Vantages On Canada Day

Today I'm starting a series from Canada Day. This first shot was taken the day before, from the Mackenzie King Bridge looking over the Rideau Canal. The NAC and Parliament Hill stand to the left, while the Chateau Laurier and Government Conference Centre are on the right shore. The Canal comes to an end up ahead at the final bridge in the Ottawa Locks, descending down to the Ottawa River.

On Canada Day itself, I paid a visit to two museums, the War Museum and the History Museum. Leaving the first, I crossed the Ottawa River by the Portage Bridge to the Gatineau side to get to the second. En route I noticed the Peace Tower on the Hill among the trees.

When I was finished at the History Museum, I took the Alexandra Bridge back to Ottawa and photographed views along the way.

At the Ottawa end of the bridge is an observation platform that I come to for seasonal views of Parliament Hill, something I'll have in a post later in the year. I took additional shots from here, including of a kayaker down below.

My wanderings took me into the Rideau Centre mall, where there's a pedestrian bridge linking the mall to the Bay. It's a good spot to photograph Canada Day visitors to the west.

I continued onwards. At Plaza Bridge near the War Memorial are a series of statues and busts of military figures from Canadian history collectively called The Valiants. 

Over on the other side of Plaza Bridge, I photographed the other point of view of the Rideau Canal, looking towards the Mackenzie King Bridge.

I stopped in at the National Arts Centre, though it turns out I'd missed the Canada Day concert.

And I made a visit to the National War Memorial, where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was a spot for Canadian flags to be placed. The wreaths in the background had been placed at the Memorial that morning- July 1st is also the date of the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and at a place called Beaumont-Hamel, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment suffered horrendous losses. The occasion is still marked here each year.