Day 8- July 4 Ottawa

Day 8- July 4 Ottawa, Canada's capital

Only a short hour drive west to Ottawa this morning from our campsite at Serenity Hill, but it took us another hour to figure out where to park.  Good thing Scott is quite capable of wheeling that trailer around city streets.  We eventually left our whole unit and Mickey at the Best Western and took local transit to the down town area.  We walked around the outside of the Parliament and it's monuments.  We also sat next to the burning centennial flame that was lit in 1967 for Canada.  It continues to burn thanks to Alberta's natural gas.  Each of the provinces and territories coat of arms are represented around the flame. 

Bus ride to downtown Ottawa

Canada's capital

Library

Walking around parliament hill.




 

 

 

 

We walked along Wellington past the Rideau Canal Locks and then down Sussex Drive to find a place for lunch.  We walked past the Byward Market and the US Embassy.  We could see Hull, Quebec across the river. 

Rideau Canals.

Joined an awesome 45 minute tour of the Centre Block of the parliament building.  Scott took lots of photos throughout including the senate chamber.   He was not allowed to take photos in the library due to the staff working.  The library had graceful arched ceilings and rich sculpture with a large white marble statue of the young Queen Victoria in the centre of the domed room.  The library is the only original part of the centre block left after the 1916 fire.

Waiting for our tour.

Love to learn!

Walked around some more and went into a church to admire the architecture.  After that we stopped at the Royal Canadian Mint and browsed the boutique....fancy name to go with fancy prices.  We all took a turn lifting a bar of gold worth more than half a million dollars.  This mint only makes specialty collector coins.

Tried to bring Grandpa a souvenir back, but it was chained down!

Brody and I figured out how and where to catch the bus back to our vehicle as we crossed the Rideau Canal.  Mickey, our awesome dog, was sleeping away in the trailer.

Making our way around Ottawa on transit.

We headed south of Ottawa to Hither Hill Camp and RV for the night.  An exciting day with only 2 hours of driving.