After 2 sunny days with an average temperature of 20 degrees, we went out to a much cooler Toronto day this morning. I had looked up Ottawa's weather & saw they were having a top of 12 degrees today. It was just over 4.5hrs to Ottawa & we stopped along the way at a service centre for petrol. The temperature there was 9 degrees. Neither of us are prepared clothing wise for that cold.
It was an easy drive to Ottawa. We stuck to the highways so there wasn't much to see along the way. There wasn't even many autumn trees.
We arrived in Ottawa about 2.45pm & checked in. Out hotel is located very close to Parliament Hill so we walked up there this afternoon. It is a very impressive building with a tall clock tower. There were lots of these old impressive buildings up there but I don't know what the others are yet. There were a few men in military uniforms walking around so we asked one what was happening. He told us it was a full dress rehearsal for a ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 2 battalions. The ceremony is tomorrow afternoon. He told us there would be some guys parachuting in about 5pm & then the ceremony would commence.
We walked around the building & looked at the numerous statues in the grounds. We found a seat near the entrance to the building overlooking the lawns so we sat there to wait for the parade. It was really cold every time the wind blew & when the military band marched down, we realised we were at the back of them. Then it occurred to us there was an eternal flame burning on the other side of the lawn so we walked down there, warmed up a bit and were watching the band face on. We only had 5 or so minutes of warmth before the soldiers asked everyone to sit on the seats or bleachers that had been set up. We found a sunny spot on the bleachers & watched the band play a few numbers. When they finished, a pipe band came on with bagpipers & drummers. Very cool. By now we had lost our sun so we moved across to the other side of the lawn. We found out the parachutists had been cancelled as it was too windy.
After the bands had played, the official ceremony started. The military officers marched down on to the lawn - there were even some beefeaters who looked very cool. The dignitaries were introduced (they had stand ins as it was a rehearsal) and the band played. Then the battalions were inspected by the officials.
The MC announced that there would now be speeches from 4 of the dignitaries but as they weren't there, the band would play to fill in the time. By now we were just about frozen solid so we decided to skip the rest of the ceremony & go back to the hotel.
We were very lucky to have seen this ceremony in such a beautiful setting. I expect it will be much more crowded tomorrow night when the official ceremony is on.
Tomorrow we are going to go on the hop on hop off bus to see the main sights of Ottawa. I will probably have to wear every piece of clothing I brought with me. I can't believe I didn't even pack a scarf!