A few shots from a late night walk in downtown Ottawa.

On Friday, February 3rd, Lorraine and I celebrated 33 years of marriage.

We spent Friday and Saturday up in Ottawa. We had a terrific time.

The folks at the Fairmont provided us a complimentary upgrade to the presidential suite — a wonderful and unexpected treat. The team at the Fairmont always treat us so well which is part of the reason why we book into their properties whenever we can.

We had a number of events planned in Ottawa. We dropped by to say hello to the Governor General. Stephen was good enough to join us for part of the tour. He is such a Canadian guy that Stephen.

We then made our way to the Canadian Aviation Museum to check out all of the aircraft. First time that I had been to this museum. Thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

We dropped by the parliament buildings later in the evening.

The following day we spent the morning skating the Rideau Canal.

I still find it hard to believe that we have been married for 33 years. The time really has gone by so quickly.

I am a very blessed husband to have such a wonderful wife.

We make our way back home this morning. We enjoyed a wonderful break in Quebec — both in Montreal and Quebec City. Yesterday we did the long walk around the old city. The weather had warmed up to a relatively mild -10C. Warm enough that we could walk for several hours. Here are a few shots from the day.

We followed a walkway that led us up to the Citadel. Wonderful views of the St. Lawrence.

The Citadel itself is quite the encampment. I like this shot because it captures the sense of cold and isolation within a large and vibrant city.

We made our way over to the National Assembly. Lorraine and Matthew pose at the gates to the old city.

And here is a shot of the National Assembly.

The weather was warm enough to encourage passengers to try the carriages — although still too cold “pour moi”.

And a few shots from the old city.

To shoot outside and at night provided some interesting challenges. After a few outings, I thought about just shooting indoor shots — like the one above taken in the hotel lobby.

Obviously the first challenge in shooting outdoors in the freezing cold was how to dress.

In Kingston, we do not get the minus 30 Celsius wind chills. At least not very often. In this area, the cold is quite brutal. And I have hiked in the far north in very cold conditions.

I had a merino sweater. A Merrell outerwear jacket specially designed for hiking in cold environments. Insulated gloves and headwear. In short, every possible technology to endure the harsh winter climate. Even with all of that I could only stay outside for about an hour or so before things started to get difficult — primarily the fingers. Here is what yours truly looked like before heading outside.

And here are a few shots from the evening. First up is the hotel itself. The Chateau Frontenac.

Some street shots in the old city.

Lots of interesting architectural details in the historic buildings.

Nous sommes alles patiner hier a les galeries de la capitale et c’etait tres amusant!

Matthew has had no choice but to jump in to the Quebec culture.

Although it was much easier to appreciate the food particularly when we arrived for lunch at Le Petit Chateau.

Chocolat chaud, soupe aux pois et les crepes. Crepes filled with maple butter. Incroyable!

We arrived at the Chateau Frontenac in the old city of Quebec. The city is beautiful and cold. Very, very cold.

The wind chill was hovering around -30C. Which made using a camera a particularly challenging task. During the daylight hours I kept the camera on a classic setting — f/8 and be there — as I was having a lot of difficulty rotating the command wheel to adjust my aperture setting. At night, I found a way to apply sufficient pressure to get the wheel moving. At these temperatures, I was not removing my gloves.

Here are a few shots from the day.

The Chateau Frontenac is a huge and imposing hotel.

Well appointed main areas like this one.

And this one.

There were no passengers on the carriages.

Numerous shops line the old city and each one is quite unique.

Even the inside of some of the shops show a bewildering array of product.

And a few night shots. Did I mention that it was cold? Really, really cold?

The Magic Kingdom and the theme parks provide some insight for the Canadian tourist.

Gas, for example, is still cheaper in the United States.

The local wildlife are friendly.

They encourage photography.

People drum in outdoor spaces.

Souvenirs are reasonably priced. This one, for example, is only $38,000. Yes, only thirty-eight thousand dollars.

And the hotel lobbies are cool.

Like this kind of cool. Air conditioners are always on stun in the hotel lobbies.