Ottawa observations

My friend, Master Bill (now a resident in Fredericton) boasts Ottawa as his home town. For the Bos Lady and I, the nation’s capitol was a most fair city to visit, even without a guide such as Master Bill to show us around.

The highlight of our stay — sure to be that of every Canadian — was Parliament Hill. We toured the common areas of the Parliament Building, although we would have loved to see more. But, alas, the guided tour tickets were gone in a flash yesterday morning. However, we did get to ride up to the (near) top of the Peace Tower for a look at Ottawa from the observation level. And we did narrowly escape the Invasion of the Mat Keepers!

The locks of the Rideau Canal were a nifty sight for prairie folks such as us. We mused about the experiences of our friends, David and Loretta, who skated with their family on the canal in a winter adventure. That would be something!

A stroll through the Fairmont Laurier Hotel was pretty cool, too. We’d heard that the most expensive room (suite?) in this historic hotel rented for two dollars a night when it opened in the early part of last century; today, one would shell out $2000 for the same room.

And we noticed one peculiarity about Ottawa. So many women wear dresses. Not skirts or summer dresses, but formal dresses. Women in dresses are everywhere in Ottawa. This is a foreign sight to us. We don’t see this in River City at the best of times; even in church, dresses in Edmonton are the exception. But in Ottawa, we saw them everywhere, not just around downtown or Parliament Hill. Very nice!

On Saturday, we will have another day to invest in Ottawa. One place we will see is the Diefenbunker — Canada’s 1960’s safe haven for the government from nuclear attack. Had Master Bill still resided in Ottawa, he could have showed us a lot in one day. Mais, c’est the vie!