June 15-16, Gatineau, QE

We arrived in Gatineau, which is right across the Ottawa River from Ottawa, in a rainstorm and held in the middle of the river until it passed.

Leaving Montebello

Seaplane

Busy ferries going back and forth

Arriving on a stormy afternoon with the Ottawa skyline in view

"Lady Dive" tour bus enters the water right in front of our boat.

WOW!

Off on a floating tour.

We like our spot here in the Marina Hull, as we are right in the middle of Gatineau. Monday we walked the town and found a McDonalds restaurant and had our regular “on the road” McDonalds breakfast. This is a treat for us as we have not seen a McDonalds since we gave up the rental car a month ago. Interesting what makes us happy. We spent the day visiting the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, which is right on the water in a large modern building.

Canadian Parliment Building as seen from Gatineau

Fairmont Laurier Hotel (left) Rideau Canal flight of locks (below center). A beautiful sight from the Gatineau side of the river.

The view across the Ottawa River from the museum is of downtown Ottawa and the Canadian Parliament building and is probably the best view of the Parliament Building anywhere. The round element in the Canadian Parliament Building is the Library of Parliament (like the US library of Congress). It is a clear day today and we think the view across the river is spectacular.

Canadian Museum of Civilization

Canadian Museum and Parliment in the background

Canadian First Nation Totem from British Columbia

First Nation costume. Check out the foot gear.

The Museum of Civilization features a look at one thousand years of Canadian civilization. Exhibits trace human activity from “First Nations” through modern times. The exhibits from the Canadian Northwest are particularly interesting with totem poles and lodges and lots of artifacts old and new. There is a large section on the period of European exploration, settlement and on eventual confederation into the modern nation of Canada. Other sections feature famous Canadians from the arts, business and politics. Everything in the museum is displayed using both the French and English languages. Great Museum.

All the signs in Gatineau are in French. The local law is that you must have your sign in French; if you also want a sign in English (or any other language) then the French sign must have letters 75% larger than the non French letters. There are special “sign police” to enforce the ordinance. Interesting.

KOKOMO II in the Hull Marina, Gatineau