Mapled Mei Day 3: Ottawa

Konnicchasssuu!

Time to continue the Canada special here in the blog while I am sort of not busy! I suddenly find myself with a busy year-end ahead then start of 2024 will also be a big one. I am taking one step at a time though because I don’t want to stress myself up.

Anyway, Day 3 will be a long one so hope you are ready to read it! As always, photos will guide the story on how the day went.

 

The day pretty much started early for me since we had free breakfast in the hotel. It was a buffet-style one so you can get pretty much your preferred breakfast. As it was in Canada, there’s no rice in the menu so I had picked an egg and bacon sandwich, apple juice, cereal and some water. Kinda random I know, but I was just not too keen on having anything else on the menu.

I pretty much prepared after that and started to walk to Parliament Hill. As I walked, I realized two things. First, I was definitely out of shape. Two, Ottawa has quite a character because there’s a mix of new buildings, old buildings and some very unique ones. Everywhere you look, there’s something that will catch your eye. I also found it cool to see how a Western city neighborhood is like because as I walked, I passed rows of townhouses and small apartments. They even had gardens in them which doesn’t surprise me much because I know Canada is advocating environment-friendly policies.

This photo shows Knox Presbyterian Church. It is very well-maintained.

This one is Ottawa’s City Hall. Didn’t have much time to check it out because it was closed and I was late for my trip around the Parliament.

This is in front of Sparks Street. As you can see on your right, its the Parliament.

This is the Parliament of Canada. It is under restoration work thus the annoying cranes on it. And yes, while it is the start of summer, the weather was interestingly cloudy – later on rainy.

The Parliament does offer guided tours to either the Senate or the House of Commons and it is free. You simply have to visit their website to reserve the slot you want. The whole process is pretty straightforward and you only need to bring your phone and have your ticket ready to present it on the front door of either the Senate or the House.

I opted for the House of Commons tour so I have a reason to visit Ottawa again and I wanted to start in the lower house of the legislative branch of the Canadian government.

The tour is actually quite cool because it starts with the guide bringing the group into an empty chamber where you are told the rules of the tour and what to expect. Photos are ok but for certain areas, they will tell you if its allowed.

The first hall we were led to is like a hallway filled with plaques showing the governments that came and went. Didn’t take much photos here so sorry about that. Then into elevators which were pretty big but dated, still works though! When we got out, this was the view!

According to the guide, this place used to be an actual courtyard where horse drawn carriages would drop their passengers in the olden days then later on, it was transformed into this roofed court that now houses the Lower House. This place is also temporary because since the entire hill is under construction, they are also building the new home for the people who work in this hall.

 

Here is a proof that this place used to be an outdoor place! The tour guide gave it a name, which I don’t remember or heard well.

 

Here is a closeup of the seat where the speaker of the House of Commons is seated, as well as the clerics and where the Prime Minister and his party then the opposition sit. The guide gave us some cool trivia as we gazed upon this vast hall.

One was the color. It’s green because one of the Kings before was petty enough to forbade the hall to have a different color when the original hall was being built (it got burnt down during a conflict I believe). That king’s logic was since he couldn’t enter this hall, which was quite true since this is the house of the people, why should he allow it to have a grandiose color?

Second was the fact that every Speaker of the House is ceremoniously dragged by the Prime Minister and the head of the other party to the seat because in the past, no one wanted to be there lest they want to be killed by the King or Queen if they do something wrong. Now, its still being done as part of tradition.

Third trivia was about when they refer to each other while discussing. You don’t hear them call out their surnames when they want to talk to someone or so. They would usually say “To the Gentleman/Lady from [insert constituency here]“. That is kinda cool.

At the end of the large table there is where the mace/key is located. The guide did ask us about it as a trivia before we went down and I got it right! Shame there’s no prize though.

 

We then got down to this part of the hall in the ground floor. This is the entrance to the actual hall and usually, this door serves as the background when the Prime Minister or certain members of the house would stay to speak to the press.

