Rideau Canal Skating Rink

The Rideau Canal stretches from the Ottawa River (in downtown Ottawa) to Kingston, Ontario, on Lake Ontario. When it was built, prior to the invention of cars, it was a "superhighway" for boats. Alternative transportation - horse-drawn buggies on dirt roads (in summer) or horse-drawn sleds (in winter) were much slower.

Nowadays it is popular with holiday boaters in summer - and skaters in winter - when the portion between downtown Ottawa and Dows Lake (an artificial lake created when the canal was built) becomes "the world's biggest skating rink," weather permitting, of course...














This past weekend was an ideal one for skating: sunny and crisp but not too cold... Terry and I wandered down to the canal, and - since my skating days are over - we joined the walkers enjoying the view from ice level.














Then we went to a Byward Market French bakery for cafe au lait and croissants.














This is the same bakery where US President Obama bought pastry to take back as a souvenir of his day in Ottawa. They have become famous for the cookies he bought!














I guess they travel well. But personally, I'd choose a different pastry...














Actually it would be hard to choose just one!