[This is a continuation of my Canada October 2025 posts. It is two months since we visited Ottawa and Gatineau. Life back in London has been crazy busy, nevertheless I am going to try my best to finish these Canada posts before the year ends!]
Our final day in Gatineau – Ottawa started with breakfast in Oat Couture Cafe (witty name for a cafe specialising in oatmeal). The rest of the day was spent exploring the tranquil and fascinating Canadian Museum of History, located in Gatineau. Included in the entrance fee is a ticket to watch a CINÉ+ film, available in French and in English. From the film on Antartica I learnt that certain species of fish living in the sub-zero waters don’t die or ‘burst’ as their bodies have adapted to make natural antifreeze. Nature is truly amazing.
The whole museum tells the story of Canada from its origins through to the present day. Whatever your area of interest, you will find a display showcasing the Canadian aspect/ version/ take on it. A unique part of the museum is its section on Canada’s indigenous culture.
The whole museum is worth exploring over an entire day. I enjoyed reading about the history and formation of Canada, including the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. For the competition to design a new national flag, a parliamentary flag committee was formed and 1,200 designs for the new flag were submitted. The flag officially appeared on 15 February 1965.
I particularly liked the Canadian Stamp Collection, which includes all of Canada’s postage stamps from the first issue in 1851 to the present day. I used to collect stamps and upon receiving letters my dad would cut out all the stamps for me. When I looked at the stamps I recognised several, from the 1970s and early 1980s, as my Canadian uncles and aunties often wrote and sent cards to my parents. When I left for England in 1984 I left my collection of stamp albums behind and I think they are now long-gone.
One small but interesting display was on Olympic torches. A few of the torches are below: Montreal (1976), Seoul (1988), London (1948) and Moscow (1980). The latter games were boycotted by 65 nations in a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Germany and Japan were banned from the 1948 London games, where the first torchbearer was a soldier who symbolically removed his military uniform and ran in sportswear.
From the museum’s terrace, there are views across the river to Ottawa, taking in National Gallery of Canada, Fairmont Hotel and Parliament Hill.
I am ending the post by telling you about lunch. We crossed the street to Bobino Bagel (61 Rue Laurier, Gatineau, Quebec J8X 3V7) and were spoilt with fresh wood-fired bagels. These are the bagels I am still thinking of back here in London. In the smoked salmon bagel were slices of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers and pickled red onions, topped off with a pickled gherkin. Therein lies perfection in simplicity.
As it is coming up to Christmas week I will complete the Canada posts after writing up one or two recipes from our Christmas meals. Next week we have a goose from Goodman’s arriving and a porchetta from The Newt. Extended family and friends have been and are continuing to visit and share meals with us. I trust your own preparations are going well wherever across the globe you are reading this from.