Ottawa: Parliament Hill activities

In the morning of our second day in Ottawa, I wanted to check out the Changing of the Guard ceremony which was scheduled to start at 10:00. Since we slept late the previous night (coming from the Lights and Sounds show), we were all a bit lazy to get up and going. As is always the case when we are on vacation, we ended up sleeping later and waking up earlier. We wanted to see and experience so many things but had so little time.  Hence, with only 30 minutes allotted for breakfast, we rushed to Parliament Hill.

The Changing of the Guard ceremony was quite an experience. The guards in their red uniforms and big, black fur hats marched in unison to the band music. DD#1 sat on the grass and was able to get into the front row. DD#2, hubby and Grandma viewed the pageantry from farther back. After the show, we figured we had some time before we needed to head for home, so we lined up for a tour of the Parliament buildings. We had to get “tickets” from the big white tent as there were only a limited number of slots for each batch of visitors. While waiting for our time slot, we took a stroll in the Rideau Centre mall and crossed over again to Byward market for a quick Japanese lunch at Sushi Go.

We toured the East side of the Parliament buildings. There, we saw the Senate room, and the other halls and rooms filled with icons of the country’s history. Our family’s favorite room was the Library, which was simply magnificent! Iron doors protected the precious treasures within. In the main reading room stands a white marble statue of Queen Victoria. Around her, tens of thousands of books filled the intricate shelves. The circular room with its High Victorian Gothic revival interior was absolutely grand!

Our final stop was the Peace Tower. It was a 30 minute line up to ride the elevator to the top. There was one working elevator and only about 8 people could fit at a time. We rode the elevator through the tower’s shaft containing the carillons. It brings you just above the clock and we were able to see the clock’s mechanism. At the top you get a fantastic view of the city and the Rideau canal. It was a perfect way to end our trip!