The National Capital

Drive-by colour on the 401 nearing the turn off for the 416 to Ottawa.

Geoff had a business meeting in Ottawa this morning (Tuesday, October 9/07)and I came along for the ride and the opportunity to visit Steve and Laura and the boys and to have dinner with Marilyn and Paul.

The Rideau Canal

In 1857, Queen Victoria decided that Bytown, a lumber settlement named after Lieutenant Colonel John By, was to be Canada's capital. Ottawa was chosen over larger cities in the Dominion in part because of the Rideau Canal.
Colonel By of the Royal Engineers came from London to build the Rideau Canal from Bytown to Kingston in 1826. The Rideau Canal opened an arms supply route from Montreal to Kingston, in case of U.S. invasion.
The locks shown here which bridge Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier Hotel are the final gateway to the Ottawa River. The Rideau Canal is now boasted as the "longest skating rink in the world."

Detail from the National War Memorial

Designed originally to commemorate the 60,000 Canadians who died in the First World War, the National War Memorial in Confederation Square has since come to commemorate all of Canada's war dead.

The National Art Gallery

I spent an hour and a half enjoying some of the permanent collection, particularily the Group of Seven exhibit, and also an exhibit entitled:

Cheryl Sourkes: Public Camera

The Gallery is housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a view of the Parliament buildings ( Parliament Hill). The structure was designed by Moshe Safdie and opened in 1988.