Ottawa

    What a beautiful city! I really enjoyed Ottawa due to the beautiful buildings, trendy food scene and educational opportunities within the city. I was also very pleased to stay with my long lost family while we were there whom I hadn't seen for many years. Visiting with everyone was such a pleasure and playing with my two small third cousins was hilarious. I was so pleased that everyone had organized and made such a wonderful dinner for our arrival, especially since my family is so scattered that back in British Columbia there isn't usually large family dinners.  The first night of our arrival was spent over good food, good drinks and good company.
    Having only one full day in Ottawa, we got up bright and early to start the day and were even lucky enough to be served some homemade muesli my second cousin had made us. We drove downtown and parked for the day (around $12/day) and started out towards the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Once again, the Fairmont Hotel did not fail to impress and is a gorgeous castle like building right in the center of downtown. Next we moved onto the site that we would spend most of our day at...the Parliament Buildings. I was so excited to finally see our country's Parliament Buildings in person, and couldn't wait to get inside. The buildings were picturesque and looked very old, and I had to remind myself to stop taking a dozen pictures of the same picture (I tend to catch myself doing this when something is so beautiful and I cant seem to grasp it with my camera). We took two different tours; one through the East Block and one through the Center Block (both free of charge) both lasting around an hour. I would definitely recommend taking the tours because you will really understand more and even learn some interesting facts. Objects that you would just pass by are explained and suddenly become significant, such as:

    Just coat hooks, right? Wrong! These hooks determined the positions of very important political men throughout the years. When a meeting was held, the men would hang their jackets up according to their ranking...the Prime Ministers being on the first hook, closest to the door. Then all of the men would enter the room and sit down and the Prime Minister would remain behind and rearrange the jackets if needed. Jackets could be moved up a hook meaning a promotion, jackets could be moved down meaning a demotion or if you were very unlucky you would find the jacket on the floor! I think we all know what that would mean. The tour through the East block was so fascinating because they had renovated the building to look as close as possible to the original 1872 time period. You will also get the chance to see the former office of the Governor General and even see the office of Sir John A. Macdonald!

 

     Center Block allows you to see the offices of today's politicians along with the House of Commons and the Senate. After seeing the House of Commons on television so many times it was surreal to actually be standing in the large room filled with green upholstered chairs imagining what it would be like in session. There is so much to talk about, but I would be writing forever so if you want anymore information on the Parliament Buildings:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Hill

    I would also recommend taking the angled elevator up to the Peace Tower and enjoy the great views as well as the amazing golden ceiling (which I'm still investigating to see if there is a functional reason as to why the gold squares are there).

    I would definitely plan 3-4 hours to tour the Parliament Buildings as there is so much to see. Aside from Parliament Hill there are lots of other great things to check out like the Canal that comes right through downtown, Rideau Shopping center, and the ByWard Market Square area. Watching the boats come through the Locks in the canal is also fascinating to watch. Lastly, another place we went that you wouldn't think of to write about was the Chapters! We strolled in near the end of our day, to find some more books to read on the road trip and I was very interested in the dynamic of the store. There were people everywhere lounging in bean-bag chairs, at tables or on the floor deeply involved in books (un-purchased). I've never been in a bookstore where there weren't as many books being purchased as there were borrowed for the afternoon. As I looked around I noticed everyone was doing it...young, old, businessman, student...it was if this was the neighbourhood library except instead of used, worn out books people were cuddled up with a $40 book. It's always the unlikely experiences you end up remembering and writing about, isn't it?  Ottawa was such a lovely city that I'd recommend all to visit.