We took a couple of day trips while we were in Montreal, one to Quebec City (the old French colonial center) and one to Ottawa (the national capital of Canada).
Quebec City is very old, dating back to the early 1600s. The old central part of the city is set on a high bluff overlooking the St. Lawrence River, and it has a network of winding, narrow streets. It reminded us of old cities we had seen in France.
We took one of those hop on/hop off bus tours which allowed us to get an overview of the city. We don’t usually take tours, but this one seemed like a good idea because Quebec City has a rather confusing layout, with parts of the city on the bluff and parts near the river (with steep hills to climb!). We enjoyed the tour, even though it was cold sitting outside on the top of the bus. On the first circuit of the tour we found a place we wanted to explore more, the Joan of Arc Garden, so we hopped back on the bus and went there for a longer visit. The garden has an impressive display of flowers but a special highlight was a display of Halloween art throughout the garden. The Joan of Arc Garden is part of a large public park preserving the Plains of Abraham, the site of a decisive 1759 battle between the British and the French that led to British control of Canada.
On another day we traveled to Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. We went out of curiosity and didn’t have any expectations, but as it turned out we were very impressed. Parliament Hill, the center of Canada’s government, consists of a spectacular array of Gothic Revival buildings, built in the 1860s. The buildings are impressive from any angle, but especially as viewed from the bluffs overlooking the Ottawa River.
Adjacent to Parliament Hill is the Rideau Canal and its network of beautiful parks and walkways overlooking the locks. The canal was opened in 1832 to provide Canada with a reliable connection between the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario as a precaution in case of war with the United States. In the winter a section of the canal passing through central Ottawa becomes the worlds largest and second longest skating rink. We don’t intend to return in the cold Canadian winter to check it out.
Also adjacent to Parliament Hill is a large statue commemorating Canada’s fallen veterans in all of its wars over the past hundred-plus years. Canada seems to be very proud of their military, and rightly so. Canadian troops have fought side-by-side with US troops in all of our major wars. Canadians were especially crucial in the battles that led to the end of WWI, a hundred years ago. We were fortunate to be at the statue during the changing of the guard, complete with uniformed Canadian soldiers and a bagpiper in kilts. All of the military commands were issued in both English and French.
We walked past the US Embassy, a massive building reflecting the close relationship between our two countries. The embassy is heavily fortified, with barricades along the street to prevent any sort of car bomb attack. Unfortunately the architecture is very uninspiring, especially in contrast to the spectacular nearby buildings on Parliament Hill.
