Ottawa, July 5

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The nation's capital. Ottawa is, in our opinion, the prettiest city we've visited so far in Canada. It's small, so everything is within walking distance, very convenient. We started, of course, with the Changing of the Guard. It's supposed to start at 10:00 am on the dot, but it actually started early! We were lucky to be there early to catch a good spot.Here's our video of the ceremony:

I went to stand i line for tour tickets of the parliament, so I missed a good part of the ceremony, but I did see enough. It was very impressive! At least I got the tickets! The tours are free, but the available spots are limited.

We went to see the locks on the Rideau Canal before our first tour. We saw the locks in action, which was very cool. They still work the exact same way they have since they were built way back in 1827! No machines were added. It's all manual with winches and chains. We watched for a while before strolling back to Parliament hill.

Our first tour was of the grounds around the hill, with a little of the history of Canada and how it evolved from New France 400 years ago, through upper and lower Canada (Quebec and Ontario) under British rule, the Dominion of Canada, and finally Canada as an independent nation.

We had a rest under a tree before our tour of Parliament's center block. We went through a rigorous security check before the tour actually started. We were led through all the important parts of the Canadian parliament. The House of Commons, the Senate, Committee rooms, the Library. A very informative tour.

We left the hill and went into town, to Byward market. What a lovely market! We had an Indian meal in the market, bought some souvenirs and tasted some maple treats, and basically enjoyed the atmosphere.

We continued on to the National Gallery and took pictures at the giant spider. We lay down for a snooze in Major's Hill Park before heading back to the hotel. We walked down Sparks Street, an outdoor mall before reaching the hotel.

Here's today's vid:

After getting refreshed we went out to meet with Bob & Gaye, who took us out to dinner at a local pub. We all had a good time, a good meal, and finished with good gelato. We all went for a short walk to one of the foot bridges to cross the Rideau canal, saw the sunset over Cateau Laurier.

Back at Bob and Gaye's, Bob found a picture of him with Dad together as air force cadets. Cool!

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