Parliament Hill, here in Ottawa, houses the Canadian federal government.
Free tours are available daily.
I haven't been on a tour for years...
But when my cousin and her husband recently visited from British Columbia, I joined them on a tour of our House of Commons, Parliamentary Library and Senate...
The artistic detail is amazing!
Amid the solemnity of the place, with its many statues and royal portraits...
...I'm always happy to see a sculptor's touch of whimsy!
In one place, while sculpting Norsemen, the sculptors added the faces of the sculpting team. It was discovered years later - when someone noticed that one of the "Norsemen" was wearing glasses!
The tour itself was very interesting.
The Parliamentary library - with its wooden interior - amazingly survived a fire that destroyed the previous Parliament building.
It still has library catalog drawers like the ones from my childhood - before everything was computerized - though the guide said that they're for show only. They no longer hold catalog cards..
Finally we went up the Peace Tower, where we were able to get a view of the whole city.
It's still a spectacular view...
... since a law prohibits anyone in the downtown core from building a structure taller than the Peace Tower.
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