adventure12

**The Changing Of The Guard**
**by Sacha**
Hi, it's Sacha here. My big brother Sebastien is away from home on some adventures - so I'm filling in for him until he gets back. He wanted me to send you all an e-mail about our adventure last week before he left. Daddy finally got around to getting the photos sorted out so here goes (please bear with me, as this is my first attempt at adventure writing). On Sunday morning, daddy got us up early and drove us to Ottawa. We went to Parliament Hill to see this big army show called the "Changing of the Guard". It takes place everyday at 10:00 a.m. on Parliament Hill. This is where the army mens, change shift and are replaced by some freshly rested army mens. The army mens are called "The Governor General's Ceremonial Guards". They all wear their fancy army suits with the big black bear fur hats for this special ceremony. Parliament Hill The Governor General's Ceremonial Guards The army men are accompanied by a marching band that plays nice music while they stand in lines and their army man boss does some inspections to check to make sure they put their uniforms on the right way. he even checks the inside of their guns to make sure they are clean. After everything is checked, the guards from the day before give the new guards the keys and then they all leave to go to their guard posts. Daddy says this army man show is a tradition that goes back many years and is a "reflection of Canada's British heritage". It seems tat the Queen Elizabeth in England has guards like this at her castle too. here's my big brother watching the show us with the army man After that, Sebastien left on a different adventure with Meme & Frank, so daddy and mommy decided to take me on my own special adventure. We went up the road to Rideau Hall. This is the mansion that the Governor General of Canada lives in. Her name is Adrianne Clarkson, and she represents the Queen here in Canada. Because I can't yet walk so well, the nice people there let us park right beside the mansion in a special "reserved" parking space just for me. We went on a guided tour of the residence and learned about all the neat things inside. Here are a few photos... Outside Rideau Hall Inside Rideau Hall more photos from inside this here is the room in which the Governor General swears-in the Prime Minister after an election We also got to see the "Order of Canada". This is an award that Canadians who have made special achievements are given. I'm told it's the Canadian version of being given a knighthood by the Queen. the Order of Canada After our tour inside, we had a nice time exploring the grounds outside. There were many trees that had been planted by famous people like JFK, Mikhail Gorbachov, Nelson Mandela, the Queen, and many others. They also had and Inuksuk, which is an Inuit rock statue that you find way way up north. It's used to convey messages by the Inuit and to let others know that people have passed here before. an Inuksuk We also got to see some more of the army mans. This time they were busy standing at attention and doing their work. They are almost like statues, because they have to stand at attention for an hour and aren't allowed to even talk. After the hour, another guard comes and takes his place. time to change the guards here we are with the guard standing at attention As you can see we had a very busy day. That's it for now. Sebastien will be back soon to take over his adventure reporting duties....