RE: [ubl] Meeting details for August 8-12, 2005 in Ottawa, Canada

[Grimley Michael J NPRI <GrimleyMJ@Npt.NUWC.Navy.Mil>]

FYI: I'll be driving up and staying at the Residence Inn (hopefully, with my wife and two dogs).


-----Original Message-----
From: G. Ken Holman [mailto:gkholman@CraneSoftwrights.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, 12 July 2005 1457
To: Universal Business Language
Subject: [ubl] Meeting details for August 8-12, 2005 in Ottawa, Canada

Hello all!

Apologies for this late notice but I had accidentally thought I had already sent this out.

Here is the location of the meeting space for the UBL face-to-face August 8-12, 2005, generously donated by Adobe (again with many thanks!):

   785 Carling Avenue,
   Ottawa, Ontario
   Canada K1S-5H4

Here is a street map:

  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=785+Carling+Avenue,+Ottawa,+Ontario,+K1S+5H4&spn=0.022473,0.020303&hl=en

It happens to be next door to a very scenic man-made lake on a man-made canal constructed in defense of our country in the 1812 war with the United
States:

  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=785+Carling+Avenue,+Ottawa,+Ontario,+K1S+5H4&spn=0.032004,0.020303&t=k&hl=en

The location is not far outside "downtown Ottawa", though really the downtown is not very large and you can briskly walk the long dimension in
15 minutes.

You can use Kathryn J. Holman and Crane's phone number +1(613)489-0999 as the meeting point of contact details.

Regarding hotels, Kathryn has just now edited her earlier note to Mike that I thought I had sent separately to the list earlier, but I don't see it in the archives.

Remember our long-time convention of bringing international wines from our respective countries to a Thursday-night end-of-week celebration wine and cheese.  Kathryn and I are planning on having all meeting members and their families to our home for that Thursday evening for the wine and cheese, with veggie and meat burgers or something more substantial for a dinner as well.  Let's decide the details on the Monday so we can get everything ready for the Thursday at our home.  We'll be arranging transportation to our place for those without cars.

Weather in Canada is always iffy, especially Ottawa, though this week we are between +31C (88F) and +34C (93F) each very sunny afternoon.  But in our history we have had snow every month of the year, so check the long-range forecasts before you pack.

We look forward to seeing as many people as possible here for the meeting!  It looks like it is going to be a working meeting with results.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

. . . . . . . . . . . Ken


Re: Hotels:

Ottawa downtown is unbelievably small, 10 - 15 minutes brisk walk will take you from the far west to the far east of the downtown core. And the meeting site is about 2.5 to 4 km from most downtown hotels.

Ottawa transit leaves something to be desired but the #85 bus does link the downtown core to the meeting site and runs every 15 minutes or so during peak hours and would take about 10 minutes to get to the meeting site.

This is a link to the bus map for the area between downtown and the meeting site.

http://www.octranspo.com/mapscheds/SystemMap/sys_map_2004/map.asp?lang=eng&x=3&y=10&z=40

The website also has all the fares and other info you'll need.

Our miniscule downtown is divided up into several neighbourhoods.

The Market area, served mainly by the Marriot Courtyard, the Chateau Laurier, the Westin and the Novotel, is the 'happening' area.  There is a lot of construction that may make auto maneuvering difficult, but within a couple of blocks are many great restaurants, lots of night life, natural beauty and amazing atmosphere.

Along with being happening, the Market, at night, can also be rowdy and sleezy. Just a bit of a warning if you are bringing your family. The Courtyard is right in the middle of the Market, the other three hotels are on the edges and therefore would be suitable for families.

There are two other, semi-happening areas in Ottawa, along Bank Street and along Elgin. I know this only because my 25 year old nephew lives downtown and has a hard time deciding between which street to head out to when he wants to go out. These areas are west of the Rideau Canal and are closer to the meeting site.

The Residence Inn is about a 4 minute brisk walk from the Market area, therefore quieter but still near enough to feel downtown and an easy walk to open things. Bus is within a block. We've stayed there often and are very comfortable and they offer amazing croissants with the free breakfast. 
It is the closest to the Elgin Street 'scene'. They have a kitchen in the room and there is a convenience store and Tim Horton's (Canadian Icon doughnut shop now owned by Wendy's).

The Marriott (along with the Minto Suites and the Crowne Plaza) are on the western edge of downtown. All these hotels are also close to the bus but are a 10 minute walk away from the edge of the Market area. Sidewalks will almost literally roll up after 6 near these hotels but Bank Street and Elgin Street both have good night life and are also 10 minutes or less walk away. We've stayed at all three and I like the Minto Suites the best but then again we always have kids in tow so a full kitchen is nice and the extra room is good too. The Crowne Plaza is more like a nice Holiday Inn than the Crowne Plaza's I've stayed at in other countries. Great, friendly, staff though.

All of these hotels are much nicer than the hotels on Carling, close to Adobe (Best Western Macies, Embassy West, and Travelodge) and if you are interested in night life, you need to be downtown as the hotels closest to Adobe are in a suburban neighbourhood.

In general, Ottawa is a very driveable city once you figure out the one-way streets and the transit-way streets and you'd be doing an opposite commute (from downtown out to an area about 10 minutes away.) The only place I would not recommend having a car is in the Market area and even then, it wouldn't be too bad compared to most cities.

The three hotels of note in Ottawa are:

The Chateau Laurier: Classy, architecturally impressive, great history (delayed opening due to the sinking of the Titanic) with The Market on one side and great views of Parliament on the other. Also across the street from the Rideau Centre, our major downtown indoor mall.

The Westin: best views in town, attached to the Rideau Centre and right next to the market. Ken's sister stayed there on the upper floor and her bathroom was bigger than our bedroom at home!

(Both these hotels will be a little tricky due to construction in that neighbourhood but I drove through there three times last week without any
delays.)

Arc The Hotel: A trendy boutique hotel nearer the Residence Inn. Smaller rooms but upscale furnishings and details. If you like trendy, this might be the place for you. Ken's cousin stayed there last December and liked it. 
She got a great Internet rate but it was right before Christmas so the great deals may not be there in the summer.

Here is a link to a listing of local hotels within 4km of the meeting site. 
All the ones I've mentioned are on this list:

    http://tinyurl.com/7wjqo

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

... Kathryn (your cruise director for this meeting!)

--
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G. Ken Holman                 mailto:gkholman@CraneSoftwrights.com
Crane Softwrights Ltd.          http://www.CraneSoftwrights.com/o/
Box 266, Kars, Ontario CANADA K0A-2E0    +1(613)489-0999 (F:-0995)
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Legal business disclaimers:  http://www.CraneSoftwrights.com/legal


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