Culture Days at National Gallery of Canada

This weekend (September 26 to 28) celebrates a national event called Culture Days where activities took place throughout the country to promote art and culture in Canada.  Here in Ottawa, one of the activities is visiting the National Gallery of Canada for free, which I partook today.

My first time inside the gallery.

Holiday season in downtown Ottawa

People who have followed my blog for a while will know that I like to photograph Christmas decorations and lights during this time of the year.  In previous years, I usually fly back to BC at this time of the year, but this year, I will be spending my time here in Ontario and getting ready for my Ph.D and working on my manuscripts.

Nonetheless, I still keep an eye out for place with interesting Christmas decorations and lights, and this particular blog provides excellent information and images for such a thing.  I left my office this afternoon and headed towards Parliament Hill to take some photos.

I was a bit early so it was not dark yet.

Moving from Peterborough to Ottawa

I officially moved to Ottawa on Friday, thanks to my parents who flew from BC to Ontario to help me move.

Here are some photos from the past few days.

On Wednesday (Nov 20), while bored from packing, I looked at the wasp nest next to the house and found that all of the wasps were dead (probably from the cold) and so I took the nest out of the crevice.

Close-up on the nest.

First time in Ottawa

After a beautiful drive from Peterborough to Ottawa, my labmate and I first checked into the hotel around 4pm, and then we went for a quick sightseeing of the infamous Ottawa, the capital of the nation. It was my first time visiting and I have heard good things about the city, but I was still astonished when I first saw the Parliament! It was amazing! The architectures of the official governmental buildings are incredible and definitely worth seeing for someone like me who appreciates architecture (although knows nothing about it).

Parliament

Visiting QEP on a (relatively) nice Sunday

Today, my mother and I visited Queen Elizabeth Park (QEP). It has been a while since we went there and it sure brings back a lot of fun childhood memories.

There was not many birds to see today. We only saw a couple of Mallards swimming in the ponds and this Great Blue Heron.

I wonder if they are always here when I was young.


Entering the quarry with beautiful over-towering bamboos.


Watching the garden from above.


Beautiful garden shot.


The statues were stolen awhile back, but they were returned and back remaining in their positions.


Nice background!

Panoramic view of the mountains. So grateful that it was not rainy today.


Saw this while passing by the "portable" office/church/ceremony place (my mother tried to explain it to me, but I am still not completely sure). I thought it is a nice placement to capture.


And of course, can't come to QEP without taking a picture of the conservatory. We didn't go in because it was slowly getting darker by that time. Maybe next time - before it closes down (or whatever the future holds for this historic landmark).

Back to work tomorrow.

365 days ago (2009-01-10) ...
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