Ottawa: Part 2

We awoke the next day to sunny skys and hot weather. Started the day off right with a delicious bagel from our bagel shop in the By Ward Market and headed off to see about catching a tour of the Parliament Buildings. We arrived at Parliament Hill shortly after the changing of the guards and as a result, the tour which we had hoped to go on was already full. So we took a ticket for a later tour, and headed to a coffee shop near the Sparks Street Mall (where the BBQ cookoff was taking place). The Bridgehead Coffee shop became one of our haunts while in Ottawa. Delicious!

The tour of the Parliament Buildings was quite interesting. Because we were in Ottawa a few days before Canada Day, there was a giant black stage which was being set up right in front of theParliament Buildings, making it impossible for us to get that perfect shot. A bit frustrating, but we snapped lots of pictures anyway. To start the tour off, we all had to go through security. I had my trusty backpack with me full of all sorts of treasures which the security guards weren't so sure about. Once they decided that my mini tripod was indeed a mini tripod, they finally let me join Colette who had breezed through the metal detector.

I was amazed by the number of gargoyles and carved faces which cover almost every surface inside and outside of the Parliament Buildings. For some reason, it wasn't was I expected.

Colette also has some great pictures of gargoyles posted on her blog, which can be viewed at:
http://lapagedecolette.blogspot.com/2006/07/capital-city-critters.html

I was also quite impressed with the architectural details in the Parliament Buildings, particularly the library ceiling.