Canada Day In Ottawa | Summer Holidays 2019

Happy Belated Canada Day eh!

The first two weeks of July have come and gone but it gave me many great adventures and memories. One of them is the place where I went on the first.

For the first of July, we had the opportunity to drive east and spend Canada Day at Parliament Hill along and see Canada’s Capital.
For my readers that are not Canadian, July first is kind of the Independence Day of the nation because, on July 1st, 1867 Canada become a country separate from the British Empire.
This year to celebrate it we drove two hours to Ottawa (the nation’s capital) and had a really memorable time that included me getting sun roasted.

We arrived there early morning and had to walk 20minutes to Parliament Hill where the big party was happening.

Since we were early we had a great front view of the stage and of the red carpet where all the big stars would walk by. When we got there the Hill was mostly empty but when the show began it was full to the brim including out in the streets. The only downside to arriving early is standing underneath the hot blazing sun for 2 hours before the show actually began but it was so worth it!

 

I had the opportunity to see Justin Trudeau, Julie Payette (former astronaut, speaker of 5 languages and repressive of the Queen in Canada) among other politicians walk by less than two meters away!

Related Post: Garnier Ombreelle Sunscreen review

The party finally started and thought it was fun it was somewhat underwhelming. There were some songs by Canadian singers on varying topics but nobody I had ever heard before. 

The Prime Minister gave a half-hearted speech were he proceeded to pat himself on the back on everything he had done the last year (except no mention of the iconic scandal), then again it’s campaign season. The Governor General gave a better speech and finally after a couple of a song the astronaut, David Saint-Jaques, gave a speech and that was the best part about the ceremony.

Though he was back on Earth, at the moment he was recovering in a hospital in Texas David was well enough to make a video appearance for Canada day.

Bank Of Canada Museum

We went to the Bank of Canada Museum, which is next to the Hill, to see the exhibition on Viola Desmond, who is the first woman, besides the Queen, on Canadian currency. Her story is so inspiring as she stood against the racial segregation in the 1940s and is the one who helped start the civil rights movement in Canada.

 

There is an interactive, fun exhibition on how money is made, how we are part of the economy and overall how money has changed and is still the same. There is a section that is full of Canadian currency from the 1700s and currency from all over the world including some Canadian banknotes that were found at the Twin Towers after 9/11.

I loved how it is perfectly made to capture the attention of everyone including children and adults. It also helps that it’s free!! Since it was Canada Day all the national museums were free, which is why we sought out to find them.

The War Museum 

Afterward, we walked forever and reached Canada’s War Museum. Right in front of the building, there is a sculpture to memorialize the Holocaust and to remember what happened so it doesn’t occur again. 

The atmosphere at the museum is very somber because that whole building recounts the story of the many wars fought and it results. The millions of people died to senseless ideologies and actions. It has a showroom of all the vehicles (cars, planes, etc) that were used in wars.

There is also a huge exhibition on all of the wars Canada has fought in, and how people were affected by it both during and afterward. From the way, the First Nations fought back in the 16th century to Canadians in Vimy Ridge to the Korean War to now. The building is huge and covers everything.
It’s interactive, heartbreaking and thought-provoking.

 

Related Post: Barbie Expo | Montreal

There was a special exhibition on the Scottish people and wars. There’s a lot of military outfits and it’s interesting to learn how that even though they were European they were still outcasts in Canada and Europe.

When I was younger I was very interested in Scottish history and so this exhibition was something I really enjoyed. By the way, this blog is called Plaid + Sugar, and plaid refers to the fact that I love tartans, which is a Scottish fabric-pattern!  

 

 

Afterward getting lost in on my way out (it’s huge!), we finally left to find our car which was parked 40 mins from where we were. Walking that amount is not a problem, but walking 40 minutes after spending the whole day standing (and walking) and part of it under the sun was definitely not easy-breezy.

 

Overall I had a great day and definitely enjoyed myself. I had been to Ottawa before and loved it, and so I am glad that I was able to get to know the city more and to be able to spend Canada Day in the nation’s capital. 

Have you traveled anywhere yet this summer? Have you been to your nation’s capital?

Loren Camila