Catching up in Ottawa

We moved rooms this morning and now have a one-bedroom suite with full kitchen and laundry. We are here until our return to Victoria. Byward Market is three blocks away and the Parliament buildings a few blocks from there. Perfect location.
We spent the morning in the market, having coffee, browsing the stalls and visiting the best French book store we've seen anywhere. Then off to see the Supreme Court. We only had access to the foyer and one room featuring pictures of past Supreme Court judges but while there we learned about a tour today at 4:00 so will return for it. The court is in session and chairs were set up outside the court room with a video screen for the overflow. We could have come early this morning to line up to get inside the court room but decided against. The trial is Bell vs a small town in Quebec - something about a tower? - that was all we got from the security officers.
The foyer is as awesome as it should be considering the importance of the institution - all marble and space. Voices echo. It felt very special to be there.

Our next stop was the Museum of Nature. It is the oldest museum in Canada and the building is an edifice. The original tower at the front was found to be unstable and recently replaced by the "Queen's Lantern" a glass tower intended to reflect the original shape. It currently features a giant jelly fish.
This building served as House of Commons and Senate for a few years following the disastrous fire at the Parliament buildings but is now a vast collection with up-to-date interactive displays and active research. We toured every room of the four floors including an actual blue whale skeleton and a fabulous dinosaur collection. We were lucky to get two of the last five tickets for an evening presentation by Ryan Harris, the lead underwater archeologist whose team discovered the Erebus, Franklin's ship. Fabulous.

Today it is raining but our plan is a drive along the Rideau Canal,  a visit to Rideau House and back to the Supreme Court.

Family heritage

We moved cities today - from Montreal to Ottawa. We arrived in time to drive out to Gatineau Park, the location of Kingsmere. We had an interesting visit to the site of The Farm where Dad's mother, Edith Annie May, grew up. It is now in the hands of the National Capital Commission as bequeathed by Wm Lyon Mackenzie King, the Prime Minister who bought and renovated the farm to add to his other properties around the lake. We are not able to visit The Farm - it is the home of The Speaker of the House and not open to the public. But we did visit the other buildings King either built or bought and renovated. We sat on the deck of Moorside, one of the houses, and had tea. Gatineau Park is in full fall colour - mostly yellows. Beautiful.

Tea on the deck of Moorside

Moorside. King spent his summers here. 

Garden at Moorside

A Taste of the "Towards Moderism" wing

PS Did you know if you double-click on the picture, it will enlarge on your screen? Worth it for these masterpieces.... (Then click on 'x' on top right to go back) Okay, class is over....

Emily Carr - Indian War Canoe (Alert Bay)

Adriene Hebert - Corner of Peel and Sainte-Catherine

Lawren Harris, Morning on Lake Superior
Painting glows across the long room

Marc-Aurele Fortin - Sainte-Simeon

And finally, Musee des Beaux Arts

I had read about a special exhibit of George Zimmel's photographs at the Fine Arts Museum while in Fredericton so that was on my list. I also spent time with Group of Seven artists and another Emily Carr. I love the opportunity to have your nose an inch from the paint and to be able to photograph them to savour later. See next post for pics.

The famous, Marilyn Munro over the steam grate was there but I really loved this one. His T-shirt has Davy Crockett on it. Don't you hope he catches it?

Montreal Next stop.

Back to Schwartz's for a smoked meat sandwich. Once a week seems about right for a visit. Mouth-watering as before. Then on to The Word. A second-hand and rare book shop on Rue Milton around the corner from St. Urbain's. Where else would you buy Mordecai Richler? Or a Mavis Gallant?

The Word on Rue Milton

Montreal - a reprise. First stop

So we have the luxury of being in Montreal again! A chance to do anything we missed and to redo what we liked the first time.
We are going at a slower pace and like that too.

Like a giant game of chess from a distance

We started with a drive up to Mont Royal and stopped in the Cimetiere Notre Dame des Neiges. This is the oldest and largest cemetery in Montreal (Canada?) It has 1 million "residents". It is the Catholic cemetery which started in old town in the seventeenth century but was moved up to Mont Royal in the mid-1800's when the need for space became evident. The cemetery is paired with parkland and is used by Montreal living residents as well. It is beautiful and interesting - has "neighbourhoods" not much different from the city outside the gates - difference cultures and socio-economic groups clustered together.
Another living guest surprised us. This little marmot ignored us and continued to eat the flowers. Its den can be seen under the stairs. One of the private funeral home sites advertises the presence of marmots as a bonus for choosing to be buried here - 'a serene place of natural beauty'.....

Okay, we can go home now.

Just kidding but today's visit through the St. Laurentian Mountains was pretty fabulous in terms of colour. Unfortunately, you're going to have to just believe me because it was overcast and the pictures simply do not reveal the incredible shimmering iridescence of the hillsides. We are in the Charleboix region and it is another UNESCO site - chosen for the boreal forest.

Early in the morning as we set out - not so much colour but a perfectly calm lake

First sighting of the Laurentians