DAY 12-The End

Our Sunrise Tours Creme de la Creme Trip ended today with some of us flying home and others riding the bus back to St.Louis. It was such a fun filled experience from the luxurious hotels to fine dining experiences.

I highly recommend Sunrise Tours as they offer such a wide variety of trips and strive to provide a memorable travel experience every time.  

They hire only the best people to take care of their clients.  Ruth Smith, our Tour Director, worked non-stop not only to meet our needs but also anticipated what would make the trip even more enjoyable for us.  Always smiling David Bruning was our highly competent bus driver.

My 3 favorite attractions were:

The Parliament 

the  Sainte Anne de Beaupré Basilica in Quebec City

 and the Montmorency Falls

If you’d to see more pictures and the videos, go to Facebook and in the search block type in Sunrise-Canada Creme.   There are several videos there including our tour of lower Quebec and both falls.

DAY 6

Monday was a leisurely travel day from Ottawa to Quebec.  

We arrived in Quebec early afternoon for our 3-night stay at the stunning Fairmont Le Château Frontenac.  Château Frontenac, one of Canada's grand railway hotels, is situated at an elevation of 54 m (177 ft).  It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980.   An interesting fact is that the Château Frontenac is the most photographed hotel in the world.  

    

The marketing shot above and below, one I took from the street in

Quartier Petit Champlain.

This luxurious lobby invitingly welcomes you to be their guest. 

The fresh flowers were so beautifully arranged in a table layout of one large and several smaller vases, a set-up not commonly seen in hotels in the States.

     

This evening we dined at Aux Anciens Canadiens Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Quebec.  It was a very short walk from the hotel.

We were offered several choices of local dishes including salmon and shrimp in pastry,  Meatball ragout Grand-mere and  Lac St Jean meat pie made with wild meats of the area.  We had fun sharing our dinners and trying all the meals.  Our dinner was topped off with a local speciality dessert - Maple Syrup Pie which had the consistency and sweetness of Pecan Pie.

DAY 5

Touring in Ottawa Canada

We started our day with a wonderful breakfast at Zak’s Diner.  It was a cute, nostalgic restaurant decorated in rock’n’roll memorabilia and even had the tiny jukebox players on the tables.   We had fast service and huge portions for breakfast so all were pleased with the diner.  As a Mother’s Day Treat, all the ladies received a carnation.

    

                


Then it was off to a very interesting tour of the Canadian Parliament which is the federal legislature of Canada seated on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.  It consists of the Canadian Monarch, the governor general, an upper house- the Senate and a lower house-The House of Commons.  Each section has its own officers and organization.   By their constitutional convention, The House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate and monarchy rarely opposing its will.

        

                

            

With both fire and water, the Centennial Flame, was a most unique monument.     It was built to commemorate Canada’s 100th anniversary as a federation.  The flame was first lit as the climax of the centennial celebrations on January 1st, 1967.  The Flame is fueled by natural gas and surrounded by a ledge which contains the shields of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories.  It was intended to be a temporary monument, but was so popular with the public and tourists that it still operates today.

To see a video of the flame, go to Facebook, search for Sunrise-Canada Creme

The archways and ceilings in the Parliament building also offered many fascinating visual treats.

                        

I enjoyed touring the building, especially the library which was just a beautifully designed room with intricate wrought iron and wood work throughout.  There was a fire in 1916 that engulfed large sections of the Parliament buildings.  I found it most interesting that the structure was saved by the foresight of the librarian Alpheus Todd who insisted on iron fire proof doors and the quick thinking of the clerk on duty who shut them before evacuating the building.  It would have been disastrous to have lost such a stunning room.

                  

I especially was intrigued by the wood carvings on panels near the door and the unique combination of the wrought iron railing in the 2nd floor area with the wood flower carvings.

          

Above are a few of our fellow travelers enjoying the library tour.

After a leisurely lunch on our own, we took a 4 hour guided bus tour of Ottawa with our final destination being the World of Tulips Festival in Commissioners Park located at Dow’s Lake.  

While we enjoyed a lovely stroll through the tulip gardens on a warm, sunny afternoon, I was a little disappointed as we were told that at this time last year, the blooms were much more plentiful.   Since we can’t control Mother Nature, you just never know what to expect in the gardens.

As shown below, some of the areas were resplendent with color and just made me feel good!

             

     

The next tulip - the Princess Irene - was my favorite.  I loved the orange flowers with a purple flame at the base of the bulb.   Such a lively color combination.  This is a 1949-award winning flower and is quite fragrant.  (I know they look red, but in person were definitely orange.)

        

DAY 4

DAY 4-Travel Day from Toronto to Ottawa, Canada

Today we were on the road for several hours busing it from Toronto to Ottawa.   While I usually hate riding in a car for long periods, I really enjoyed our trip today as I feel like I’m riding in the lap of luxury.  We are traveling in a 9-month old Mid America Coach and it has every convenience imaginable including phone charging stations behind each seat, wifi, a bar in the back and extremely comfortable seats with overhead vent controls and reading lights.   It’s truly a pleasurable ride!  

Also, I’ve got to compliment our driver, Dave Bruning, for the excellent driving job.   It’s not easy maneuvering this huge coach on some of the smaller side streets, but he makes every tight turn look effortless.  You can’t beat it..safe, comfortable and I don’t have to worry about driving.

After arriving in Ottawa, we spent some time touring the Canadian Museum of History.   It has four floors crammed with numerous art works and interesting exhibits from chronicling the founding of Canada to clothing exhibits from the ‘60s.  

There just wasn’t enough time to cover it all, but here’s some pics of the art I found most interesting including a life size replica of an Inuit man who lived over 800 years ago on the northern Baffin Island.    From the ivory tools and other items found in his grave they were able to determine he was a skilled kayaker and hunter who lived a very eventful life.

The Inuit are an Aboriginal people, the majority of whom inhabit the northern regions of Canada. An Inuit person is known as an Inuk. The Inuit homeland is known as Inuit Nunangat, which refers to the land, water and ice contained in the Arctic region

Nuvumiutag, the Arctic Bay Kayaker

         

               

 

       Designed by artist Christi Belcourt and titled “Looking Ahead”.  

The above is a picture of people who identify as “First Nations People” and who were a vital presence in the development of Canada.  These people were not the first immigrants but they identify themselves by the nation to which they belong, for example Mohawk, Cree, Oneida.   There were more than 1 million indigenous people living in 800 villages, towns, and cities spread across the land country. They spoke over 50 different indigenous languages.  This was quite a large exhibit as these people have contributed so much to the growth of Canada.  

We stayed in the majestic hotel Fairmont Château Laurier, conveniently located within walking distance of both the Parliament Building and with steps leading right into the famous Byward Market District.  The hotel was very comfortably appointed with modern day conveniences while still conveying old world charm from it’s elegant front entrance to the regally appointed lobby.   

This hotel is built next to the Rideau Canal, an officially designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.  You can walk, bike or in the winter skate all the way from Kingston to Ottawa.  UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization with their primary missions being to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.   The Organization currently focuses on  2 global priorities - Africa and gender equality.

After a brief stop at our hotel, we ate dinner at the “The Fish Market” Restaurant which is located in the historic Byward district.  The Byward Market is a charming hub of outdoor market stalls, specialty food shops and restaurants.  It’s home to one of the oldest and largest farmers markets.  A delicious treat of this area is the BeaverTail which is a sweet fried pastry in the shape of a beaver’s tail.