Ottawa Weekend

This last weekend was the first in a while that we didn't have anything planned, so at the last minute we booked some train tickets to take us up to Ottawa! Arriving on Friday evening, we enjoyed sampling the sights of the nation's capital (aka Elizabeth's birthplace).

Parliament Hill overlooking the Ottawa River.

The train took around 5 hours to get from Union station up to Ottawa, but was a nice comfortable ride and we enjoyed a little train picnic with a couple of beers on the way. By the time we arrived at our hotel room - which was almost as big as our apartment - we were ready to sleep, and we knew we'd be up early to pick up tickets for the tour of the parliament buildings.

Waking up a little later than planned, we walked from our hotel to Parliament Hill. The buildings were looking splendid in the morning sun, despite the odd crane or bit of scaffolding that had been brought in for some restoration work. It seemed as though a lot of the city was undergoing some upgrades in the run up to the sesquicentennial celebrations next year, when the place will be overrun with Canadians honouring the 150th birthday of their country. Luke plans to show up in hopes that it will expedite his application for citizenship.

C'mon Canada, how could you say no to this guy!

The line up for tour tickets was already pretty long by the time we showed up, so it was lucky we showed up as early as we did. We managed to get a couple of tickets, and headed across the road to have a quick walk around the grounds of parliament before starting our tour.

Centre Block, its roofs half way through a good clean in the run up to the sesquicentennial.

The parliament buildings have some pretty tight security, so first stop on the tour was some metal detectors being manned by a couple of saucy Quebecois security guards. Once that was over and done with though, we were off through the halls of Centre Block, where we got a close up view of the House of Commons (looked a bit cramped and uncomfortable to us - poor MPs), the Senate, and a few other very grand looking rooms. We also toured the beautiful Library of Parliament, the only remaining section of the original parliament buildings, which burned down in 1918. Our tour guide paid particular attention to the women who had played a significant role in parliament over the years. At the end of the tour we made our way up the Peace Tower for some fantastic views of Ottawa and Gatineau, the town that sits on just the other side of the Ottawa River in Quebec.

The view from the Peace Tower over the library and Ottawa River.

Emerging from the parliament buildings we headed straight down O'Connor St, which we of course snapped a picture of, and found a place for lunch. It was such a nice day that we were able to eat outside, and decided to spend the rest of the day exploring the city on foot.

We first spent some time exploring downtown Ottawa, but since it seemed so quiet on the weekend we decided to head back east towards Rideau Canal. Once at the canal we took a leisurely stroll up and back along the canal-side paths, stopping for a cool drink along the way. The canal is 202km long, stretching from Ottawa to Kingston, and down by the Ottawa River we got to see the system of locks that provides boats access to the waterway. Elizabeth was blown away by the locks, having never seen any before, while Luke was a little nostalgic for the rivers of home.

Quite a few locks to get through.

Our walk then took us up away from the locks to the Byward Market area, which was much more lively than downtown. Pubs and restaurant patios were full of people enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon, and we decided to join them for a quick drink before heading back to the hotel. It wasn't long though, before we were back in the Byward Market area for a belated birthday dinner for Elizabeth at Play Food and Wine.

Elizabeth enjoying herself...

Sunday was not nearly as sunny as Saturday, and was threatening rain all day. So, we decided to spend the day indoors at the Canadian War Museum, and since Elizabeth served in the Army Reserves for 9 years we were allowed in for free!

The museum was huge and its architecture was striking). While we had initially planned on spending the afternoon at the National Gallery, we ended up spending the entire day in the War Museum instead. The exhibits were really well organised, and lead us through the history of war in Canada, right from the First Peoples all the way through to modern day peacekeeping efforts. We both felt we had a fairly good grasp of the major conflicts in Canada's history,  but were surprised to learn just how little we knew. From the various conflicts between French and English in the early days of the Americas, through to uprisings of Francophone and native populations, as well as the all consuming First and Second World Wars, there was a lot to take in.

The museum is all hard angles and concrete, like a bunker.

While generally very informative, the museum did highlight the horrors of war. At the end of the four main exhibits visitors pass through the Regeneration Hall, a "physical representation of hope for a better future", which features views of parliament's Peace Tower and the original plasters of the statues that sit atop the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge in France.

Regeneration Hall.

As we left the museum the sun was beginning to shine again. We decided to walk back to our hotel along the river. It was another very pleasant walk that took us below parliament hill and up the canal again beside the locks. A great way to end our weekend in Ottawa before heading back to the train station for another long ride back to Toronto.

This time last year we were watching fast cars go round and around at Eastbound Speedway. Two years ago we were on a day trip to the Cataracts from Ocean Pond.