The day long winter date
12 hours of bliss on ice and on
the town
ELIzAbETh COsTAguTA
>>
What would you like to do on date? Whether start-
ing a new relationship or comfortable in one of many
years, we’ve all faced this problem. I found one answer – a
blissful 12-hour date that combines skating, a spa and a
night on the town.
But first things first; you’ll need skates for the two of you.
Borrow from a friend if you have to because renting them for
this date isn’t going to work well. Next, two sets of clothes,
casual for the day, something dressier for the evening.
Finally, you’ll need a backpack big enough to handle boots
or skates.
Here’s the 12-hour plan:
8:30 a.m. Park the car at the National Arts Centre and grab your skates, then head down Elgin
Street for breakfast at a coffeehouse, or the Elgin Street Diner. At Bridgehead you
get organic coffees and pastries, and good karma for buying fair trade. Another kind
of vibe is the heaping platefuls of traditional breakfast at the diner.
9:30 a.m. After breakfast, stroll down the Canal to Pretoria Bridge and lace up to glide hand-in-
hand slowly down the Canal under sun shimmering off ice and snow. If you’re both
steady on the blades, try a waltz or a mini race. If you’re wobbly, squeeze up close.
Nothing says commitment better than getting back up together and trying again.
12 noon. As lunch time rolls around, head towards Patterson Creek. The Glebe is close by with
its amazing variety of stores. After the window shopping, there’s a range of eateries
from the Wild Oat Bakery to the Light of India, just to mention two at either end of
some kind of spectrum.
2 p.m. It’s time to go back on the ice and to make for the National Arts Centre. If you’re
daunted by the idea of skating all the way, rent a sleigh and take turns pushing.
Back at the NAC, head to the car, drop off your skates and grab the bag with the
dressy clothes. Then proceed to Confederation Park’s ice sculptures, hot chocolate
and a beavertail – no date is complete without them.
4:30 p.m. After admiring the ice sculptures, warm up in front of the fire at the Carmichael Inn
and Spa as you wait to be pampered. This will also be a good time to thaw out your
clothes that have been sitting in the car.
The Carmichael’s “romance package” is just the thing after a vigorous day outside.
After your gentle, full body rubdown, the two of you get a candlelit herbal bath with
wine. Washed and relaxed, it’s time to get dressed in your evening clothes and go out
for dinner.
7 p.m. Ottawa has many places from which to choose. I liked the Courtyard in the Byward
Market for its appetizer-size servings; you can feast without guilt. I even had room
for dessert – white chocolate crème brûlée in a dark chocolate cup with red wine
Melba sauce.
Something less extravagant but still fun is a table in the Piano Parlour at Friday’s Roast
Beef House on Elgin Street. Live piano music to accompany Alberta roast beef.
8:30 p.m. Following dinner, Club Social for a cocktail, or if you are still on Elgin, McLaren’s is a
place to shoot some pool. The Mercury Lounge is just right for dancing, or if it’s laughs
you’re after, Yuk Yuk’s has them on tap.
As the evening winds down, snuggling close is the only way to go. Faith Hill’s This Kiss says it all –
“It’s a feeling like this; it’s centrifugal motion; it’s perpetual bliss.”
12 OTTAWA >> WINTER 2007/2008
www.OttawaOutdoors.ca
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