Ottawa from the 8th Floor

Here I am, sitting at the computer in the apartment of the Member of Parliment for Kitchener-Conestogo. This is the man that used to be my dentist, then he became my father-in-law and then he became my pastor. But I guess he got bored, so he decided to run for office. What a career path!

The view from up here isn't much worth mentioning. Just another apartment building across from us.

We arrived in Ottawa yesterday for our first family visit. A short 6 hour drive in the Honda and we were here before lunchtime. I'm not sure what was the highlight yesterday - viewing parlimentary "Question Period" (what a bunch of over-grown boys bantering and heckling each other!), or the date night with Arja while Grandma kept the girls. Okay - the date night wins! But Question Period *was* fun.

We were quite impressed with Prime Minister Harper. He handles himself well, speaks clearly, switches back and forth between French and English with great ease, and responds to criticism with passion.

Considering I'm not a Canadian Citizen yet and thus cannot vote, I haven't ever really aligned myself with any party or platform. But I would probably support the Conservative Party based on yesterday's observations.

We also got to hang out at the MP's office for a bit - not a shabby place.

The Centre Block of Parliment is amazing. I didn't do a tour yet, but what I saw of the building is incredible.

Dinner was nice. We went to a casual upscale place called The Blue Cactus. Arja had the most incredible (virgin) Strawberry Daquiri ever! I *settled* for a pale ale. ;)

After dinner was of course the obligatory stop for Starbucks. I know Craig thinks they are evil... but I refuse to believe it. The price I pay makes me believe they MUST be paying fair-trade prices. Okay - I should do my research I guess. I'm afraid to - ignorance allows me to enjoy the coffee experience. I certainly have turned into a coffee snob, though. The Tim Horton's coffee at 5:30am on the drive up was drinkable (Starbucks wasn't open yet), but it certainly wasn't "wonderful" like the Starbucks in the evening was!

Arja gets to go to the Chinese Embassy today with mom - some reception for MP's spouses. I'm taking the girls swimming down in the apartment and then just hanging out. Dinner is at the Parlimentary Restaurant tonight.

What a beautiful city this place is. I could hang out here for longer, especially in the summer. I hear that the paddling in the Ottawa River is incredible. You can also paddle through the locks in the Rideau Canal. That would be fun. But I would have just as much fun hanging out downtown - trying all the pubs and restaurants, seeing all the upscale shops, etc.

So that's the first 24 hours in a nutshell.