This is a long weekend in Ontario, August 1 is Ontario Day. The weather has been very pleasant and there are a few tourists about. We continue to prepare for the coming week which will be very busy with two moving days on Tuesday and Friday and a visit to Customs in between. Setting up house is serious work, however so far it has gone well. We will have to continue to downsize and get rid of things we no longer want nor need. Walk around a bit today, had a very nice lunch at the Parliament Pub in front of Parliament on Wellington street, the menu is written to reflect current politicians in office and dishes they might like, it is quite funny to read. Then later this afternoon I went to buy some wine at a shop on Elgin Street only to be told by the store owner that he had just been robbed, I turned around to see about 6 police cruisers converge on the shop. This is something that is not much talked about in Ottawa, but the level of poverty and despair, drug abuse, homelessness, economic disparity is just below the surface, there are a lot more beggars here or at least they are far more visible than what I saw in Europe, it is something you notice right away.
We often complained in Rome of poor client service, it is not much better here, unless you deal with a family owned business or a small independent business where the owner and staff have a stake in cultivating local clients, you will find the big box shop or business to be very indifferent to clients, borderline rude, Starbucks, Bridgehead, Loblaws, staff is surly and indifferent. It pays to go to smaller businesses. We have had on average one meal a day in a restaurant, noticed that a sandwich is about $12. dollars, a beer $6.50, a glass of wine about $10. a coffee $3.65, desserts $5.00, no bargains here.
Dinner for 3 persons around $160 dollars + 13% tax and 15% tip, no wonder tourism is way down to the levels of 1974. Ottawa has become a very expensive city and I do not find that quality is present in the price paid.
We will certainly have to get use to a lot. Making our own coffee, bringing lunch to the office, etc...
On the other hand, there are lots of summer festivals in Ottawa, one is ChamberFest, another is the Buskers, another is dedicated to the Rideau Canal as a UNESCO World Heritage site with bands playing and entertainment around the parks and street in the city centre, most of it free to be enjoyed.
We often complained in Rome of poor client service, it is not much better here, unless you deal with a family owned business or a small independent business where the owner and staff have a stake in cultivating local clients, you will find the big box shop or business to be very indifferent to clients, borderline rude, Starbucks, Bridgehead, Loblaws, staff is surly and indifferent. It pays to go to smaller businesses. We have had on average one meal a day in a restaurant, noticed that a sandwich is about $12. dollars, a beer $6.50, a glass of wine about $10. a coffee $3.65, desserts $5.00, no bargains here.
Dinner for 3 persons around $160 dollars + 13% tax and 15% tip, no wonder tourism is way down to the levels of 1974. Ottawa has become a very expensive city and I do not find that quality is present in the price paid.
We will certainly have to get use to a lot. Making our own coffee, bringing lunch to the office, etc...
On the other hand, there are lots of summer festivals in Ottawa, one is ChamberFest, another is the Buskers, another is dedicated to the Rideau Canal as a UNESCO World Heritage site with bands playing and entertainment around the parks and street in the city centre, most of it free to be enjoyed.
I return to Ontario in 2 weeks; I am excited.
ReplyDeleteI will think of you - so close !
where in Ontario, it's a big place.
ReplyDelete