Need some help from Ottawa & Montreal polers...

Lee lee started this discussion · 4/22/2013

Hi! I apologize if this comes out rambled, but I am kind of sad right now. I have been planning a trip to visit a friend next month in Ottawa but long-story-short, it looks like our friendship is over. So now I’m either out the cost of the plane ticket which I’ve already bought or the cost of a hotel. Instead of moaning and complaining - ok, fine, in addition to doing that – I thought it might be time to make some new friends. I know nothing about Ottawa and was supposed to have a tour guide 🙁 so if someone could tell me what there is to do on a Saturday night, can I get around by walking, and if you can recommend a reasonably priced hotel. I’m supposed to take a bus to Montreal the next day so I’d love to know if there is anything that’s a must-see there too. I'm really hoping that there is also a pole studio in either location that allows drop-ins for their practice times.

16 replies

kasanya · 4/22/2013
You should check out the hostel in the old Ottawa Jail (link below). It's a cool heritage building right in the heart of downtown, walking distance to Parliament, the War Memorial, the National Arts Centre, the Byward Market (lots of night life!), Rideau Centre (shopping!), a bunch of museums, etc. With Ottawa, there's so much to do that it's more a question of what you're interested in than anything else. It's a great city! http://www.hihostels.ca/Ontario/1166/HI-Ottawa-Jail.hostel Last I heard, there wasn't any pole studios in the downtown area. The easiest one to get to by bus would probably be Ottawa Pole Fitness (west of downtown). Cherry Blossom (east of downtown) or 3Sixty (near the bus depot) might be good options as well. Good luck with your trip!
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Deesse Jesse · 4/22/2013
I'm one of the Montreal Veeners! Let me know the dates you'll be in town! I can check if there's a drop in or possibly see if I can set one up at the studio I dance at (Studio 409). There's a few other studios in town but I don't know their schedules. I'd love to have a pole jam with some Veeners though! There's tons of stuff to do in Montreal! My must-do list mostly involves eating so I can for sure give you some great restaurants to check out if you want. Otherwise there's the usual. There's museums downtown, checking out McGill campus is always pretty, the Biodome is neat, the old port is great to wander through... if you tell me what your interests are I can probably come up with a better list.
Lee lee · 4/24/2013
Thank you for being so helpful! kasanya - I actually giggled when I opened that link because of the headline about sleeping in a jail. Turns out I have, when I visited Switzerland my hotel used to be a jail! Sadly, they don't have any rooms available on the date that I need so I'll have to keep looking. Byward Market definitely sounds like my cup of tea. Deesse Jesse - That would be nice if we could set up a pole jam! I should be in Montreal from the 26th-28th. I love to eat, so good restaurants are definitely on my to-do list. I'm more of a shopper than a museum person (not that someone couldn't be both), but I also want to make sure I see both cities and not spend the entire time shopping. What's the Biodome and Old Port?
Deesse Jesse · 4/24/2013
So May 26-28th? Sunday's my studio's closed, but Monday and Tuesday we might have a practice. Although even if we don't, you can always do drop in to any class! Closer to the date I can let you know if there's a practice or class. Honestly I'm not big on museums either haha Modern art and me really don't mix! For shopping, there's so much! The downtown core has St Catherine's Street that has lots of stores but more big chains you'd find lots of places. For more little boutiques (i.e. cute one of a kind things you can gloat about to your friends lol) there's shopping in the plateau part of town on St. Laurent street and Mont Royal street. If you're closer to downtown, the westmount area (Sherbrooke street between Lansdowne Avenue and Decarie Blvd) has some really cool boutiques. The biodome is kind of our version of a zoo. It's 4 (I think) ecosystemy that have a walkway running through and you can explore. There's also an insectarium nearbye that has a butterfly room where the butterflies are all over and can land on you. Super pretty! http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/biodome The old port is just a part of town. It's the historical district so all the streets are cobblestone, and some of the structures are original. It's a bit more touristy but it's really pretty to walk through. A lot like Europe in my