Girls Weekend in Ottawa

"Each human being is expected to be a soulful ambassador of good-

will to improve the standard of mankind." - Sri Chinmoy

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend. It turned out pretty nice weather-wise so I was glad to have spent the time in Canada's capital. My friend is moving out west so we thought we'd take advantage of the east while she's still here.

For the 4 hour drive I made some Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Squares. (Chocolate Chips in 2/3 of the batch).

 

I had a destination on my list (a vegan one) so first thing we did upon arrival was to venture out to find Auntie Loo's Treats (bakery) to pick up some cupcakes and whatever other goodies we saw. Good thing my travel buddies were up for the hike, this place was a bit out of the main area where we were staying and closed at 3:00 on Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday) so it really was now or never.

We made it 45 mins before closing!

Our purchase...

Strawberry Lemonade Cake (other purchases included Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake, Earl Grey Lemon Cupcake, Pineapple Upside down cake and coffee cake).

Then a stop for a bite at Jak's Kitchen where I had a tofu wrap with greens and yam chips. Delicious!

After sight-seeing at Parliament Hill, and a river sunset cruise, we headed to the Byward Market for dinner saturday night, and ended up at Shafali Fine Indian. If you've never been to Byward Market, it is one of Canada's oldest and largest public markets (dating back to 1826) approx 4 square blocks consisting of museums, cafes, pubs, specialty food stores, boutiques, galleries, salons and it is very pedestrian friendly!

Back to dinner, this is Shafali's:

We ordered: Dal, Naan, Stuffed Naan, Aloo Gobi, Rice, Coconut Curry. Very tasty and a fun dining experience!

Sunday morning we went back to the Byward Market so I could check out a veggie cafe called Peace Garden Cafe. 

 

I had a thai sweet potato soup, samosa and a mango raspberry smoothie.

This cafe has artwork by Sri Chinmoy (spiritual teacher) with many inspirational messages, like this one. Love it!

Overall it was a fun trip, exhausting because we did so much and I really like Ottawa, especially Byward Market. I will be coming back soon. There were other veggie/vegan restaurants so I have plenty to visit next time!

What did you do for the May long weekend?
Have you been to Ottawa?

Have a sweet day!