Well friends, family, and all other lovely peoples who by chance are reading this, my trip has begun.
This is my first blog ever and I've got to be honest -- it's a little weird. I'm really wondering if people care enough to read this, but I guess this is just as much for me (maybe more) as it is for others. So here we go.
On October 24th, I said goodbye to everyone at Oshea's in Saskatoon. Those of you who came out, you have no idea how much that meant to me. It was great to see each of you and to chat, if only for a short time.
Then on October 26th, I flew out of Saskatoon and embarked on my New Zealand Trip 2010. I was sent off by my parents and a far-too-dry-eyed David Guenther (I mean seriously, you didn't even tear up. Jeepers). My plane was delayed by about an hour, but thankfully I had the ever charming Bardy Banes to chat with. We finally got to boarding, and as I gave my legs one last stretch I noticed that my superbly dedicated parents were still waiting to see that my plane got off safely. (I love you guys so much and it was really touching to know that you were there to watch me disappear into the clouds.) I arrived late in Toronto, but still made my connection to Ottawa in good time (partly owing to the fact that my connection was also delayed, haha). Upon arrival in Ottawa I was very happy to be done flying for a while, but a touch concerned that Chris Steele was no where in sight. Shortly, he and his parents showed up and I was rescued from the tedium of the airport.
October 27th (today) was filled with the sights of downtown Ottawa. It is absolutely beautiful here. The weather was amazing. I wandered around all day in flip-flops and a t-shirt. The architecture of all the buildings is stunning. Saskatchewan has nothing on these buildings. Every building is made of stone and there is castle-like architecture everywhere. These buildings are, to me, the physical manifestation of the history and strength of Canada.
Chris and I wandered through the Parliment grounds, viewed the Rideau Canal, were disgusted by the U.S. Embassy's tank and nuke proof construction, briefly toured ByWard Market, watched a 3D IMAX show called "Arabia" and took in the National Gallery of Canada.
Parliment Hill was much more impressive than I expected it to be. The buildings were huge and there were diplomats and government officials everywhere. I was really struck by the fact that we had full access to the entire grounds and we allowed (though we didn't) to walk freely into all the buildings. This extensive access to the most power-filled area of Canada reminded me again how lucky I am to live in this great free country. This point was driven home even harder when I looked over my shoulder and saw the extensive security of the U.S. Embassy.
(Becky, this next part will interest you) We didn't spend much time in the National Gallery of Canada, but the time we did spend was well fantastic. We toured very briefly through the Canadian Artists wing and then moved on to the Contemporary Art wing. It was so cool to walk in and immediately see a sculpture which I studied in my art summer class. Unfortunately, I can't remember the artist or the name of the piece. It was an installment piece in which straight wires were hung from the ceiling in a rows and columns which formed a perfect cube. At any position, you could look straight through to the other side of the room and yet you could still "see" the form of a cube. I was even more excited as we moved into the next area of the contemporary wing and saw "Shapeshifter" by Brian Jungen. It was one of my favourite works from my art class, and there I was standing in front of it.
(This part is for my Delta peeps). The NGC was featuring an artist who goes by the name General Idea. I was immediately take with his works. One in particular stood out to me. I won't describe it here because I don't want to give away the surprise. So all you Delta folks should google "Perverted Poodles Playing" by General Idea. I promise you will enjoy.
Ok, it's late and I am le tired. Long story short my friends -- today was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better start to my trip. I was reminded about the great country that I will be leaving. I was reminded about the great friends that I have left. And I am ending this day confident that this trip is going to be one of the best experiences of my life.
Love, Julia
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