opinion. It has shopping and restaurants as well. For food, if you want poutine go to La Banquise. For a great sandwhich, go to Schwartz's. There will be a line out the door, there always is. For a tasty desert, you have to get a beaver tail at Queues de Castor. It's friend dough with amazing toppings! Grumman'78 has great tacos. Chalet BBQ is this great rotisserie chicken place. For something extra spicy, La Louisiane does great Cajun food. If you want a fancier restaurant, Tapeo is a great tapas restaurant! And Au Pied du Cochon has some seriously rich and tasty stuff! Both can be a bit more expensive and both are best to reserve if it's more than a party of 2. For a chocolate fix, try Juliette et Chocolate (their traditional hot chocolate is soooo friggin good!) or Cocoa Locale (rich chocolate deliciousness). And you have to try montreal bagels. Just trust me on this one, they're not regular bagels! You can get bagels at Fairmont Bagels or St Viateur Bagels. I'm a St Viateur girl. It's open all night, and you can watch them make the bagels by hand which includes cooking in a giant brick oven.
Anonyma · 4/25/2013
there is so much more to do in mtl than ottawa! and you could visit alternative fitness my favorite place to pole in mtl!
Cherished · 4/25/2013
OMG Jesse you made me sooooooooooo hungry lol
Deesse Jesse · 4/25/2013
@Cherished, I'm kind of obsessed with food ;)
MissFit · 4/25/2013
You're more than welcome to come drop in at our studio, but it's in the west end of Ottawa, in Kanata. I would totally arrange a pole play date with you, but I'm 7 months pregnant and out of commission.We do have a class that runs on Saturdays at 10am. It's a bunch of newbies, but Sarah, our instructor can be very accommodating and perhaps give you some stuff to work on. Sorry to hear about losing a friend. That always sucks. At least now you have room for new ones... :)
Lee lee · 4/30/2013
Aww...now I'm hungry! 😉 I think I've figured out why I'm having such a hard time finding a hotel, it looks like I picked the weekend of the marathon to visit! ARG! Is it easy to get to an area like Kanata from the airport? I should only be in Ottawa for the evening of the 25th so I probably won't have time to pole while there, unless you include street poling!
kasanya · 5/1/2013
Kanata is about as far west as you can go and still be "in" Ottawa. I use the term "in" loosely though. It used to be a completely separate city and there's still a long empty stretch of highway connecting them. Same with Orleans on the east end of town. You're looking at about a 25 min drive / $40+ dollar cab ride to get out there. Honestly, if I were you, I would probably just take a pass on Ottawa that weekend. Most of the interesting touristy stuff is in the city core and it sounds like you're going to be stuck out in the boonies. And if you do make it downtown, it will be an absolute zoo with the marathon going on. Have you considered trying to re-book your flight and just go to Montreal for the whole weekend? Good luck!
Lee lee · 5/1/2013
Boo! It will cost me more to re-book my flight than to book a hotel and travel to it. I booked with a deal website. And my travel plans are kind of complicated. I am stopping in Toronto first, Ottawa, then Montreal. I'm staying with another friend in Montreal, but she isn't available until the following day, so I'm kind of stuck in Ottawa.
Anonyma · 5/2/2013
if you are stopping by ottawa, the best place to go for a visit at a studio would be the cherry blossom studio! High ceillings and a variety of poles, the owner is a super nice chick and there s tons of stuff to buy! This is also where the big workshops are and she also have silks and other classes!
Lee lee · 5/23/2013
I finally found a hotel (in the east end of Ottawa). I'm sure they are charging more because of the marathon but there's nothing I can do about that. Thanks everyone for your help! I really appreciate it. Someone once said that strangers are friends you just haven't met yet and I think that's true about veeners.
Anonyma · 5/24/2013
You should cncel that reservation and get a room in gatineau its across the bridge from ottawa...much cheaper!!
Lee lee · 5/25/2013
Thanks for the suggestion Olivia, but I couldn't cancel. Because it's a special event weekend, any hotels I contacted couldn't be cancelled less than 21 days prior. I had so much trouble finding a place that I jumped on the 1st availability.
Lee lee · 5/30/2013
Just wanted to say that I ended up having a great time on my trip. And despite spending most of the time eating delicious food (Beavertails and poutine!!!), I did find time to pole and walked a lot, so hopefully they balanced each other out.