After our coffee’s at the view point at Rose du Nord we set off to complete our journey to Ottawa. We stopped in Chicoutimi for an icecream and then headed on through the Laurentides Provincial wildlife reserve which is about 100 miles long!

We stopped at the only campsite at Lac Jaques Cartier before hitting the big city Quebec…again. At camp we sunbathed by the side of the lake and barbequed (smoked) some steaks, drank half a box of wine and sang along to the i-pod. Needless to say the rest of our journey the next day was a quiet one with our sore heads!

The last schlep fromthe campsite to Ottawa took us 3 hours driving and then an hour in the Canada day traffic to get into the city. We arrived at Maddie and Omars (who we met camping at Charleston Lake) 10 minutes after the wedding dress had arrived through the post. They had kindly allowed us to have it delivered there from the UK. We walked in ready to drop and were promptly handed the best ever Margharitas! Great minds think alike it seems and we chatted the night away, some more than others admittedly, poor Maddie and Omar barely got a word in…I think cabin fever had set in more than we had realised! We drank more margharitas, wine and raspberry beers, ate maple glazed salmon cooked on the BBQ and then we roasted in the hot tub with yet more margharitas! We had a great night and felt like we had known these guys for ages! We all crashed after far too much booze and we slept so soundly in a real bed that we thought it was lunch when we woke up the next day!

Friday was Canada Day so we checked out the papers to see what the plan was for the day while feasting on the best blueberry pancakes with lashings of maple syrup! The sun was hot and we were all feeling a little worse for wear so kicked back for the morning and went into Ottawa by 4pm. The streets were packed with people wearing Canadas colours red and white and proudly waving flags and banners. Everyone was so happy and enjoying the sunshine and there was even a guy with a board offering free hugs! The overall atmosphere was amazing, 50,000 people gathering together to celebrate being Canadian was unlike anything we had experienced before. We wandered the streets taking in the sights of the beautiful city and enjoying the party feel eveywhere we went. We crossed over the bridge to Hull and then headed back into Ottawa to find a spot to watch the fireworks. It had already been such a great day, Maddie and Omar had made sure that we had seen all of the sights and just having people who know the area so well took so much pressure off us and we could really enjoy the city for what it was. The fireworks started at 10pm on the dot and were so spectacular, we ooohed and aaahed along with the thousands that had gathered in the park and cheered for nearly 10 minutes after they had finished.

The stampede of 50,000 people trying to get on the free public transport was not so much fun but the day had been well worth the effort. We eventually made it home 2 hours later and enjoyed another night in a real bed! The rest of the weekend we spent with Maddie and Omar showing us around the area. we went to the beach and an amazing look out point and went out for Elk burgers (which were amazing) and a fabulous mexican meal. All of these places we would have never found if it wasn’t for them.

Omar kindly lent Alex a tie for the wedding as he has misplaced his cravat so we now have between us something old (Alex’s suit), something new (alex’s shoes), something borrowed (Omar’s tie) and  something blue (my garter from Silver sixpence)!

Sunday being our last day with them we had a few errands to run and peggy to tweak alittle (to try to fix her leak) so the day flew by and it was soon time to hit the road again to head back to Quebec…again…for the wedding.

We cannot thank them enough for their kindness and hospitality whilst we were there. They have made us realise that this trip will not only open our eyes to the world but will introduce us to some great friends with whom will keep in touch and will be part of our future wherever we finish our adventure.

As I type we are on the road to our second wedding destination, Tabitha and Alex’s suit swinging in the back window over the bed. We are getting excited but I am secretly getting nervous too! Can’t wait to tell you all about it…and dont worry, there will be LOTS of wedding pictures!! Xx

See what happens next in our wedding travel adventure!