8.26.2012

Oh Canada, Part Deux

Ottawa is the capital of Canada which is in the Province of Ontario. It is a very clean and friendly city that was built along the south bank of the Ottawa River. The Ottawa River separates the Provinces of Ontario and Québec.

Being the capital of Canada, Ottawa is filled with museums, embassies, statues, and of course government buildings. The most impressive was Parliament Hill.

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill is the where the federal legislative branch of Canada's government comes together. The government body consist of a Senate, a House of Commons, and the Canadian monarch, which for some reason is Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch is represented by an appointed Governor General of Canada. Plus there is a Prime Minister that advises Her Majesty. I am not going to even claim to know how that system works. What I will say is that Parliament Hill is highly accessible. People are allowed to walk all over the grounds. You can walk right up to the building. Take all the photographs that you wish and not even be bothered by a single security officer. Also every morning there is a huge public demonstration of the changing of the Ceremonial Guard.

Ceremonial Guard

The Ceremonial Guard is modeled after the United Kingdom's Queen's Guard. The Guard wears the familiar uniform of bright red jackets and large fuzzy black hats. The changing of the guard is a must see event on Parliament Hill. The front lawn is where the ceremony takes place. It is really cool. There is a band with bagpipers playing songs as the guard members march back and forth over the lawn. It is very much for show, but in many ways feels important and exciting.

I really like Parliament Hill. The age of the buildings and the architecture gives it a regal feeling. You also feel that the grounds actually belong to the people. After the changing of the guard, I thought it might be frowned upon to walk on the grass but there were people out there having picnics, laying on the grass, and even doing yoga. I wish I could have gone inside for  tour, but we didn't have enough time.

One last thing about Parliament Hill, at night there is a light show that is projected on the front of the building. The tells the story of Canada as a nation. It is pretty impressive. Here are a few photos

Parliament Hill at Night

Parliament Hill at Night

Like most capitals, Ottawa has its fair share of Monuments and statues

Canadian War Memorial

Tomb of the Fallen Soldier

Statue

Not all capitals have canal locks though. This is Rideau Canal that was created to get boats from the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario. I've never seen canal locks work before. I thought it was very cool. It also helped that it was a beautiful day.

Rideau Canal

I still have much more to tell about this trip, next stop Montréal. So stay tuned to the exciting continuation of Oh Canada!!


No comments:

Post a Comment