The stretch of canal in the Canadian capital Ottawa turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise, as did much of this charming capital city.

My first glance of the canal however made it look a little sorry for itself; in summer it seems to be full of pleasure cruisers whilst in winter it becomes the world's longest ice rink. However on the autumn Sunday when I visited there was no water except for a few puddles clustered around bits of detritus. Not to be discouraged I headed down to the locks that lead to the Ottawa River. Despite the lack of water in the locks they are a rather magnificent ensemble. It isn't just the engineering that impresses but the fact that they are in such a wonderful urban setting, with the striking Parliament Hill on one side and fine edifices and bridges on the other, it really was much better than the dull bit of infrastructure I was expecting.

I wasn't able to venture onto the canal so instead I headed to the lovely Bytown Museum housed in a former storehouse used in the construction of the canal. The enjoyably languid audio guide did a great job of explaining the building of the canal and the role it played in the development of the city and even the country. Much to my surprise I spent several hours just exploring the area around the locks and taking large amounts of photos, before strolling across the bridge to spend a bit of time in Francophone Canada.

I rounded off my few hours in Ottawa by trying to eat and drink as many Canadian essentials as I could in and around Byward market. So after filling up on Maple Syrup, Micro Brews, Poutine and BeaverTails I headed off to one of the nicest airports I have travelled through, which incidentally has the canal running around its perimeter.

Ottawa also turned out to be perhaps the friendliest city I have ever been to: from the baggage staff who waived my fees, to the wonderful lady on the bus who bought me a ticket as I didn't have enough change, the city could not have been more welcoming. At no stage did I have any interaction with anyone that was not thoroughly pleasant, and I will add my hospitality threshold was exceptionally high after 2 weeks in and around Utah which itself sets great thresholds in friendliness.

The Rideau Canal and Ottawa came as a wonderful surprise at the end of my trip around north America, the rather delightful setting and supreme hospitality provided great memories for the tail end of my trip, and the food was great to.

[Site 4: Experience 8]