Civilization and War...it sounds like the history of mankind...

July 11, 2013  Thursday

Civilization and War.. the history of mankind...

This morning we head out with a thermos of freshly brewed tea.  Seems most of southern Ontario’s water has not been tasting so good, and curiously enough effected our tea so much that we opt to do the Starbucks tea for the last 2 weeks.  

Here in Ottawa the water tastes good and normal so we are back to making our brewed tea and throwing it into a thermos - such a civilized way to start the morning!

First on the agenda is to see the Laurentian Leadership Centre, which is a big old mansion in the heart of downtown Ottawa, and a campus of Trinity Western University.  The school bought the property in 2002.  Phil, being an alumnus figures we can get a tour of this great old house, and we did - our very own personal tour by a nice young lady named Christy.

The home was once the grand estate of a Mr. Booth, his picture still graces the central fireplace mantel in the hallway.  This home was for a time housed the Laurentian club which was a men’s club, and when it was for sale, Trinity bought it.

It still has much of the grandeur it had in the early 1900’s - lots of wood paneling on the walls, huge fireplaces and mantles, beautiful lighting and then there is the original tapestry on the walls.

When it is a school it is home to some 23 students per semester who have quick walking access to the Parliament buildings and everything downtown has to offer.  A great location to study and be in the heart of it all.

Main lounge/Parlour at Trinity Western's  Laurentian Leadership Centre

The Laurier house is next on our GPS.  This is another mansion, close to downtown core and Parliament buildings, that the Liberal party purchased and gave to Wilfred Laurier to live in while Prime Minister of Canada.  It’s a big old beautiful house with a great wrap around veranda outside.  When Laurier died, he left instructions for his wife Zoe to give it to then leader of the Liberal party William Lyon Mckenzie King upon her death, and so that is what she did.  This house was home to 2 Canadian Prime ministers before the house on Sussex was purchased in the 1950’s.

The Laurier House

When Mckenzie King moved in, he updated some of the decor and “amenities” which was electric lighting and running water as well as an elevator.  Mckenzie King liked it here so much that he did most of his work for our country from the home.  His support staff came to him here to work along side instead of at the Parliament buildings.  I can see why, If I had a home like this I would want to work from home too...and never leave.

On the Laurier House wrap around Veranda-I could have sat here all day!

Next we see the last of the Capital Museums which are the Museum of Civilization and the War Museum.  Actually, Phil and Lucas drop me off at the Museum of Civilization and they headed to the War Museum.

I had remembered that back in 2008 I had missed seeing half of this big and beautiful museum and had always wanted to go back, thinking I missed a lot...well I really didn’t.

Spirit of Haida Gwaii, by Bill Reid

I must say it really didn’t have a lot that I was personally interested in.  There is a nice exhibit of the Northwestcoast “first nations” peoples and specifically about the excavation and discovery of important artifacts found near Prince Rupert.  It is done really well, although most of it is dimly lit, so It was difficult to read most of the stuff.

Morning Star painted by Alex Janvier and his son Dean/on the dome roof in the Museum of Civilization

I go up a floor to check out the “special exhibits” and find they weren’t all that special.  The first one I see is "Face to Face” which has about 2 dozen or more pictures or photographs of important people in our Canadian History.  The first picture I saw was of  Kim Campbell, and the famous portrait of her naked behind her parliamentary robe.  Well if that’s their opinion of who’s important in Canadian history..... I browsed through this, didn’t find anyone I was particularly interested in reading about... Oh yeah Conrad Black’s photo was here as well.

Another “special exhibit” was the important people in Canadian History going way back to the beginning.  This was mostly  reading  and a ton of with pictures  on plaque cards.  I desert this place too, I’ve had more than enough history of Canada in these last 2 weeks.  I was looking for something more interesting.

I head off again for the 3rd “special exhibit” which was of  “Voodou” (this is how they spelled it)...ahhhh no thanks, not when they have warnings that some of the stuff may be too graphic for kids and they should be accompanied by adults.  

After that I wander down the 1000 years of Canada’s History called the Canada Hall.  I’ve seen this before, and when you’ve seen the actual historical mansions and homes and forts, this seemed to me just a pretend version of all that’s out there in the real world to see.

My favorite sights today at the museum was the Bill Reid sculpture “ Spirit of Haida Gwaii” and the Morning Star abstract painting on the dome of the building painted by Alex Janvier.  Along with his son Dean, they completed the painting in 4 months in 1993. go outside and sit on the promenade and take in the views of Ottawa from across the river in Gatineau, it’s a pretty day, the sky is blue and a nice breeze and the low grey clouds have disappeared.

The guys have a better experience of course at the War Museum.  This place makes them get goosebumps and shiver with excitement - not so much me- but I am glad they can enjoy it.

Lucas has been here 3 times now and it doesn’t get old for him.  Phil headed right down to the tank section, which we didn’t have too much to see back in 2008, so that is where he started.  Phil and Lucas spend about 4 hours at the War Museum, and then Phil picks me up across the river, and we head back to the War Museum to get Lucas.  Originally we were going to leave Lucas there until 8 pm as this is his favourite museum and it is open late.  However, turns out tonight's Blues Festival concert is right next to the War Museum.  As Phil headed out to get me, there was already a string of traffic and people walking to the outdoor concert, and they were starting to get ready to block off streets so we wouldn't be able to pick him up at 8pm without great difficulty.  We decide to pull Lucas out of the Museum and he can see the rest in the morning.   Turns out Lucas has seen enough, so it all worked out well.

The answer for mankind

I really like Ottawa, and it’s been my favorite city in Ontario now that I’ve seen the others.  It really is a green beautiful city and it seems everywhere you drive you are going over rivers or canals.  I could live here.