Dragon Enters the Castle

The Castle.

A few weeks ago Little Dragon and I decided it would be a good day for a tour of Parliament. From our apartment it is about a 30-40 minute walk so away we went in our stroller for a grande adventure.

The building that sits to the right of the Parliament building. This is the one that Dragon and I tried to enter with no avail.

This was all new to us so we just winged it. After walking aimlessly around the grounds, we tried to get into one of the buildings located beside the gigantic clock tower one. Apparently you can't enter these buildings without being a government worker with a key card. In my head, I guess I thought all the buildings were open and I would stumble upon a ticket booth or information desk. Not the case.

The building that sits to the left of Parliament. They are presently doing some construction work on it. NOTE: Protestors! Yay!

We then thought we should "go big or go home" (literally) and entered in the big whopper, the mothership, the Castle. Bingo! The doors magically opened with the push of a wheelchair button. Oh how I, and my hips and feet, love those buttons! We were immediately greeted by a lady who gave us tickets for the next English speaking tour. She said it would start in about a half hour so we were welcome to check out the boutique or tower lookout. We opted for the boutique but before we could proceed we had to pass three security guards and a metal detector. They even padded down Dragon's batmobile. It was like deja vu (look at me and my French term) to the airport.

Just a little taste of the beautiful architecture that is found in many, many buildings on the Parliament grounds.

After not being able to find our semi automatics, hidden in Dragon's diaper, a security guard escorted us to the elevator. Oh the perks of a bulky stroller! Take that all you stair climbing suckers! The boutique was actually a gift shop with a fancy name. I was hoping it would be like the Bibity Bobity Boutique in Disneyland and Little Dragon and I could come out like 80's rock stars or at least rock a Stevie Harper toupee. But no. We did buy a few trinkets for our family for Christmas. All Canada themed this year folks. Surprise!

If we were in Labyrinth, the movie, this guy would talk to us or perhaps sing David Bowie style. This is the Lobby area outside the House of Commons. The faces outside the Senate are of the stone cutters that built the room. They weren't allowed to sign anywhere like an artist typically would so they were all like screw you and carved their faces in the stone. This made government officials very upset but in the end they kept it. Way to stick it to the man!

We went back to the main floor to start the tour. The guide took us to three main areas: the House of Commons, the Parliament Library and the Senate. Sometimes the tours will skip over an area if there are happenings going on, but not today bucko.

Amazing ceilings!

Well, we get to the first area, just outside the House of Commons. It is a very familiar looking elaborate lobby-like room. This is where the press greets/roasts politicians. I didn't really like our tour guide because she wasn't funny or very likable for that matter. She kept saying, "Does anyone have any questions cause I want you guys to try to stump me." I really wanted to, but unfortunately Little Dragon started to roar. I thought I had it timed out right but he wasn't letting up in any position my arms or Snugli could offer. He was a hungry dragon. I went to one of the security guards and told him I needed to quit the tour in kind of in a shouting fashion over the persistent roars. He then surprisingly said, "F$#@ it" in his thick French accent. He then took me into another private room so I could feed dragon and continue with the tour with the next group. I don't think he let's very many people do this. It wasn't Harper's secret office but it was still fun to think that this room was a bonus part of the tour. It was a very large, long room filled with tables and comfy chairs. I was very happy with how well they accommodated to my less than ideal circumstances. Two adult and two baby thumbs up!

Outside the Senate. On the bottom is a painting of Queen Elizabeth and above is her parents. It's kind of set up like a family tree, I like!

So we were able to see the House of Commons with it's tradition green carpet, yuck. Apparently it gets rather hot in there as the seats are very close together and probably gets even hotter when tempers flare. The guide told us that recently a bill was passed to add thirty or so more chairs. Yikes! My second tour guide, Stephanie, was very good. She was full of different fun facts and didn't come off snotty at all. I actually complimented her in comparison to the previous guide. And at the end of the tour, when we were leaving the building I overheard her talking to another worker. He asked, "How did it go?" And she told him excitedly that she thought it went well and some lady even told her she did a good job. I thought that was cute to hear. Oh man, I am a "lady" now!?

Back to the tour, the next room was the Parliament Library. No pictures were allowed to be taken inside. It was truly breathtaking! More beautiful than any Hollywood set. I really encourage people to come see it themselves. It smells wonderful, like wood, I think its white pine. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public. You most be a special government worker or MP to use it.

I found this picture off the web.

The Senate was very lovely as well with its red carpet and large historic paintings covering the walls. Just outside the Senate is a room that has beautiful paintings of the Royal Family. Sorry, no Will and Kate yet, perhaps their baby one day.

The Senate. Stephanie was more photogenic than Lewis and she was mid-speech. Impressive!

I was completely satisfied with the tour and would love to go again. Dave and I may go during his Christmas break as I was told they decorate the grounds for the holiday season. But for any of you planning to visit here, this is something to put on your list. Plus, it's free!

Riding into the sunset. Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'. Sharisse! Notice the toque! It's so darling on him. Thank You!