30 May - In Gatineau - Day 26 of TCE

After the glorious weather last evening I peered outside the room window to find that it had rained a bit overnight. I feared that it may interfere with the schedule I had for the day, which was almost a full day in Parliament Hill, walking around and taking tours of the famous buildings there. Last evening I had noted that the Canadian Museum of History would open at 9.30 am and hence, that was the first part of my agenda this morning. Breakfast consisted of muesli and cold milk with fruits, now almost an unvarying morning exercise. The city of Gatineau was in the past known as Hull, one of the earliest non-native settlements in the National Capital Region. After crossing the Gatineau River, on the way to the Museum, I found large tracts of swampy lands to the right. Perhaps, the effects of more than normal rainfall in the region.

Initially known as the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Museum is a treasure trove of information on the evolution of the peoples of Canada and their cultural diversity. It took me through the entire spectrum of life from the times of the First Nations to the modern day with beautiful illustrations, artefacts and research material. The building that houses the Museum is by itself a work of majestic architecture. The Museum has three permanent exhibition halls named the Grand Hall, First Peoples Hall and Canadian History Hall. It is also home to the Children's Museum, a lovely enclave where children get to learn and experiment cultures, activities and languages of countries across the world, a movie theatre and special galleries. At the entrance to the Children’s Museum I was handed a ‘Passport’ which could be stamped at various locations within the museum. Besides ensuring that visitors go through every important segment of the museum, the stamping is also a means by which children study what is beyond their classrooms.

The Grand Hall, on the level below that of the entrance and ticket counter, is the building’s architectural centrepiece. It has a large wall of windows stretching more than 350 feet and 50 feet tall. The Hall features one of the largest indoor collection of totems in the world and the original plaster pattern for the Spirit of Haida Gwaii. Aboriginal homes have been recreated by aboriginal artisans using cedar wood. The stamp collection is another highlight of the museum. The First People Hall, created by the curators of the museum after extensive discussions with aboriginal people, features their 20,000 year history in North America. Their struggle for survival in harsh climates, extinction of food sources, arrival of white people, and integration into a modern Canadian society have all been extensively documented.

The Canadian History Hall is the story of Canada in the modern times, the struggle with war, economy and development. The original flag that was flown on the Peace Tower in Parliament Hill in 1965 is a treasured exhibit in the Hall. I also read with amusement the story of how Ottawa came to be made the capital of Canada. It is said, in jest, that Queen Victoria chose Ottawa in 1857 because she liked a painting of the city! On the more serious side, Ottawa is almost midpoint between Montreal and Toronto and that swung the decision. The struggle to ‘liberate’ Quebec from the Confederation and the political jostling between Pierre Trudeau and his bete noire, Rene Levesque is another part of Canadian history that is well documented. Of special interest to me in the museum was the special exhibition on Neanderthals. It reengineered a mindset that had seen this set of our ancestors as barbarians and of low mental acuity.

Parking is a major problem in any large city, and it is so in Ottawa too. Therefore, I left the car in the parking lot of the Canadian Museum of History and walked across, yet again, on the Pont Alexandra Bridge for a detailed exploration of Parliament Hill. It was bright and sunny by the time I emerged from the museum and therefore, it was a good time to walk. The view of Parliament Hill this morning was not magical like it was last evening. Surely, the play of light adds to the lustre of any distant object or buildings. Just after crossing the bridge I took the pathway that led to the discharge point of the Rideau Canal, the locks. The Rideau Locks is a set of eight locks that link the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers through the Rideau Canal.

I walked the pathway up the locks admiring the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and the memorials that sprinkled the route. When I reached the Plaza Bridge I got a holistic view of the locks that one misses as one walks up. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel is luxury redefined, it is said. The hotel has over 420 rooms on 660,000 square feet area. As a former railway man I took pride in the fact that most of the luxury hotels in Canada along the Trans Canada Highway have railway legacies, such as the Fairmont Banff Springs, Chateau Frontenac and Fairmont Chateau Laurier.

In the immediate vicinity of the majestic hotel is a display of the 13 flags of Canadian provinces and territories. The National War Memorial with soldiers standing guard is an imposing memorial there. A sculpture to commemorate the Stanley Cup is another arresting stop. It was an impressive walk towards the more famous buildings on Parliament Hill. Along the way I came across a Terry Fox memorial in bronze. I met a Thai couple there who I helped with a couple of photographs. When they came to know that I am from India they told me of a kind Indian who had donated a huge sum of money towards medical care in Bangkok. Very graciously they invited me to their home in Bangkok.

Due to ongoing protest and demonstration many vantage positions on Parliament Hill were forded off and no tours were permitted. That was a great disappointment as I was looking forward to a tour of the Parliament library, the only original Gothic structure in the Parliament Hill complex. The Supreme Court, House of Commons, Peace Tower, western wing of the parliament building and the Senate are all imposing structures. However, they look much better from the other side of the River and I realised what Mark Twain meant when he said, “Distance lends enchantment to the view”. It was time to attend to the growls growing louder inside the stomach. The Tavern on the Hill was my refuge for lunch. I resisted a beer despite the burning heat and settled for just a massive 'hotdawg'.

The new Chevrolet Impala has been a great companion on the trip. In the past few days I have been concerned about the poor oil life warning that kept getting thrown up the dash. When it had dropped to 8% I had dropped by into a Chevrolet service station in Bathurst. The mechanic there topped up the oil and I thought that the matter would be resolved. Despite that, warnings kept coming on regularly to change the oil. Therefore, I swung by another service station in Gatineau and was told that the warning would not disappear unless the oil and filter were changed and that the car was entitled to four free oil changes. However, the service station was too busy to do that and hence, I planned to get that done in Toronto the next day.

On the way back from the service station I decided on a Mexican dinner near the accommodation. The main road leading to it was flooded and I had to take a deviation. The Noche Maya was just a few hundred metres from where I stayed, but I had to drive there because of rain. The owner of the restaurant told me of the precautions they take for flooding and showed me the stacked sandbags. Almost every house on the waterfront had stacked sandbags around it. I took a large peg of excellent spiced rum with coke before feasting on fresh calamaris and a homemade cake with cream and strawberries. The taste of calamari was very different from that I have had in India.