More Ottawa

[alexiscartwheel]

Thursday was our final day in Ottawa. We checked out of our hotel in the morning, but luckily we were able to check all our bags in the cloakroom at the National Gallery. Roaming around Ottawa with a rolling suitcase all day did not seem like a very fun plan.

I thought there was a lot of interesting stuff to see at the National Gallery. They have a large section of Canadian Art, which was very cool since it was mostly artists I'm unfamiliar with. In addition to painting and sculpture, the Canadian Gallery includes some First Nations art and an entire chapel that was relocated to the National Gallery. I'm not usually big into contemporary art, but there were several pieces in that gallery that I enjoyed. One was a multi-room installation; one of the rooms had a disco ball on a see-saw operated by a pulley attached to the door. Pretty crazy! European and American Art had its own gallery as well, where I saw some works by artists I know and lots of St. Jerome's. Was someone in acquisitions at the National Gallery really into St. Jerome?

In between two stints at the National Library, we walked out to Rideau Hall, where the Canadian Governor General lives. Tours of the house aren't offered during the week, but the grounds are open to the public. We mostly admired the fall foliage and played with our cameras before heading back downtown.

All in all, it was a good trip, even though everything didn't necessarily follow the original plans. I saw some interesting new sights, learned a little bit more about Canada, and, of course, got to hang out with friends. I'm glad I decided to go instead of just sitting around my house for the entire week off!



That's me and Meghan standing in front of Parliament. There are some more photos (including the Alexandra bridge sign!) at my Flickr page, which I think you can access by clicking on the photo.

Comments

[sea_thoughts]

European and American Art had its own gallery as well, where I saw some works by artists I know and lots of St. Jerome's. Was someone in acquisitions at the National Gallery really into St. Jerome?

Well, it might interest you to know that Jerome is the patron saint of translators and translation, since he translated the Bible from Greek to Latin for the Catholic church. And since Canada is a bilingual country and Catholicism is a major minority religion there (or am I wrong?), I think he holds a lot of significance for your country. :) (I'm not Catholic, but I did a Masters in Translation, where we learned a lot about its history.)

What beautiful buildings. They just make me want to visit Canada even more than I did!

[alexiscartwheel.livejournal.com]

You know, the moment I saw one of the St. Jerome paintings, I was able to identify him, but couldn't for the life of me remember what he did to become a saint (I had four years of Catholic school, but a lot of the details have been lost). The idea of translation and bilingualism being of special national significance is really interesting, I'll have to look into that!

I think Catholicism is actually the majority religion in Canada, probably because the French established so many churches in the east. If you ever do visit Canada, you should check out some of the gorgeous Catholic churches. La Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal is amazing.

[sea_thoughts]

I think Catholicism is actually the majority religion in Canada, probably because the French established so many churches in the east.

Really? That's interesting! And I'd love to see your Notre Dame someday. ^^

[buildmedown.livejournal.com]

ahhh
isnt ottawa fun :)
I'm a McGill Student as well. So sorry if you arent sure too much about me.