Ottowa: We are travelling west, from French Canada towards English Canada. The further west we go, the less colour there is in the leaves. It is pot luck whether you get the good colour or not – but it’s not surprising that they haven’t turned because it is HOT!!! Sunburn hot! The Globe must be warming.
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada, and like Canberra (and others) it was purposely built. We were taken to look at Parliament House (like another fairyland castle) and to the Museum of Civilization, which traced the history of man. A beautiful building and fascinating exhibits.
They then dropped us off at the Markets and we had a few hours to wander by ourselves and find our own way back to the hotel. I found a lovely church, a bookshop, and finally – the only memorial in the world (so it said) to Peacekeepers in conflict zones. Trust the Canadians. It was beautiful. Afterwards I sat down and began reading my book (Called “How to be Free”.) After a while I wandered back to the Markets and ran into a group of women from the big tour. We had dinner at the “Auld Dubliner” before walking back to the hotel.
Toronto: We then drove into Toronto (now in English-speaking Canada) with a stop-off on the way to go on a boat tour of the Thousand Islands. They are at the end of the St Lawrence River, where it flows into Lake Ontario. We have a later start tomorrow so have some time to catch up with sleep.
Late start – 9.00am! Luxury! A quick drive around the ity which doesn’t have the same charms as Ottawa or Quebec. It’s the financial capital – so high-rise skyscrapers are the norm. Even the “Old Town” lacks charm. The CN tower is apparently the highest building in the world – 112 floors or so. Everything new and shiny, and what’s not is pretty much ignored. But it has a harbour – on Lake Ontario one of the Great Lakes.
So after the usual quick drive around town, we were dropped at the Harbour. The first thing I spotted was a Museum of Inuit Art. This was fabulous. Especially for me, as the owl is powerful symbol in Inuit Art so there were heaps of them. And some for sale – from $570 (Canadian) - A$3 800. Cheaper in the gift shop but C$120 was the cheapest I could find. So I bought a couple of Inuit Art Calendars instead. And I bought an Inukshuk – an Inuit figurine the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Mine is black granite, about 3” tall. (Pardon the Imperial measurement). I was intrigued because exactly the same figurine was displayed in Norway, near the Museums. Is it part of both cultures?
After a bit of shopping I decided to go on a harbour cruise. This was in a covered boat, - a barge-like boat, so we sat close to the water level. This meant a big step down to the boat, and an even better step up at the end. I resigned myself to the inevitable pull-push combination that this would involve, and consoled myself with the thought that no one in Toronto knows me. We went out to the islands on the other side of the harbour. These islands shelter Toronto from the vastness of Lake Ontario. Most are bird sanctuaries; some are used by the rich for their boats, including some houseboats. But the harbour freezes in Winter to a depth of 2 feet or so (sorry again). Very pretty, at any rate. Absolute still water with those lovely reflections.
I’d decided to go up the CN Tower – well. I’d done that at the Empire State Building and this is taller. We went up in a glass fronted elevator so you could watch the ground rush away from you. Fifty-eight seconds from top to bottom, with accompanying ear popping! At the top the amazing view. And the obligatory staged photo. They photograph you with a green background and then superimpose it so it looks as if it was taken at the top. Never-the-less, I bought it like I did at the Empire State. They also had a glass floor section where if you looked down you could see the ground. It took me about half an hour to get up the courage to walk on it. But I was determined to – and I did.
