Friday, August 24, 2018

After breakfast, we crossed the street to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature ($12.50/pp for seniors). This very interactive museum explores life on earth, from dinosaurs fossils to present day arctic life (I found the projection of video clips on huge chunks of real ice to be both unique and interesting).  A $4.00 extra fee gave access to a special interactive exhibit on the brain (running until September 3). No child will get bored when visiting this museum!

Ottawa Canadian Museum of Nature

Ottawa Canadian Museum of Nature

Light lunch, then off to Parliament Hill. Ahhh! No tickets left for today’s guided tours!!!

Notes to travellers:

1. Get your ticket(s) early (meaning line up by 8:00 am) if you want a guided tour the same day. Tickets are released on a first-come, first-served basis.
2. If you live in the GTA (Ontario) and are using public transportation, your PRESTO card will also work in the capital city. Here, you will not need to swipe twice (in and out) when taking the bus.

So, we did the next best thing (this one, free of charge) and walked all around Centre Block and the Peace Tower,  taking our sweet time to enjoy the perimeter. The weather was fantastic and the views, amazing!

Ottawa

Ottawa

Next Stop: The National Gallery of Canada ($18.00/pp for seniors). The featured exhibit – “Impressionist Treasure” – was covering a large collection of the 19th and early 20th century French and Danish art from the Ordrupgaard Museum in Coppenhagen. From Corot to Pissaro, Monet and Gauguin, the paintings (and their baroque frames) were nicely displayed, and we did spend most of our time on that floor. I also bought the exhibition catalogue, should any of you be interested…

Lines Theme

Lines Theme

The giant metal spider in front of the Gallery entrance is quite a sight as well. It better not come alive!

After dinner on a pedestrian street near Parliament Hill, we decided to watch the Northern Lights show one more time. Hey! You can never have enough of a good thing!

Too tired to walk back to the hotel, we took the bus. Suffice to say that with over 13,000 steps for the day, I am ready for bed.

Bonne nuit!

Anna