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alexiscartwheel) wrote2007-10-24 10:40 pm
alexiscartwheel) wrote2007-10-24 10:40 pm
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Ottawa Trip!
What better way to spend part of the “Study Break” than by going on a road trip? Meghan, Rosanne, and I decided to spend three days of our oh-so-productive week off in Ottawa, the nation’s capital. We planned to leave Tuesday morning, drive to Ottawa, then have the next three days to spend be tourists. However, like all good plans, ours fell apart pretty quickly.
On Tuesday morning, I awoke at 9:30 with the sudden realization that we were supposed to leave an hour before. I called Meghan and learned that, no, we wouldn’t be leaving on time because her car was broken into overnight. Instead, we schlepped down to the Greyhound station in the rain and took an afternoon bus to Ottawa.
By the time we arrived, most things were closed, so we decided to go to the mall. Malls in Ottawa don’t close at 5pm! I resolved to only buy one book in Chapters, and I almost stuck with it. After much debate, I decided to buy a copy of Twilight because I keep hearing what a good book it is, so now I’ll be able to see for myself. When I was walking past the children’s sections, I spotted an end cap of Kit Pearson books. Then I noted that they had signed copies of The Sky is Falling, one of my favorite books. My copy is extremely warn, and only held together by some scotch tape, so I couldn’t pass up a new, signed copy!
On Wednesday we spent most of the day in and around Parliament. First, we went up the Peace Tower and checked out the views of the city, including the strange looking American Embassy. We were able to get tickets from our local M.P. (Gilles Ducheppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois) for the afternoon Question Period in the House of Commons. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, since I don’t know a lot about Canadian politics, but it turned out to be very interesting. The M.P.’s from opposing parties ask questions, then heckle the Prime Minister or the Cabinet Secretary who answers. Unfortunately, the heckling is not included in the simultaneous translations. The translations were great since the M.P.s switch back and forth between English and French a lot. Sometimes, they even switched languages mid-statement.
I think the high point of the Question Period was when one of the Liberal M.P.s compared Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister, to Lord Voldemort. Harper was accused of economic “Hocus Pocus,” at which point another Liberal M.P. waved an imaginary wand and said “Poof!” Now, I’ve never actually watched the U.S. House of Representatives in person, but I’ve seen C-span. Congress is boring.
After Question Period we took a tour of the Parliament building, but because both houses were in sessions, there were more closed areas. We did get to go inside the Library of Parliament, which was pretty cool. It’s circular, with three floors of shelving around the outside of the room, with shelves that come toward the center like wheel spokes. There’s lots of intricately carved wood, which was very pretty, and, of course, a large statue of Queen Victoria in the center of the room. We also saw the old catalog card drawers, which made Meghan and Rosanne start shuddering. (Cataloging’s not that bad!) Unlike the Library of Congress, the Library of Parliament is not the national library, it’s just the Library that Parliament uses.
We spent lots of time wandering around the city looking at monuments and statues (there are a lot). I'm a big dork, so I took pictures of the Alexandra Bridge, and the corresponding road sign. Hey, it's not everyday I see my name on a sign! We also saw the stray cat shelter behind Parliament Hill. Some fat black squirrels were sharing in the cat food fest, but the cats didn't seem to mind. We had dinner (and beer!) at an Irish pub in what Meghan says is “the trendy Jean-Talon meets Ste-Catherine Street” area of town. And now we're finally back at the glorious Econo Lodge, where I'm having lots of fun with the crummy internet connection. It's been a lot of walking today, so I've definitely earned my sleep tonight.
By the time we arrived, most things were closed, so we decided to go to the mall. Malls in Ottawa don’t close at 5pm! I resolved to only buy one book in Chapters, and I almost stuck with it. After much debate, I decided to buy a copy of Twilight because I keep hearing what a good book it is, so now I’ll be able to see for myself. When I was walking past the children’s sections, I spotted an end cap of Kit Pearson books. Then I noted that they had signed copies of The Sky is Falling, one of my favorite books. My copy is extremely warn, and only held together by some scotch tape, so I couldn’t pass up a new, signed copy!
On Wednesday we spent most of the day in and around Parliament. First, we went up the Peace Tower and checked out the views of the city, including the strange looking American Embassy. We were able to get tickets from our local M.P. (Gilles Ducheppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois) for the afternoon Question Period in the House of Commons. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, since I don’t know a lot about Canadian politics, but it turned out to be very interesting. The M.P.’s from opposing parties ask questions, then heckle the Prime Minister or the Cabinet Secretary who answers. Unfortunately, the heckling is not included in the simultaneous translations. The translations were great since the M.P.s switch back and forth between English and French a lot. Sometimes, they even switched languages mid-statement.
I think the high point of the Question Period was when one of the Liberal M.P.s compared Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister, to Lord Voldemort. Harper was accused of economic “Hocus Pocus,” at which point another Liberal M.P. waved an imaginary wand and said “Poof!” Now, I’ve never actually watched the U.S. House of Representatives in person, but I’ve seen C-span. Congress is boring.
After Question Period we took a tour of the Parliament building, but because both houses were in sessions, there were more closed areas. We did get to go inside the Library of Parliament, which was pretty cool. It’s circular, with three floors of shelving around the outside of the room, with shelves that come toward the center like wheel spokes. There’s lots of intricately carved wood, which was very pretty, and, of course, a large statue of Queen Victoria in the center of the room. We also saw the old catalog card drawers, which made Meghan and Rosanne start shuddering. (Cataloging’s not that bad!) Unlike the Library of Congress, the Library of Parliament is not the national library, it’s just the Library that Parliament uses.
We spent lots of time wandering around the city looking at monuments and statues (there are a lot). I'm a big dork, so I took pictures of the Alexandra Bridge, and the corresponding road sign. Hey, it's not everyday I see my name on a sign! We also saw the stray cat shelter behind Parliament Hill. Some fat black squirrels were sharing in the cat food fest, but the cats didn't seem to mind. We had dinner (and beer!) at an Irish pub in what Meghan says is “the trendy Jean-Talon meets Ste-Catherine Street” area of town. And now we're finally back at the glorious Econo Lodge, where I'm having lots of fun with the crummy internet connection. It's been a lot of walking today, so I've definitely earned my sleep tonight.