That’s the seal of Canada!

A clear view of the center

This is another clear part of the hall that shows it was originally an outdoor area. They did modernize it a bit and in the walls here on the left hand corner, it reflects the old boats used by the natives. Although it does look like crutches to me at first.

The roof reflects a tree-like structure and apparently one panel there was signed by a known TV personality.

This is one of the portraits there of one of Canada’s Prime Ministers. Apparently, this specific one caused a stir because of the earrings used but the PM was like, no, I’m wearing these. Each PM also has their theme for their portraits and this one reflects the judiciary background of this PM.

This is a sculpture of the native goddess in Canada by Bart Hanna. It will be placed in the new hall once it is complete.

Another PM. I believe this one is the father of the current PM.

We also got a chance to see the smaller halls the ministers use for committee hearings. There are large TVs there so everyone can see the agenda and all and the booths at the back are for the transcribers and translators. There are seats for witnesses who are asked to testify and watch the proceedings.

They make very important decisions in this room.

After the tour (and got some souvenirs), I walked backed out and this is the view of the Senate (one day) and the plaza on the center!

Here’s the iconic clock. You can climb to the top but since it is being reconstructed, it was closed.

An attempt of a selfie with my iPhone Xs (Still have not replaced this). The glasses were a great idea coz it was soo bright when I removed it.

I believe this was called the centennial flame. There were a lot of people so lucky I got this shot.

A shot of Toronto’s downtown area. I ended up walking back to the hotel because it was a downhill trek back and dang, my legs are no longer used to walking. Regrets.

It is interesting to walk here in this climate because I was wearing my jacket and all but the people around me were wearing shirts and even a tanktop. To me, the weather was like a December morning in the homeland so it was cold in my standards. I seriously want to visit in Autumn or Winter so I have a comparison.

I also did pass a place that sells cannabis. I didn’t smell it thank God.

When I got back, I had this cool deep dish pizza my sister brought from Chicago. I forgot the name of the shop but apparently, its famous. It was delicious I daresay and filling. Its like a stuffed pizza.

Pardon the mess at the back but this is from Uncle Tetsu. There was a branch of this Japanese cheesecake brand in Ottawa and it so happens to be near the hotel. My sister has been dying to try some and since they are hosting me for a long while, I opted to purchase it for her.

The tarts were mine though hahaha. It is as fluffy as I remembered it.

After a quick bite, we drove to Byward Market to see the place. This photo is inside Le Moulin de Provence, a bakery is a popular landmark and dang their breads look delicious!

They apparently gave this to President Obama in one of his visits to the country.

We also got to try these! Delicious and a must try. They only accept card though so best bring your card coz you will go back for more. My sister and niece ended up loving this so much that everywhere we go throughout the trip, we would try to find one.

More Byward. I did go to La Bottega Nicastro here, a European grocery. I got myself some Venchi chocolates for my bro and I. I wanted to buy pasta sauce but urgh, I wasn’t sure if I could bring some and I am not going back till two weeks later so huhuhu.

Byward Market!

When in Canada, you have to have poutine. My sister asked me if we could go to one and I did end up finding the 2nd best poutinerie in Ottawa according to some polls: Smoke’s Poutinerie. Fortunately, it is near Byward Market.

For the uninitiated, poutine is basically Canada’s version of French fries. In their case, it has gravy and cheese curds or some other toppings you like. It is actually pretty ok for me since its like dipping the fries into Jollibee gravy.

This specific poutinerie uses different potatoes for their fries which made it sweet in some way.

After taking more photos, we drove back to the hotel to get some rest. Here’s one of the Notre Dame.

Another reason to go back. This is Ottawa’s main museum. We should have gone here but my nephew was having his moment so pass.

Photo of my actual spoils! I could report it was worth the money.

So, that’s the wrap for this entry. It was a bit late but I got so busy because a day more and I’m partying like an immortal!