Ottawa

We arrived at the University of Ottawa residence on Tuesday afternoon and kicked off the start of our visit with a haunted walking tour of the city. Our tour guide Marie-Pier gave us an eerie historical tour of the city. We learned that much of Ottawa was built on top of a cemetary which was mostly comprised of Cholera victims which they often piled in pits. Apparently, when building many of the modern buildings in the downtown region, workers discovered human skulls and various bones when they were digging the foundations.

On Wednesday, over half the group went white-water rafting in Beachburg, Ontario, while the rest of us toured the Byward Market, the Rideau Canal and the surrounding region. For some of us it was a fast-paced, exhillerating day in the rapids and for others the day was spent relaxing and strolling around the city.

Thursday was an educational day as we learned all about Canada's Parliment. We started off in the morning watching the "Changing of the Guard", which the student's thought closley resembled the ceremony in London, England, and took a tour through the Parliment Buildings. Our tour took us through the House of Commons, the Senate,the Reading Room, the Francophone Heiritage room and the Library. We went back to the residence for dinner which was a plate of Spanish Rice courtesy of Stephanie and headed out to the Museum of Civilization.

After walking across the provincial line into Hull, Quebec, we arrived at the museum to find that it closed at 8pm on Thursdays! Luckily there was a free show called "Mosiaika: Sights and Sounds of Canada" that took place at 10pm. We quickly got back to the Parliment Buildings and witnessed a phenomenal, creative display of the history of Canada. We all sat on the lawn infront of the parliment buildings and were awestruck by the beautiful artwork projected onto the face of the Parliment Building. Check it out - http://www.mosaika-sl.ca/mosaika.asp?lang=en

We are now excited to reach Quebec City! Stay tuned.

Katherine, Stephanie and Fraser