Wednesday 11 May: Two places to see in Ottawa. One is the Hog’s Back Falls which separates the Rideau Canal from the Rideau River. The Canal leads into Dow’s Lake which is a major attraction in the centre of Ottawa.

At the beginning of the 2nd World War, Dutch Princess Juliana and her family found refuge in Canada. When Canadian troops liberated the Netherlands 5 years later, the Dutch people sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Canada, with another 20,000 added by the Dutch royal family. Every year since then the Netherlands have sent another 20,000 bulbs to Canada.

Every May since 1953 the National Capital Commission flower beds hold a display of (now) nearly a million tulips in 50 varieties. The highest concentration of tulips – some 300,000 – are found in Commissioners Park which is on the edge of Dow’s Lake.

BTW, I wrote about the peculiar weather at this time of year in my last post. When we visited the tulips, two days’ later, it was a mere 48°!