What does the Mint, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rideau Hall, shoes, laundry and Rush have in common...???

July 7, 2013 Monday

What do The Mint, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Rideau Hall, shoes, laundry and Rush have in common...???

...well nothing, but that is what we did today.

We are staying at a really nice spot just outside of Ottawa on the Rideau River.  In 2008 we had stayed here for a couple days and were so happy with it, we came back.   It has since been through a complete renovation so it’s even nicer than what we remember.  The wi-fi internet was apparently forgotten about during the renos however, and we can’t get the signal in our room, but if we go outside... and to the middle of the building  by the spa....we can get  the signal.   Guess where I will be posting my blog...

Downtown and in the heart of the city you will find the Mint.  This is were the collector coins and the bullion coins are minted. After going through a metal detector, have our bags checked, we take the tour, and cast our eyes upon a 99.99 gold coil ready to be put into the puncher to make coins, was over 900 pounds of pure gold, worth $22 million dollars.  The tour guide tells us that in 2011 the mint here in Ottawa had a profit of 3 billion dollars just by minting coins for other countries.  This is also where they made the 2010 Olympic medals that were presented in Vancouver.  They are more beautiful in person than on tv!  That was my favourite part of the tour.  They also make the  Canadian Victoria Cross here.

Across the street is the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the doors are wide open.  I love that about the Catholic churches, you can go in just about any time.  This church was built from 1840 to 1880 - reason for that was when they ran out of funds, they stopped building, so it was added to and added to as the funds came in, until it got to be the size they wanted. 

It looks to be marble and stone inside, however it is all made of wood.  The only things not made of wood were the statues in the front alter area - those were made of plaster, and the stained glass windows - those are made of glass...uh duh right?  It was so lovely to just to sit, look and enjoy the beauty of this old ornate building. 

As we walk out of the cathedral,  we see the “bug sprayer”...wonder how many gallons of spray it will take to get rid of it!

What I did not know is that they have guards outside of Rideau Hall, which is the Governor Generals home.  We arrive in time to get some pictures with the guards just before the “changing of the guards”.  I yelled at them all to not smile!  Only 1 listened.  The guns are not loaded, but they are real, and so is the bayonet on the end.  All the guards today have done a tour in Afghanistan and are now back at home.  They always use the Canadian armed forces to guard Rideau Hall, and when they are all out on missions, they use the reserves.

There is a long roadway that leads up to Rideau Hall with plaques beside the many trees planted by the worlds dignitaries.  It’s a pretty walk and nice to be in the shad a little, it’s been a warm day.

Rideau Hall was actually built by a stone mason in the early 1800’s.  This stone mason was ultra wealthy and built this as a home.  He had quite the estate, and a bunch of kids so he built other mansions on his estate for his kids.  Around this area there are a ton of big beautiful homes that he built.  My favourite room was the "tent" room - it reminded me of salt water taffy and the circus!

The government had already been acquainted with the family and had rented it at times for special events.  So the story goes, when the stone mason died, the house and some of the estate were sold to the government, and thus it began to be the Governor General’s home up to this day.  There is a beautiful garden area and lots of trees, so it’s a really nice quiet place to spend some time.

For those of you who have not been to Ottawa, it’s quite a beautiful city, and the downtown core is perhaps the most beautiful of any city in Canada. 

While on our walk we discover Lucas has a hole in his runner - well close to a hole.  What bad parents we are.  Actually it probably is a testament to Lucas and his practicality.  He told us he didn’t need a new pair as these were barely a year old.  Yeah, but they look 3 years old now that we are looking closely, so off to the mall we go.  Several shoe stores later, he decided on a red, yellow and blue neon pair.  It wasn’t my first choice, but now that they are on his feet they suit him - one of a kind shoes!

Back at the hotel I am doing laundry now for the night and the guys went to check out a Rush concert which is downtown and put on in conjunction with the blues festival.  So I am sweating it out with stinky laundry, reading and blogging, while the guys are out playing.