Late Night for Jack

While wandering and shooting pictures, I ran into this guy unlocking his bike from a street sign post a couple blocks down from the Hill. Jack Layton was very nice to speak with. We walked about a block together and talked briefy about why Bill Blakie would make a great speaker of the house and why he should never consider his party as only the fourth party. Very personable guy...

Wellington Street (Across From Parliament)

Sparks Street

Looking Down Elgin...

The Usual Suspects

Here are just a couple of shots from the Hill at night...

The Archer

This was taken in front of an insurance company building just down from Wellington.

Department of Justice, or Love

Notice the small heart in the window of the DOJ building. Someone slammed the window shortly after I took this.

Albert House

I thought I had better post some pictures of the inside of the B&B. The food is great here as are the rooms...

Poor Souls of The Hill

This was one of the saddest things I saw in my time here. These homeless (but cared for) cats live behind Parliament. The government makes a donation once a year to the CATMAN OF THE HILL and he takes donations at the site. The cats have two buildings stuffed with hay to stay in. They were quite friendly when I was there, one even sat on my lap while emailed off some photos.

Senator and a Smoke

On a tour of Parliament they took us through the Senate chamber, wow! Shortly after shooting this I went outside to grab a coffee and came back to watch the rally for a while. Watching from the top of The Hill, an older gentleman came and stood next to me and we started to talk about rallies. We talked while I drank my coffee and he had his smoke and we introduced each other at the end of our conversation. Turns out he is Hon. Gerald Comeau, Deputy Leader of the Government (Senate).

More Front of The Hill...

While I waited to enter for a tour, I snapped some pictures of the front of The Hill.

Farmers Rally on The Hill

I have to admit it. I haven't felt at home in Ottawa. The people that I've encountered here are dressed to the hilt, looking at their shoes as they Blackberry past you. That feeling quickly disappeared today. I started out walking up Wellington to The Hill when I noticed a somewhat familiar smell, manure. I know what you're thinking but I wasn't downwind of Parliament, yet. I walked right into a group of rallying farmers. They started up a conversation with me and it continued for the distance to The Hill down Wellington. They stopped to adjust themselves and grind mud and crap off their boots curbside while we spoke. Ahh, home.

Supreme Court of Canada

This will be the new home of Mr. Rothstein from Winnipeg. The Supreme Court is just west of The Hill.

Imported Squirrels

In keeping with the current G-G's cultural history, we have apparently imported some black squirrels that live on the grounds of Rideau Hall.

Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall starts out small and ends up large. It has about a 2 acre grounds before you even get to the house. The neat thing about the grounds is that almost every tree there has been planted by someone official or famous (or both!) The house is Queen like, something like what I remember from England or Scotland. It even has a husband door so that Jean Daniel Lafond can enter just like John Raulston Saul did.

24 Sussex

This place is a lot larger than I had imagined or seen before. It's got a guard house that is the size of my house!

The Road To Seperatism

The bridge to Quebec, notice the nicely SEPARATED lanes.

Your Money Goes Here

Revenue Canada H.Q.

You Can't Spell Embassy Without...

...U.S. The US Embassy is located on Sussex (embassy row, they're all there). It is fairly new and ominous looking. Not to mention and entire lane of Sussex is occupied with huge concrete blocks, preventing traffic from getting within 100 feet of the property. I overheard an individual on The Hill saying that the walls throughout this building were no less than three feet thick anywhere.

National Gallery of Canada

Giant Spider Attacks The Hill

Actually this is a *large* display in front of the National Gallery (which is closed on Tuesdays for anyone planning a trip).

Peacekeeper Memorial

Chateau On The Hill

One of the more elegant hotels in the area of the Hill. There are no shortages of fancy cars or fancy ladies.

Ready, Aim, French!

I would imagine that the guns used to welcome the G-G are loaded with empties, right? Who knows for sure, remember they are pointed right at Quebec.

Changing of the Guard

Terrorist Turkey Tuesdays?

Apparently another country ending in "Stan" is having some problems. This demonstration was held right in front of me (in fact I had some guy screaming at me to move) complete with the chanting and the a-la-la-la. The RCMP (in the gray unmarked van) seemed to have a keen interest in a couple of the individuals.

Off To The Hill, Again...

I'm off again to see how many Parliamentary Guards it takes to drag me out of the next restricted hallway. Keep checking for new posts, I'll most likely update after dinner tonight.

Despair

This painting of a solider lost at sea really took my breath away. It encompasses the terror of each individual tragedy that each war has thousands of.