After I arrived home from Boston the previous day, we were packed and in the car by noon the next day. Almost every time we drive to Quebec or Ontario, you'll see this picture. It reminds me how beautiful and peaceful New Brunswick is.
And this one usually shows up too!
Well, that wasn't nice! We didn't even see the rock, but we definitely heard it.
Literally no traffic along this stretch in Quebec...
And the next day, we arrived in Ottawa, the destination for our annual family get together. Our grandson, Erik, lives in Ottawa, so he was hosting and setting our agenda.
Friday night heading out for dinner...Randy and Damian, pushing Jim, led the way. Everyone was so good about helping Jim.
The rest of the gang coming along behind...Jeff, Dominic, Ilona, Nadine and Doug.
Dinner at Occo was recommended by Erik. It was about a 1.5 km walk, which then seemed to be almost routine for all of our activities.
Nearly the whole gang...from the left: Randy, Doug, Kim, Dominic, Damian, Nadine, Erik, Ilona, Jeff, Jim and Stephanie.
Trying to sneak in some Grandma time...
The next morning, we walked towards Parliament Hill, where Erik had arranged a tour for us. This is the War Memorial on the left and the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel on the right.
A very quiet Sparks Street...it was a main street in Ottawa, before becoming a pedestrian mall in 1967. On the right is a monument to the Stanley Cup, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first two NHL games played in Montreal and Ottawa, on Dec. 19, 1917. (Perfect place for a Leafs joke, but we'll leave it at that!)
The majestic Centre Block is currently closed to the public while it undergoes a major renovation. You can see some photos
here that show the deterioration of the building. It had not received any major upgrades for more than 100 years. The targeted completion date for the project is 2030-2031.
I always see a face in the building!
Dominic and Damian were so good with Grandpa. Their help was very much appreciated!
Jim and I had done a tour of the Centre Block
in 2010 and I remembered going up in the Peace Tower and looking out at the gargoyles.
A very kind police officer who took the time for a photo...
Waiting for our tour...
So we'll take pics! Damian and Nadine...
Photo bomb! Nadine and Jeff...
Without my intervention...
Stephanie and Randy...
Well, when you have a banana, you just have to shoot it! The look on Jim's face!
The West Block central courtyard has been used for the House of Commons since 2019, due to the renovations in the Centre Block. It is really cool how they have utilized the outside of the buildings and covered the area with a glass roof.
The exterior of the building becomes the interior...
I thought this statue was beautiful...the sculptor is
Bart Hanna. It was chosen for Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations and marked the 20th anniversary of Nunavut as a territory. It depicts Sedna, a sea goddess, an important figure in Inuit mythology.
That's a full elevator! Our lovely guide with all of us...Jim is in there somewhere!
Down the staircase...
Love this photo! I don't know what the guy said who was taking it, but we all have the same expression! Dominic...are you on your knees? That's hilarious!
Sparks Street looking a little busier now...
The "T" is missing, so you get a chance to complete it. Dominic with his huge wingspan...
Damian playing along...
Stephanie and her mom, Ilona...not quite, but valiant effort!
Saturday afternoon on Sparks Street...lots of tourists and lots of buskers. It was a fun atmosphere. We finally got into the Bier Markt after patiently waiting outside for a bit. It's a bit more difficult when you're a group of 11.
On our way back to the hotel...Randy did the honours of pushing Jim this time. Love this bear statue,
Territorial Perogative.
We were off to the Oh Canada Eh? dinner theatre that night. Damian had been making it his mission to try poutine everywhere we were. He should have popped in here!
This photo makes us laugh! On our Parliament building tour, we were given the opportunity to try to pass a bill into law. Jeff proposed "no more family photos" and Damian and Dominic promptly voted in favour. The rest of the family voted the proposal down, so it wasn't passed.
Now lookie here...I think that is Jeff taking a family photo! We yelled from down the street, "I thought that was against the law!" Busted!!
Totally touristy and totally fun...
You could book tables closer to the performers, so why not?
Uh...that's why. If you don't want to become part of the action, watch how close you sit to the stage. Randy was roped in...he quickly gave up.
His punishment? To ride the horse!
And he went for it!
Totally hilarious! Go, Randy!
He was all in!
And then became a favourite...super fun evening! Everything was Canadian...wine, dinner and references to Canadian icons.
Wonderful day! Tomorrow we're doing a hop on, hop off tour, and spending some time showing the kids their ancestry (i.e. visiting cemeteries!)
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