Epic East Coast - Day 44

We got wet today.  The forecast was for showers all day, turning into thunderstorms in the evening, which was apparently the first substantial rain Ottawa has received in a long time.  As it was rainy, we figured that the line for the free tickets to Parliament Hill would be short, but that wasn't the case.  We arrived at 9:05am, five minutes after the ticket booth opened, and the lineup was already a block long.  Fifty minutes later we had tickets to tour East Block at 12:45pm and Centre Block at 2:00pm.

The rain was heavy when we came out so we headed straight for a restaurant, but then it lightened up and we were able to visit the locks at the end of the Rideau Canal.  Eight locks that are 180+ years old and still operate exactly as they did when they were built.  No pumps - just sluice gates and gravity to move the water between the locks (and muscle power to move the chains that open and close the locks and open and close the sluice gates).  We watched one boat rise in the water and another go down before we left to find lunch, right as it started raining harder again.

We walked through the rain to a popular diner in Ottawa, which was quite busy, but we managed to get there just before the big lunch rush.  The food was OK, but it wasn't as good as the little diner in Niagara Falls.  It was then time to head for Parliament Hill and wait for our tours.

Security into the buildings is substantial.  We had to remove everything metal, including my belt, and Sandra's earrings set off the metal detector.  Once the entire group got through, we had a tour of the restored rooms in the East Block, which included the Governor General's room, the Prime Minister's room and the Privy Council room.

After leaving East Block, we toured Centre Block, which was much more impressive, as it burned to the ground 100 years ago and was rebuilt.  East Block is the only Parliament building to not burn down, so it is the original 1860s architecture.  The neo-Gothic limestone arches (the same Manitoba limestone used in Saskatchewan's Legislative building) and marble floors in Centre Block are much more impressive.  It was very neat standing in the foyer of the House of Commons and recognizing it from all the news interviews with the politicians.  Standing in the House of Commons was also very cool.

At the end of the tour you can go up the Peace Tower and look out over Ottawa under the clock, but the line was long, slow and Jonathan did not want to go, so I took him down and waited on some chairs for the rest of the family.  I'm 100% done with lines to go somewhere tall.  It is never worth the wait.  Forty minutes later, Sandra arrived and we left.  The thunderstorms started at this point and we were drenched when we arrived back at the hotel.