Ottawa con’t. June 15- June 16

Saturday, June 15

Once again it is raining. The amazing thing is, it doesn’t seem to phase the Canadians. They are still going to the open market, commuting by bike, and walking without rain gear as if it is nothing. We’re trying to fit in and not look too Texan, but I gotta have at least a raincoat on. At least we aren’t embarrassing ourselves with boots and wool beanies.

Last night we had a brief reprieve from the rain and after dinner on the boat, we headed out to check out the lights of Ottawa.

The flight of 8. Looking north from the top of the flight to the Ottawa River over and Hull.
Lisa and the Parliament House.
Fairmont Chateau Laurier built 1912.
A quiet night on the wall.

Our morning started early with a scheduled tour at the Senate Building. Actually it isn’t the REAL Senate building. It was the old Ottawa Union Rail Station. It had been converted into the Government Conference Center, and in February 2019, the Senate moved into the renovated building while the actual Senate building on Parliament Hill is being renovated.

In the lobby waiting for our tour to begin. Can you get the feel of the old train station?
Beautiful ornate ceiling
They moved to original seats from the old senate to the temporary home for the reconstruction period.
Seats for the Speaker of the House and the Governor General of Canada.

Lisa and I escaped the rain for a while inside the National Gallery of Canada. They had a wonderful exhibit of work by Paul Gauguin that we enjoyed.

National Gallery
“Help! It’s got me in it’s web.”

Tim also got us free tickets to tour the House of Commons in the afternoon. Like the Senate Building, the House of Parliament is being renovated. The amazing part is that the architects took an outside courtyard, built a glass covered enclosure for it and created an amazing space for the House of Commons to operate.

The West Block of Parliament.
It amazed me how they utilized the outdoor courtyard to create a new space for the House of Commons to convene.
Notice the new glass roof and metal support structures.

Sunday, June 16

Unbelievably, we woke to blue skies and a gloriously warm sun. A perfect day for ByWard Market. ByWard Market is just a few blocks from the boat and is an open air market oozing with fresh vegetables, fruit, and flowers. Surrounding it are bakeries, meat markets, restaurants and bars. It was time for us to restock our fresh veggie supply and I had my eyes on an herb garden. We also decided to be brave and bought some fiddle heads to add to our steak dinner. Blanched for 5 min. Then sautéed with butter and garlic. YUM

My new herb garden- basil, mint, chives, thyme, oregano, parsley.

A group of protesters in front of Parliament.

We came upon this group of drummers near ByWard Market and had to stop and enjoy their rhythm.

Tomorrow we leave. Tim and I head on to Montreal and Lisa flies home to her extremely patient husband, Alan. Thanks for letting us keep her so long, Alan.