Ottawa

Having left La Ronde we took another lengthy drive to the Canadian capital of Ottawa, a city I'd asked to be included purely so I can say I've been to the capital (its a male list thing). We arrived quite late and whilst the others went for food I decided to go sightseeing in the dark. Our hotel was just down the hill from the Parliament building so I headed there first. As I ascended the hill towards it the lights on it suddenly went out. Arse! 

However at the top of the hill I found thousands of people sitting facing the building and within a minute or two a project show started...talk about fortuitous timing!

The show gave an overview of the history of Canada and the city of Ottawa mixed with a clever projection show that animated the building.

Oh Canada!

This might be how the building appears to an invading Predator.

A really impressive light show.

This is how the building looks when lit normally.

Another of the Parliament buildings close by.

The Rideau Canals was the UNESCO hit of the trip having been built in 1832 and listed a world heritage site in 2007.

Another Government building. I liked how whilst under a lot of construction they still made it look cool although the electricity bill must be immense.

The entrance to the Confederation Buildings, a stunning Gothic building that looks like it belongs in Germany.

Another cool Gothic Building called the Langevin Block. It's fair to say that the architecture here is stunning. The Prime Minister has his office here - much better than Downing Street and noticeably not behind a locked gate with armed cops.

Close by is a statue of Terry Fox. He's a bit of a Canadian legend who having lost his leg to cancer decided to run across the country to raise funds for charity. He didn't get the chance to complete it however but there are many events taking place each year in honour of him. 

What a hero!

That's our hotel the Hotel Indigo in downtown Ottawa. It was a great hotel spoiled by us being upgraded to a room with a single king-sized bed. This wasn't ideal with 2 blokes sharing a room. That minor inconvenience aside the hotel was very nice and recommended. 

The next morning I took Thomas out for a quick tour of what I'd seen.

I loved what I saw of Ontario. It's not a tourist capital being out of the way, Toronto whilst not the capital is more that sort of city. The government buildings however are excellent.

and I got the capital tick...which was nice :)

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