Parliament

I promised last week that I would post pictures of Parliament and, well, got side tracked with other things. Sorry...so now that I feel like I have a free minute to sit on the patio and enjoy the perfect warm weather while Arabella naps, I will try and catch up.

When we visited Parliament, it was not in session. I was really hoping that it would be but the Opposition Party's MP, Jack Layton , had just passed away. One bonus of Parliament not being in session was that we were able to see parts of the building that would not normally be open. It was an amazing tour and I still can't believe that the building is only a little bit over 100 years old and was ravaged by fire years ago. Until the tour, I thought that it was a much older building. The architecture is wonderful and it was very interesting to learn about the Canadian government system. Since we were getting so much information, it was a lot to process. And, I have always been interested in politics and have been wanted to learn about how it works here in Canada, so I picked up a book on how Parliament works. One thing that I do remember hearing over and over, is that the Canadian systems is modeled after Great Britain's system...and rightfully so since Canada is a principality of the UK and Queen Elizabeth is our Head-of-State.

I took a lot of pictures but won't share them all. Here are some of my favorites and when I finish the book on how Parliament works, I will let you all know!

Day 2 in Ottawa

Our second day in Ottawa was as good as the first. Jay had to visit the dealer so Lori, Arabella and I had a fun day to explore some more. We took our time getting ready and then walked through the Byward Market to Sparks Street for a late breakfast. I think that my favorite meal to eat out is breakfast, it was so good and we all enjoyed every bite.

Me and my Little Bean at breakfast!

After breakfast, we walked to the "Dinosaur Museum" or the Canada Museum of Nature. It was a nice walk through the business and a residential area. It was perfect weather so it was nice to be outside and get some fresh air. Arabella was very excited to go to the museum and this was the first time that she had seen dinosaurs, except for on TV or in her books.



Our first stop once inside was, you guessed it, the dinosaurs. Arabella was so amazed by them and she wasn't even scared one bit. She loved checking things out and playing with the interactive displays. It was a great learning environment and this museum was well worth the $10 admission price.




After the dinosaurs, we went to the area dedicated to sea life. They had some amazing specimens and the great blue whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling was impressive. I am still amazed at how huge they are. Arabella had fun playing in a submarine and looking at all the sea life.



We also checked out the mammals, birds and an exhibit about the earth. The museum really reminded me of the Museum of Natural History in New York City, but on a much smaller scale. It was the perfect size for the amount of time we had and it was nice that they had so many hands on things for Arabella to do. She really enjoyed the bird hospital on the 4th floor and we spent a while there just letting her play before heading to get some lunch. This is when we also felt the 5.9 earthquake that was centered in Virginia. At first we had no idea what it was, and we figured it our after the fact when we went to eat lunch and the workers in the cafe asked us about it! Pretty freaky! We had a great time and if we are in Ottawa again and need something to do, I would defintely go back!






Taking care of her birds and dinosaurs.
This is where I was sitting when I felt the earthquake!

Thanks Jay for taking us along with you. We had so much fun!!

Trip to Ottawa

Earlier this week, Arabella, Lori and I decided to join Jay on a road trip to Ottawa. I knew that it wasn't too far to Ottawa, but I didn't realize how close of a drive it really is...it took us less than 2 hours to get there. Arabella was excited to get out of the car, so our first stop was looking for lunch in the Byward Market. We ate outside which was nice since it was sunny day, but not too warm. Byward Market is a great area full of restaurants and shops that was right near our hotel. Lori and I took a walk around the area on Monday night and I wish we had stayed longer, it is such a fun area that I would have loved to explore more. There were so funny yummy looking restaurants and cute shops.


Perfect weather for a drive thru Canada farm country to Ottawa.
Byward Market...not the best shot...

After lunch we headed over to Parliament Hill to do some sightseeing. The blending of old architecture with modern buildings is beautiful. I was amazed by how large Parliament is and the architecture of the building is amazing. (I will do a separate entry on Parliament since we were allowed to take pictures during the tour.) We walked around for a little while before getting tickets for our tour and then Jay and Arabella headed back to the hotel for a nap. Lori and I decided to stay behind and explore some more. We also found a few great shops and picked up some fun things.
Lori, Jay & Arabella in front of Parliament


ParliamentLori, Arabella and I in front of Parliament.

While "exploring", Lori and I can across the Canadian Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.






After the nap, Jay and Arabella joined us back at Parliament for the tour, which was so interesting. After the tour, we played around on the lawn before heading out for some dinner.




We had a great day. It was so much fun and Arabella was so excited to get back to the hotel and go to sleep since on Tuesday we were going to the "Dinosaur Museum" a/k/a Canada Museum of Nature!