Touring Ottawa in an electric car - 7 October 2023

 

Rideau Falls

We awoke quite late.  After some breakfast we were taken for a walk around the neighbourhood and along a walkway where there was a fine display of the leaves changing colour. This year we are told, they do not have quite the same intensity of colour and are shedding faster than usual.   

It was interesting to see a bit of Gloucester suburbia.  There were lots of houses in the area where we went one thing we saw was what is regarded as a white elephant public transport hub.  It seems that in Ottawa they have messed with the system and for many people made public transport even more difficult to use as has also happened in Wellington.  It was interesting to see that people have already begun to put out Halloween decorations some of which were very cute.

Preparing for Halloween
 

Early afternoon I was picked up by my friend Paul in his rather wonderful Mercedes electric car.  It is the first time I have been in one and the only way I can explain the difference is what it must have been like going from horse and cart to the very early cars.  The Mercedes was so quiet and the acceleration was smooth and quick.  Paul said it was a very easy car to drive and he said he really enjoyed driving it.  He took me through areas of Ottawa that I hadn’t been in including a very pretty leafy area where the embassies and wealthy lived.  He said nothing was under $2 million but generally, houses in Ottawa are much cheaper than in New Zealand. 

 

We went back to Graham’s to pick up Bev for Paul’s birthday dinner.  They have a home in what is known as the Billings Estate.  It is a lovely leafy area.  The food was wonderful and company great.  It is great being with locals as we got to know about the issues affecting Canadians. 

 

Covid has affected Ottawa similarly to Wellington and other large cities with many office workers now working from home several days a week.  It has affected the CBD and surrounding area with many businesses having closed down.  They also have a problem with homelessness which is a relatively new phenomenon.  Supermarket prices have been rising quickly and competition is not great.  They do have Walmart and Costco but they don’t tend to stock many Canadian products which among this group is a problem as they like to support Canadian producers.  Prices for things like cellular services and air travel are very expensive as Bev and I experienced.  Then of course we talked about politics.  While there are a couple of years before an election has to be held, it looks like the Conservative party is likely to prevail despite a paucity of credible policies.  It was a lively and very interesting conversation. 

Looking across the Ottawa River to Quebec province
 

 It was rather late when we eventually made it back to Graham’s place

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