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019

Sue and Martin in Mallorca 2019
On the Archduke's Path in Mallorca

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Thursday 25 February 2016 – An Ottawa Day

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A rainy day in Ottawa.

Sue and Helen took a trip to the Nordic Spa in Chelsea, dropping me off en route in town. It was raining, and very slushy. The National Gallery seemed a sensible place to hang out. I spent a most satisfying morning there.

The top picture shows the sculpture by the front door, with the gallery building behind it. The picture below was taken from the coffee shop towards Parliament buildings.

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You don’t really expect to find a flower bed in an art gallery.

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Looking the other way from the same balcony, here’s the coffee shop and the window through which I took the earlier picture.

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A room ‘full’ of abstract art lived up to its name.

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After looking at paintings all morning, I adjourned for lunch. Here’s a self explanatory view through the cafeteria window.

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I chose, perhaps foolishly, to walk home. it’s about a two and a half hour stroll – 14 km, the first 10 km of which is beside the Rideau Canal, the ‘Longest Skating Rink in the World’. This year it looks to have had a very short season. It’s soggy and wet and very much out of bounds.

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Both the road and the pavement were flooded by melting snow. Workmen were sorting the road out (we had earlier had to turn back when driving into Ottawa) but the pavement was inundated. It was an unpleasant march through three inches of slush for much of the way home. My Scarpa boots kept the water out, but the slush and salt mixture probably did them no good at all.

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Today’s pictures are courtesy of the Samsung S5 as I forgot to take a camera, but I think the monochromatic results would have been very similar with a proper camera.

Right, Helen’s at the cooker, Sue’s knocking up the G&Ts, Ken’s in the wine cellar, and I’m off to give those boots a good wash.

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