On The Hill

On a fine frosty Friday we were visiting blogger Lorna and Dave. They live cheek-by-jowl with downtown Ottawa and Parliament Hill. Actually it wasn't Friday, but Saturday isn't alliterative with fine and frosty.

Although temperatures were near the Fahrenheit zero and were aided and abetted by a cold wind, these four seemingly silly Canuckleheads decided that it was a perfect day for a walk. In point of fact, it was nearly perfect because we were all so bundled that we felt no pain.

We decided that since we were in the neighbourhood, we should see if we could go inside the Parliament buildings and ascend the Peace Tower. The photo (below) shows the tower the other three walking toward it. Actually it only shows two as Cuppa was mostly behind the tree.



At the door (more or less), Cuppa snapped me with the fluorescent couple. I was sceptical that one could just walk up to the centre of government on a whim on a cold Saturday and request admission, but after a quick security scan we were on our way up the elevator to the Peace Tower lookout. I think that's pretty neat. O Canada, eh?



Looking north, we see the roof of the library, the Ottawa River, and the province of Quebec.



The library is quite beautiful both within and also without as this closer shot of the roof might suggest.



I thought some of my America friends might like to see the US embassy (outlined). I presume it's functional inside as it's not exactly stunning from the outside. Note the long shadows cast by the Parliament Buildings, due to low afternoon sun plus the fact these buildings are on a bit of a hill.



The next photo looks down on the south side where I've outlined the people in circles (for scale) and a snow message in the rectangle. If you click on the photo, you should be able to see the larger words, Spinach, and Sweden. Why? I have no idea.


After our fine little outing, we headed back to the warmth and hospitality of Lorna and Dave's condo. We were treated to fine food, drink and fellowship. We played a game of Boggle after dinner, where Dave proved he was much smarter than the rest of us. In fact, he may have scored more points that we other three of us combined.

PS: This is Lorna's blog, and here is my post of our first meeting this past summer.