As I was in London, Ontario for meetings, we decided to converge in Ottawa on Friday night and spend a catch-up weekend there. The city was a-buzz, as it was the annual marathon race weekend. And Central Canada was amidst an end of May heat-wave, with temperatures reaching 33C on Saturday.
Following are some familiar highlights of our weekend. Enjoy!
The Supreme Court of Canada (May 28, 2016)
Parliament (May 28, 2016)
The Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill (May 28, 2016)
Parliament's East Block (May 28, 2016)
Equestrian statue of Queen Elizabeth on Parliament Hill (May 28, 2016)
Monument to the women who ensured women in Canada were recognized as persons in 1928!
(May 28, 2016)
A half dozen pleasure craft were squeezed into one of the locks of the Rideau Canal,
adjacent to Chateau Laurier, waiting to move into the next lock. (May 28, 2016)
Monument to Canada's Peacekeepers (May 28, 2016)
My favourite piece of public art in the National Capital Region! (May 28, 2016)
The iconic National Gallery of Canada (May 28, 2016)
The annual Tulip Festival ended on May 23rd, but luckily a few stragglers remained!
(May 28, 2016)
The historic Rideau Canal, looking toward Parliament and the Chateau Laurier (May 28, 2016)
Close to 50,000 runners were taking part in the 2km, 5km, 10km, half and full marathons. Here, the 7,000 runners for the 2km are about to take off! (May 28, 2016)
This has to be the nicest setting for a Keg Restaurant I've ever seen: Ottawa's Keg Manor.
This is Pam and her brother, Ken. (May 28, 2016)
Dinner at the Keg Manor, with Ken, Mandy and Serena. When we arrived, it was sunny and beautiful. Suddenly, there was a clap of thunder and the skies opened in a torrential downpour. About 10 tables on the patio -- including ours -- were drenched.
We were lucky to find a spot under an awning to continue our dinner. (May 28, 2016)
We began our last morning in Ottawa with a walk to the Ontario-Quebec border, in the center of the Portage Bridge. Enroute, we were moved to see this banner, recognizing the centennial of
the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel -- a sacred and tragic moment in the history of Newfoundland. (May 29, 2016)
From the Portage Bridge, we descended to the banks of the Ottawa River and walked a beautiful trail behind the National Archives, the Supreme Court, and Parliament Hill. Across the river,
we saw these wigwams -- quite a contrast to the Government of Canada towers of Place Portage!
(May 29, 2016)
Parliament Hill from the banks of the Ottawa River.
The Parliamentary Library is seen to the left. (May 29, 2016)
The iconic Canadian Museum of History, as seen across the Ottawa River. (May 29, 2016)
A view of the Rideau Canal locks we had never seen before!
This is from the banks of the Ottawa River, looking south to the Chateau Laurier. (May 29, 2016)
This Sparks Street chair reminded me of Lily Tomlin's segment on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s, when she sat in a mega rocking chair, told it like it is from the eyes of a four-year old,
and ended every segment with, "And that's the truth!"
(May 29, 2016)
Yet another piece of interesting public art in the National Capital Region, complete with an evergreen growing out of the top! (May 29, 2016)
Our weekend ended with a flight home on WestJet Encore -- my first experience with WestJet's new regional carrier. The brand new Dash 8 Q400 was impressive. (May 29, 2016)
