Ottawa - Most Boring City in Canada?

 

I think not!

We visited the Canadian Museum of History, which is huge, look at the Great Hall:

Josh's head for perspective

There is so much to see. Indigenous history, European explorers, colonization, etc.. Social Studies teachers should just push their grade seveners into the museum and their job would be done. It is such a maze, the students can't help but learn as they try and find the exit. There was a display about Martin Frobisher, who Elsa did an assignment on. Here she is, stunned that she is being forced to learn against her will, during summer too!

At one point Elsa and I decided to just by-pass the rest, it wouldn't let us! As we hustled through we could hear cannons, a voice was yelling about the diet of early French Canadian settlers (Tourtière) and a fishing game was playing a jingle. 

    "That Way!" we rushed toward a sign saying 'Modern Era'. Videos of the second world war with loud explosions, a lunch box from a factory worker (?), a loud voice talking about space. We were being attacked by information! We finally took a breather in front of Terry Fox's leg (his prosthetic one). Elsa couldn't believe it was the real deal.

We walked out of there heavy footed, our brains like sponges that couldn't fit another fact. You could practically hear the squelching sound with each step.

    On the way out I was so happy to see 'Morning Star', a ceiling painting by Alex Janvier who is an artist who my Mom liked, he lived in Cold Lake at the same time we did. It's on a big dome, he took months to paint it. The four quadrants represent four phases in history. The Yellow is pre-colonization, it is the most balanced and harmonious.

To clear our heads we went for a swim at the new dock in the Ottawa River. It is just behind the museum. By this time the air was so hot and humid. The heat here could be called 'oppressive'. The next time I hear the east is having a heat wave I'll have a bit more sympathy. Although they do have a lot more swimming spots so my sympathy will be limited.

    After ten minutes in the water all the heat was lifted off us, so refreshing!. We had a nice view of the Parliament Buildings. You can feel the river flow around you much like tax dollars flow through that building - relentless and unending. 

Other highlights: 

- a delicious chicken and brie wood fired bagel followed by a Matcha mango soft serve at Bobino Bagels. This shop is on the Quebec side so everything was in French, a first for us dorky Anglos.

- A visit to the Ottawa Nature Museum which has an extensive Ornithology gallery. It also had the coolest bug display ever. There was a leaf-cutter ant nest and then some branches reaching over to an exhibit with leaves. The ants were cutting up the leaves and walking them over to their nest.

Thanks to Jenny for letting us stay at her place. A luxurious change from camping.

Elsa and part of the Snoopy Collection at Jenny's house

Birds n' Mammals

• Elsa's bird list is at 112 ! We saw a fleeting glimpse of a Northern Cardinal in an Ottawa church yard. There were some urban harvesters gathering apples there.
• Wild Turkeys on the highway on the way to Ottawa