Ottowa - Canada

First impression – Baltimore. Our hotel looks like an old apartment block turned into a hotel, which would explain how we managed two full bedrooms, a walk in wardrobe, and a full kitchen and laundry. It is at the dingy end of town, and we had to do a couple of dodgy manoeuvres in the van to get there because the roads get confusing just in front of the hotel.

But if you walk down towards the river, towards all the official buildings, there are all these food shops and little one off boutiques. It still doesn’t look super fashionable, but maybe that is because I have been subtly trained by the Mall about what shops should look like – ie, all the facades the same, lots of glass etc - because they are really interesting shops.

Our hotel gets top points because they provided a hot water kettle and a teapot. And because we don’t have to either sleep on a fold out couch or move a child onto a fold out couch. If you ask Mr 4, the hotel is the highlight of the trip, because there is a pool, and the boys are making a daily trip to be semi-boisterous in the pool in new goggles and ill-fitting swimwear. (I have a raging cold, so no mum, although I packed my swimmers). Never mind the Canadian Parliament, or the historic canal.