Ottawa Day 1: The Tower Tour

When we arrived at the visitor center, this is the only tour left for the day.

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We arrived just before the 4PM and we found out that our bag pack is too big for bringing along with us for the tour. The security guard advised us to return to the visitor center to check our bag but the visitor center is so far way, across the lawn from Centre block. So, Hao volunteered to take care of our bag pack for us so that we can go for the tour.

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View of the Hall of Honour of gothic revival architecture.

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The bells of the Peace Tower chime every quarter hour. There are 53 bells of different sizes. The largest bell; “bourdon” weighs 10,090kg while the smallest bell weighs a mere 4.5kg.

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When we stepped out from the elevator, the ceiling of golden glitters was the focal point.

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View of the Ottawa River from the tower from the observation deck.

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View of the East Block.

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View of the lawn in front of the Centre Block. Hao told us that the first time he visited the Parliament Hill, he was surprised to see civilians playing on the lawn. In China, the government official buildings are usually behind guarded gates.

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After the tour of the Peace Tower, we were directed to visit the Memorial Chamber. The Memorial Chamber houses the record of Canada at war.

The above is the view of one of the wall, either South, East or West Wall.

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The above photo is taken from inside the Memorial Chamber looking out and above the entrance hall which is the North Wall.

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The Altar of Remembrance is the focal point of the room.

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The Books of Remembrance are kept under glass topped case. The first book is inscribed with the names of the 66,655 individuals who lost their lives in the First World War. All in all, there are seven Book of Remembrance housed in the Memorial Chamber.

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After the tour, we returned to Hao’s home for a heart warming dumpling dinner prepared by Xue.

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