Walking to Work

At last, after a week here in Alternate Accordion City (a.k.a. Ottawa), a sunny day! With all the grey and gloomy days, I was beginning to think that Ottawa was turning into Vancouver. Here are some pictures that I snapped this morning on my wonderfully short walk to work at the Shopify offices…

First, Centre Block, which most people just think of as “The Parliament Building”. It’s the equivalent of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., except that you can walk right up to it without being taken out by sharpshooters. You can even do handstands on the lawn if you feel like it:

The groundskeepers seemed to really be enjoying themselves this morning. Outdoor work is so much nicer on days like today. That’s a statue of Canada’s first and hardest-drinking prime minister, Sir John A. MacDonald on the left, and Chateau Laurier in the background on the right.

Here’s the Rideau Canal, as seen from the Rideau Street bridge, looking north:

Here’s a zoomed-in shot looking north along the canal, giving a better view of the Ottawa River:

Here’s Chateau Laurier’s west side:

And here’s Chateau Laurier’s east side, along with the surrounding buildings, as seen from the sidewalk on Sussex Drive, the Canadian equivalent of Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC (yes, the prime minister’s house is just a short bike ride away from me):

Crossing Sussex takes you into ByWard Market, where Shopify is located. Along the way is Chateau Lafayette, a.k.a. “The Laff”, a delightfully divery watering hole that I remember (or more accurately, don’t remember) from my days at Crazy Go Nuts University:

Now that the weather’s warming up, the stalls in the market are really getting into full swing:

Steps away from Shopify’s front door on York Street are a bunch of clothing stalls, including this one:

And here’s the last pic: Shopify’s front door. It won’t be for too much longer; later this summer, Shopify is moving to a larger space across the street.

From my front door to Shopify’s, it’s about a ten-minute walk at a leisurely pace. With the notable exception of the trip from my bed to the home office, it’s one of the nicest commutes I’ve ever had, and I’m looking forward to doing many more this summer.

This article also appears in Global Nerdy.