Ottawa
Aug. 6, 2012

We layed over a day in Ottawa to do some sightseeing; we had read that Ottawa is a very interesting city, which proved to be true.











The Parliament Building in Ottawa with the Eternal Flame in the foreground.









The lawn in front of the Parliament Building is the site for the daily Changing of the Guard ceremony.








Changing of the Guard ceremony.











Nancy with one of the guards, who was apparently assigned to pose for the tourists. We're not sure how they manage to see with those beaver skin hats covering their eyes.








The House of Commons in the Parliament Building; the majority pary sits on the left and the opposition pary sits on the right facing the majority party, which is rather different from the sitting arrangement in Washington D.C.









A view from the Parliament Tower of the Ottawa River and the Province of Quebec across the river.









A sign in the Parliament Tower.










The clock in the Parliament Tower.






The Rideau Canal connects the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario at Kingston, which is over 200 km away. It was built  1826 - 1832; most of it uses natural waterways, but 19 km had to be dug by hand. There are eight locks in Ottawa to drop the water level to that of the Ottawa River.









The lock gates are still operated by hand, as they were when it was built 180 years ago.








A novel sign seen outside a restaurant in Ottawa. The sign is amusing, but demeaning to husbands.