​The Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa is one of these seasonal events I was taking for granted.

Between us, it’s not that exciting—we’re talking flower beds strategically scattered around Ottawa, a few themed activities, a dozen of food trucks, and tons of people trying to take the perfect shot.

The “celebration of the gift of tulips and Canada’s role in the liberation of the Netherlands during WWII” is held in May, which means it can be snowy, rainy, extremely hot, or a combination of weather conditions Canada’s capital city typically experiences during this tricky month.

Basically, it’s like fall colours in October. You know it’s here for you to enjoy no matter what, and if the stars align, you will probably go to celebrate the change of season or just for the sake of it because it’s your duty as a citizen of Ottawa.

I shouldn’t have assumed I’d always be able to go to these events.

Hello, pandemic… Tulips were planted in 2020, but photos were banned, and social distancing measures were in effect. I still went for a walk at Dow’s Lake and met a friend for the first time after two months of “stay home” but it wasn’t the same. Last year, I was stuck in France, and Ontario was lockdown.

So this is the first normal Tulip Fest in two years. The weather was unusually hot for May last week, and we’re still under a severe thunderstorm watch tonight on Sunday. I went out to take pictures right after a downpour, for the raindrops bonus.

They may be “just” flowers but they are gorgeous.

Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow's Lake, May 15, 2022
Canadian Tulip Festival, Dow’s Lake, May 15, 2022

Get the latest story, cultural shock and travel pictures right in your inbox

I don't spam, promise.

I literally don't have the time to write ten stories a day.

Visited 155 times, 1 visit(s) today

16 Comments

  1. Azaelle May 17, 2022 at 11:54 am

    You got a new camera!

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 17, 2022 at 6:55 pm

      Ah, I wish! Nope, it’s my “shitty” backup camera I used 😉 Pictures turned out okay but this poor camera is falling apart, literally.

      Reply
      1. Azaelle May 18, 2022 at 11:27 am

        awww darn! Pics still look great!

        Reply
        1. Zhu May 22, 2022 at 3:44 am

          Thank you! Glad we went together first, it made me realize how nice flowers were this year 🙂

          Reply
  2. Martin Penwald May 17, 2022 at 10:35 pm

    I like the dark red ones with white edges.

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 18, 2022 at 1:46 am

      Communist red, always 😉

      Reply
  3. Cecile Puertas May 18, 2022 at 12:17 am

    Que c’est beau !
    Tu devrais prévoir d’aller un jour à Keukenhof près d’Amsterdam, pendant la période de la floraison des tulipes c’est magnifique !

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 18, 2022 at 1:46 am

      The Netherlands has been on my list for a little while, I’m curious about it and I’d love to visit 😉

      (Ça fait longtemps, que deviens-tu?_

      Reply
        1. Zhu May 22, 2022 at 3:44 am

          Put me out of my misery, WHERE??? I can’t find it!

          I used to debug earlier versions of WordPress by myself… it was always very satisfying to pinpoint where something had gone wrong in the code and yes, most often a bracket left open in PHP.

          Reply
          1. Martin Penwald May 22, 2022 at 1:26 pm

            No, not in the code, but after the question mark in the last phrase of your comment.

          2. Zhu May 25, 2022 at 2:17 am

            You know what, I’ll leave it as “unfinished business” 😉

      1. Cecile Puertas June 4, 2022 at 1:19 am

        Je ne viens plus que rarement commenter mais je suis toujours une lectrice assidue de ton.blog.
        Je vais bof bof mais ainsi va la vie … des hauts et des bas …
        Bonne continuation
        C.

        Reply
        1. Zhu June 5, 2022 at 7:20 pm

          Oh, zut pour les bas de la vie… effectivement, tu as l’air moins enthousiaste que d’habitude. Ça va aller? Envoie-moi un courriel si tu veux vider ton sac 😉

          Reply
  4. Cara May 26, 2022 at 5:33 am

    Love the 2nd picture, the delicate pink petals and the little drops of water 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu May 27, 2022 at 2:17 am

      That’s why I like taking pictures of flowers after the rain!

      Reply

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *