In Oct 2013 four of us (mom, sisters and myself) were visited Ottawa, the capital of Canada which stands on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The bus dropped us across the parliament area, one of the places we visited in Ottawa. The weather was not too bright, it's rather cloudy. No visit to Ottawa is complete without a visit to the Hill, the seat of Canada's national government and the setting for year-round celebration and ceremony.
After passing the entrance gate, we welcome by the Centennial Flame commemorates Canada’s 100th anniversary as a Confederation. The Flame was first lit as the climax of the centennial celebrations of January 1, 1967, in the presence of then Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. The Flame is fuelled by natural gas and surrounded by a fountain whose ledge contains the shields of 12 of Canada’s provinces. The flame near to Queen's Gate, in front of the stairs leading to the Peace Tower and Centre Block.
We walked toward the Peace Tower, where green fields at the left and right side of the path. We could not enter the parliament building as it's office hour already, so we took pictures at the front of the building with beautiful arches and carving stones, also statues. Lucky we found our tour's friend from mainland, he's alone, he would like us to take his picture, so in return he didn't mind helping to take 4 of us picture. Even he showed the good angle to get the best scenery. The Centre Block contains of House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members of parliament, senators, and senior administration for both legislative houses.
Walking to the right side of the building, we took picture in front of the statue of Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A Macdonald. In the 1880s, it was unveiled at the south east corner of the Centre Block.
Elizabeth II was attracted us, as it's decorated by beautiful colorful maple tree, green, yellow, red as it's fallen season. Situated in the opposite corner of the site from the statue of her great-great-grandmother, the monument was sculpted by Jack Harman and unveiled in 1992, in the presence of the Queen, as part of the 125th anniversary of Confederation celebrations.
Wood benches available near to the statue, the maple trees there were very beautiful, it's a picturesque scenery as if in studio. We kept taking many pictures as we could not find it in Indonesia.
Near to the benches, there were bronze statues described some senior citizen in their daily activity, most of them were women. As the time was ticking, we were running out of time, so we were rushing to the West of the centre block to find the restroom, where we passed the first statue erected on Parliament Hill, Sir George-Étienne Cartier. We also could see Queen Victoria statue on the hill, located at the north-west corner between the West and Centre Blocks, the statue of the country's first monarch was sculpted by Louis-Philippe Hébert in 1900.
After toilet break, we rushed back to the main entrance, across the street to wait for our bus pickup. We bought the most delicious hot dog recommended by our tour guide on the street. He's right it's very delicious, although I didn't put any topping. There were various topping that you could select and pick by yourself. If time was available, no doubt I'll spend time to enjoy the maple garden or others in the parliament hill areas, as the weather was nice, quite mild and fresh.
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