My Vacation Part 2: Museums, Parliament, Gel Nails, and Cupcakes!

As part of my series on my trip to Ottawa, I'm bringing you a quick peek into some of the things I did during my ten day stay in Canada's capital!

I was staying in Ottawa with my friend Zoe, so we decided to go on a tour of parliament! It was amazing to see where MPs come to work every day. The architecture of the building was beautiful, and the homages to Canada's history displayed throughout parliament really made it special.

Standing outside parliament!

While visiting the building, you can take a quick elevator trip up to the Peace Tower, the tallest part of parliament. You'll see a truly beautiful view of Ottawa, including the Museum of History, which is actually located in Quebec! It's definitely worth the trip. 

Taking pictures from the Peace Tower!

Here's part of the view.

In front of the Peace Tower.

Next, we went to the Museum of History, also known as the Museum of Civilization. It's actually located in Quebec, but it's only a quick taxi ride away from downtown Ottawa. The entire museum was fascinating, with models of different times during Canada's history, including pioneer villages and boats for whaling expeditions. Sometimes it even looked like I was outside, but I promise that it was just the museum!

Next, I went to The Cupcake Lounge with my sister and Zoe! It's a cute little cupcake shop with the most delicious desserts you can find in Ottawa.

As if all of that wasn't enough, Zoe and I got passes to go to The House of Commons in parliament for Question Period, where opposition members can ask the government questions about policy. Portions are often played and discussed on the radio, so it was interesting to actually be there! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos, but I did snap this one of my pass:

While in Ottawa, Zoe and I also decided to get our nails done! Here`s the end result of mine (I opted for gel 'stiletto' nails!):

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the things I was able to do during my trip to Ottawa! It's truly a gorgeous city with plenty to see and lots of fun tourist attractions, as well as a fair amount of places to shop. If you've been to Ottawa, leave me a comment letting me know what your favourite thing about the city is!