Views of Ottawa, Ottawa

4 more images

There are several lovely view platforms by Ottawa river. There is one especially nice with ornate information signs on the history of the Ottawa river.

I love sitting here with this great view of Ottawa, the Ottawa river and Gatineau contemplating the history of the river.

The Ottawa river is a part of a 5.000 km of waterway - on which the Aboriginal traders sailed for thousands of years. In the 17th century European traders and explorers travelled into the wilderness and came back with - fur. The fur trade was blooming with huge fur-trading canoes returning in the spring. The fur traders called Ottawa river The Great River of the North.

Ottawa river was/is called Kitchissippi by the Algonquin people (Indians) - in their language is means The Great River.

4 more images

Nepean point in Ottawa is a hill with fantastic views of Ottawa, Ottawa river and Gatineau - and I would say the best views of Parliament hill from this side of the river.

There is a statue at the highermost point of the hill of Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer and geographer, where he holds an astrolabe upside-down, which is an error in the making of the statue. Champlain (1567-1635) founded the city of Québec in 1608 and then 5 years later he went on an exploration of the Ottawa river. The statue was erected in 1915 and was made by Hamilton MacCarthy. I couldn´t get a photo up close of the statue, there was just too much sunshine.

Beneath the statue is an amphitheatre named Astrolabe Theatre. I heard talks about tearing that amphitheatre down as it contains asbestos, it will be such a shame if they tear it down.

If you want to see great views and get a photo with Parliament hill in the background then this is the place to go. I can sit here for hours on a sunny day.

it's time of year in Canda andn other countries in these northern latitudes with the seasonal moevmnet of cooler airs from the Arctic that brings with it the wondrous works of Mother Nature;

my walk along the Gatineau Hills this week and the Ottawa river yesterday morning confirmed the need for fresh air and excercise to keep body and mind ready for action and not clogged by cholesterol and its various equivilents:

they refresh and invigorate the spirits;
with the silence and sounds of nature we shed the baggae not unilke that if our overhyped consumer materialism.

The is alot of historical culture in Ottawa, so if your into that stuff be sure to check out.....hmmmm...the locks or better known as the rideau canal, which is one of the longest man made canal's in the world. Uhh possibly also you should check out the parliment buildings.

Also there is an awsome market in the core of downtown were you can get fresh foods, that are organic and not harvested with checmicals.

1 more image

As Sue and I continued our clockwise walk around the Parliament Buildings, their location high above the Ottawa River provided some panoramic views of the city, as well as across the river into Hull, Quebec. This scene shows the Royal Alexandra Bridge which, at 565-m (1850-ft), was the 4th longest steel cantilever bridge in the world when it was opened in 1901. Although originally built for rail and trolley traffic, it was converted to road and pedestrian use in the 1950s. Today, two of its three lanes are dedicated to vehicles while the third lane is part of the Trans-Canada Trail system, for the exclusive use of bicycles and pedestrians.

The little spot of green on the near shore where the bridge lands is part of Major's Hill Park, one of the oldest in the city, having been established in 1874. Beautifully located beside the river and filled with stately trees, it is a popular spot with locals and tourists because of its great views looking toward Parliament Hill and taking in the various river activities.

Swinging our gaze a bit further to the right (2nd pic) revealed the impressive new (1988) National Gallery of Canada dominating the landscape. A legacy of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, it concentrates on Canadian art and features a wide collection of sculptures, paintings and drawings. Standing nearby, but dwarfed by the National Gallery, is a historic monument, the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica. This oldest surviving church in Ottawa was first built in 1841 as a simple church with alterations progressing in stages until it reached cathedral status in 1885.

Once we finished our walkabout, we were going to head that way for a closer look at that part of Ottawa, but we ran out of time along the way and ended up enjoying a magnificent lunchtime Thai meal in the ByWard Market area not far away from these scenes.

Again another photographic opportunity presented itself from this vantage point. This time it was a far away statue that was unknown to me at the time. In researching exactly what I had pictures of, I found this place to be Nepean Point and the statue that of the explorer Samuel de Champlain. I wish I could tell you more, but this trip allowed more time for photos than facts. So, I will leave it to others who are certainly more qualified than me to provide you with greater detail. I'm just thankful for a beautiful day with such sights for the taking!

Well now! Who knew? Though I didn't realize it at the time, I'm beginning to learn that this page building business can be quite educational as the view to the other side of the Ottawa River provided a glimpse into the province of Quebec! And, if you listen carefully you can hear French being spoken too! ;-)

4 more images

Here are a few additional photos of the various sights & monuments & animals & stimulating visuals awaiting you in this Canadian Capital of Ottawa! I don't have anything to say of importance here (surprise! surprise!) and simply hope that the pictures will speak for themselves. I am a professional photographer, you know! I'm also full of "something"! ;-)

Canadians can be proud of their long heritage of participating in efforts to bring peace between squabbling parties. It is a noble and worthy endeavor which probably is greatly unappreciated, but very necessary. Cudos to Canada!

This is the second picture taken in this area and I'm not sure why the sight of it prompted me to take this photo, but it did. I suppose it seemed a bit strange to realize that I was in Canada and on "foreign" soil. It didn't feel foreign to me. Perhaps this is the place for some commentary...

Canada and the U.S. are very much alike. This may cause angst for some Canadians but I prefer to think of it as complimentary. Both countries are created by immigrants and their original inhabitants were Native Americans. Both have democratic governments. In short, there are far more similarities than differences and I have yet to meet an unfriendly Canadian. I hope that they might say the same of us!