Canada trip 2016

My wife was on a short cruise with her sister and two cousins through the Maritime Provinces in Canada. They ended up in Montreal, so rather than coming right home, I met her in Montreal to spend the week exploring, Ottawa, Quebec, and Montreal. It was a great trip despite the hot weather ( low 90's most days). We took a small tour side trip the Quebec City for just a day. For us that was enough, the City is beautiful and somewhat museum like. It kind of reminded me of Venice. I know most people would not feel this way because Venice is much older and there are canals everywhere. But Venice is museum like too in the sense people go there to just see the City and not the attractions in the City. That is the way Quebec City is, people go just to see the City and not the attractions in the City.
We spent several days and nights in both Montreal and Ottawa. Both are really great Cities. Montreal is easy to get around because of a great subway system. We spent an afternoon exploring the Botanical Garden, more like a Botanical Park than garden. It is quite large and we walked most of it.
We took the train to Ottawa, a short 2 hour ride on a very nice train. We had reserved seats even in economy seating. Very comfortable, clean restrooms and very much on time.
The highlight of Ottawa was the Parliament Building. We spent most of one morning waiting in a half-mile line to get the free tickets for a guided tour. The tour was terrific especially for someone who understands comparative political structures. The view up top was from the main tower in the building, called the peace tower..
Another highlight of the trip was the light show that the City puts on every night on the lawn on the Parliament building. About 5,000 people gather each evening in the summer on the lawn of Parliament to watch a light show depicting the story of Canada. It is a very moving and interesting event and would encourage anyone visiting Ottawa in the summer to attend.
The food scene was exceptionally good as well. We ate at several world class places that I would put up against anything in New York or Europe. Great trip.