A trip to my nations capital

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I used my aeroplan miles from my trip to New Zealand and headed off to Ottawa to visit some friends from university and to check out Ottawa... a place I hadn't been to and explored since I was a kid... alright I was there in university for a day, but I was bombed most of the time!
Spent most of the time with friends in Carleton Place, but did a trip into the city and walked around the Parliament buildings. What surprised me the most up here was a cat shelter. We spend $6,000 a year to feed and house a group of cats right next to the parliament buildings. From what I saw the cats that were there were overweight, and there seemed to be more squirrels than cats. Someone joked that this was the most Stephan Dion did as leader of the opposition! But in all seriousness, it is a nice idea...
Also got to check out Winterlude and walked (no, i didn't skate) along the canals. I also had my first beaver tail. Had I come to Ottawa a few days later, I could have had the Obama Beaver tail. (He came to Ottawa on his first foreign visit as President). Also checked out the Museum of Natural History, before heading back to the grind.

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Photos

Winterlude along the Rideau Canal
Confederation Park

mmm, tea
One of the women who got women the vote in Canada.

Museum of Civilization
Hull, Quebec - I visited this years ago.

Library
The only part of parliament not to burn during the fire

Me, Renee, Ryan (and baby Claire)
at Parliament Hill

Rideau Canal
Winterlude