Parliament Hill
Downtown Dock
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, it was chosen by Queen
Victoria as the permanent capital in 1857. At that time Canada was made up of Lower
Canada (now Quebec) and Upper Canada (now Ontario) and was known as the
Province of Canada. Ottawa was chosen because of its central location and it was a secure distance from the American
border.
We had breakfast at Starbucks so we could check our emails
and update the blog. Then we walked over to Parliament Hill to get tickets for
a tour of the Parliament Building and watch The Guard Mount Ceremony (changing
of the guard). The ceremony is held each morning at ten on the lawns of
Parliament Hill. The old guard marched in from Parliament Hill and the new guard
came up the street, across the Rideau Canal. It was very impressive and we
thoroughly enjoyed it.
We took a tour of the Central Block, which is home to the
Senate, House of Commons and the Library of Parliament. It was rebuilt in the
1920s after being completely destroyed in a fire in 1916. Because of its design
it looks much older. The tour was informative and the building was very
impressive. It's kind of a weird coincidence, we toured our capital in
Washington DC exactly a year ago today.
We spent a few hours on the boat relaxing this afternoon,
then explored the area a little more. After dinner onboard we walked back to
ByWard Market for dessert. As we were walking down Sussex Ave. we could hear
music coming from the park, we caught the end of a bagpipe and drum concert.
There seems to be something going on somewhere in town all the time. So much
fun.
The Parliament Building
The start of the Guard Mount Ceremony
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