This tour begins at the mouth of the historic Rideau Canal and explores the waterway's role in both early Canada and Bytown, and the unique factors that made Ottawa the first choice for the capital. Then, we cross the Rideau River and stop for a brief moment of reflection at the National War Memorial and the role Canada played in World War I. From there, we wander down the sidewalk gardens and patios of Sparks Street to explore Ottawa's adolescence and troubled growth into a capital. Finally, the tour ends at Parliament Hill where we take in the breathtaking views of the Ottawa River and surrounding cityscape and delve into Canada's slow and careful separation from Britain, the paranoia and icy tensions of the Cold War, and finally, the difficulties of unifying and governing a country with two national languages, dozens of cultural and religious groups, and a geographic size second only to Russia.
