July 23, Day 40 - In Ottawa

We got up early this morning and headed over to the local Metro grocery store. It was about a mile away, but we took a couple of wheeled carts so it wasn’t too hard bringing back the food. After a quick breakfast we headed off to Parliament Hill to see the changing of the guard. It is quite a ritual. We also walked around the grounds of Parliament. There are three main structures: the east block, the central block (with the Peace Tower) and the west block. The buildings were built between 1859 and 1865. The center building, which was rebuilt in 1916 after a fire, is topped by the Peace Tower. This commemorates Canada’s contribution to World War I.

We planned to “jump back on” the sightseeing bus (we had a jump on, jump off pass), but we had a bit of time to kill before the next bus, so Gerry got a haircut (very, very short). After that we headed for the Museum of Civilization. This museum celebrates the many cultures that are Canada with particular attention to First Nation and Aboriginal people. It was a huge place. (Interesting note is that the outside of the building has no corners – everything is rounded as early civilizations believed spirits could get caught in corners and unable to escape.) When we finished we discovered we had missed the next bus by 5 minutes and there wouldn’t be another for about an hour. It was pouring rain, so walking was out of the question. We opted for a cab and had them take us to the Byward Market. Here we did a little browsing in a few stores (mostly to get out of the rain). Once the rain quite, we wandered the streets and bought some more provisions at the local farmer’s market. Got some raspberries and blueberries that were wonderful. This market is a huge open-air market, very similar to Pike’s Peak in Seattle.

Later in the evening we walked back to Byward and had dinner at Mexicali Rosas – good food and great sangria. On the way back to the boat we stopped at the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ottawa) to buy a few bottles of wine. Back at the boat Gerry tried to catch up with the logs (maintenance, expenses, etc.) and then we crashed. It had been a busy day with lots of walking.




The Changing of the Guard

Another view of the ceremony

The Center Block of Parliament with the Peace Tower

This is the bell that was saved from the original center building that burned

Library of Parliament

The National Gallery of Canada on the left and Norte Dame on the right

The Canadian Museum of Civilization

The Great Hall at the museum

Gerry and a totem pole

Story telling through paintings. They had several of these on the wall and then the printed story that went with them. You really had to use your imagination to make the story fit the picture.

A clip of the "Changing of the Guard" ceremony. The band is in the foreground and the guard is in the background.