The wonder of Winterlude 2014

Back in February, a lifetime ago, we headed out to Winterlude - Ottawa's wonderful winter festival. We had a beautiful day - cold - but the sun was shining, and we got to see some wonderful sights. I have been meaning to post these pictures for two months now, so it's probably best that I do before the snow melts away completely!

We first headed over the Ottawa River to Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineaux. The following photos show the ice slides and some of the snow sculptures.

As we walked back to where we parked our car, we took some photos of the Parliament Building back on the other side of the frozen Ottawa River. 

Although the kids were tired, we still had more to see. We headed back into the centre of town. Crossing the Rideau Canal at the city end was way more chaotic that 3 km south where we live. It was a bit busy with skaters, people buying coffees, hot chocolate and beaver tails, and crossing over to Confederation Park.

Across the canal, a magnificent display of ice sculptures awaited us. I have no idea how the sculptors created these beautiful works of art. They were truly incredible to behold for their creativity and level of extraordinary detail.

It truly was wonderful, in the middle of such a cold and brutal winter, to experience some of the stunning beauty that winter can show. What a wonderful winterlude it was. 

Jen x