We didn't want to fly all this way and spend all this money just to take in the two courses so we left a day for playing.
After sleeping in we got going around noon and headed into the country's capital.
There's just something so awe-inspiring about seeing the Parliament Buildings in all their glory, high up on a hill above a river and surrounded by sprawling green lawns.
There is so little "history" in our rather young nation, especially out West where we live, so it's just such a treat to see these imposing old buildings and the historic stone churches and lovely old brick homes.
Since we had to wait to get our tour of Parliament we opted to head over the river into Quebec where we took in the Canadian Museum of Civilization - the oldest museum in Canada! The museum is to the left of the bridge just above that little white boat.
We used public transport and had a bona fide French bus driver who used lovely words like "luminaire" to try to explain to us how to get to the Museum.
We did the Museum in record time - 45 minutes max. We were rushed along by a group of Japanese tourists with a guide carrying a yellow flag. We knew we didn't want to get caught in that crowd again so we just took in all of Canada's history in fast motion. Below is a picture of Canada Hall - lots of Native history there - absolutely beautiful!!
Plus, I was so eager to get to the IMAX theatre on time so we wouldn't miss "Born to Be Wild". It was a phenomenal story about orphaned elephants and orangutangs and the women who created safe havens for them until they were ready to be released into the wild again.
I have to admit that animals do so much more for me than museums. I feel like that just reveals my lack of depth on some level or something but that's just the way I roll! In my books a visit to the museum should be short and sweet. At this age a brief overview is all I really require. When I grow up maybe I'll spend more time in museums.
We decided to walk and roll back to Ontario from Quebec and it was so scenic. Unfortunately much of the return journey was up hill so my dear friend got a monumental workout. Which is kind of funny because she was on day 19 of a liquid cleanse. The bridge was easy to cross but it was the hill on the other side that proved to be a challenge.
We crossed the Ottawa River while viewing the Parliament Buildings and it was marvelous. The skies had cleared, it was warm and we just felt so privileged to be seeing such magnificent sights on a lovely summer day.
Ottawa really is a beautiful city and we headed right back to Parliament to get our tour. The architecture inside and out was breathtaking and I spent some time in there petitioning God for His guidance and protection of this great nation.
God keep our land, glorious and free. Amen.
We finished our tour, exited the grand structure and found ourselves thrown into a celebration of music, pomp and circumstance which was being held out on the greens in front of Parliament. There were Canadian Mounted Police playing trumpets, and troops of other uniformed men playing all manner of instruments - bagpipes, drums and so forth.
A group of them marched past me, just inches away, in their bright red garb with serious faces. For some reason I was caught at the side of the road when they went by and I wasn't able to leap up onto the sidewalk. So I wheeled determinedly in one direction while they marched purposefully in the other.
That was all just an unexpected bonus! Made the whole experience just that much richer. My poor coworker would have loved to have stayed for the entire ceremony but my back was protesting with such vehemence that I forced her to keep moving towards the car and ultimately our hotel.
I didn't mention my experience with a "busker" of sorts while we were waiting for the bus... This fellow was asking for money and somehow I ended up chatting with him. He, mostly in French and I in English. He kept saying I was "nice" so how was I to resist and move rudely on? Before I knew it he grabbed my hand with unbelievable strength and force, pulled me towards him and began kissing my hand repeatedly. It was a little awkward and I finally was able to pull away and kindly remove my presence from his. (I went and hid in the bus stop).
All in all it was a very fun day!
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