Changes everywhere

After work I make a point of going for a little walk, the building we are in is 50 years old and is not in good condition and has very poor air circulation, so you feel tired after a few hours. Ottawa is enjoying some very good weather though a bit cold but sunny, so I go for a walk. Today I walked down Laurier ave towards the Rideau Canal ( a UNESCO site) and the University of Ottawa, my old Alma Mater. Incredible changes on campus, so many new faculty buildings, modern architecture and hundreds of trees planted all over the campus making it a very green place.  A new foot bridge, said to be the most used bridge across the canal connects the University centre with the Queen Elizabeth Drive. When I think of what the campus was like when I was a student, it was mostly a huge paved parking lot with a few old buildings, some with a historical background, not exactly an inspired campus. In the last 30 years, the campus has been transformed.

What has also changed is the restaurant scene in Ottawa, a city not known in the past for fine dining, people use to go across the Ottawa River to Gatineau for fine French restaurants. On the weekend the city was basically dead and on Sunday's you could not even buy gas. In the last 10 years the restaurant scene has been  totally transformed.  Some very good restaurants have now opened with creative chefs and innovative menus. Gone are the cheap eateries and poor service in mediocre decor. The restaurant scene has certainly matured, to the great benefit of the city.

What I also notice is the number of monuments which have sprouted all over the centre of the Capital.
It use to be that most monuments were concentrated on Parliament Hill around the Houses of Parliament, now you find them around the War Memorial on Confederation Square and along the great avenues.
It is also interesting to note the number of streets which have been transformed like old Wellington Street near Richmond Road, Bank street, King Edward, there has been obvious investments and urban renewal. Not to mention the new Convention Centre twice the size of the old one.

Now if only the new Mayor and City Council can solve the problem of the rapid transit system through the centre of the city, it should make for an interesting improvement to the Capital.