It's 3 a.m. in Ottawa and my feet hurt.

Truly it has been a long day but a good start to the weekend and kick off for my college reunion weekend.

Kinda like a Christmaskwanzaka, or Festivus for the rest of us, this weekend is a jumble of celebrations all put into one - it's my friend's bachelorette party, her birthday, our college reunion, and all-in-all a time for drinking and merriment.

We made it into Canada without any hitches (fingers crossed that that is the case when we try to get back into the U.S.) which was almost a surprise to me since whenever I go to Canada with my friend Clementine (the one getting married in N. Ireland whose bday and bachelorette party was this weekend) we get selected for a search. I think it's because her family is Eastern European and she's been to a heck of a lot of countries. Well, that, and she looks like a terrorist. Not really....I don't think.

Our first stop was lasertag in Ottawa where I did my Call of Duty-fan boyfriend proud and kicked some butt with my fake red phaser-ish weapon in a darkened large room with many obstacles to hide behind and five moving targets - my friends. It was fun. And it was most everybody's first time doing it.

We then went out to eat at the Fox and Feather on Elgin Street, around the corner from our hotel, the Cartier Place and Suites (which, by the way, are really nice and I highly recommend them since our room included two double beds in one room and a pull out couch, living room, balcony, bathroom and kitchen....not to mention the pool, jacuzzi, and sauna on the premises). My friend Liz heard the interior of the Fox and Feather pub was moved piece by piece from Ireland, but I honestly think she mistook it for another establishment about a block away with a cool stone exterior.

Anyway, after we had some food in our bellies, we went to the Byward Market area which was a rather far walk away but worth it since it had more bars than I could count. Our original plan was to go to the Heart and Crown which I heard really good things about. It includes a few separate sections including a pub, dance area and live music venue. The place is so popular, however, the line was way too long and we opted for another place - Patty Boland's.

From the outside it looked fun with two floors, live music, and dancing, and it appeared that there was no line. Come to find that there was a line but it was hidden in a weird side area that led to a patio. And, once inside, the clientele was probably at least five years younger than we expected. Still, it was fun and energizing. Clementine even did a body shot, which surprised even me.

At the start of the night, we didn't think we'd last past 11pm but we were out til nearly 3am. And the memory was capped with a poutine finale. Every night out should end with gravy coated, cheese-curded fries.