Quick-stepping around Ottawa

Never before have I participated in an organized bus tour and, honestly, I don't know if I ever will again. Most of your time is spent on the bus, not at your destinations. And I do not take kindly to being herded around like cattle; the rebel comes flying out of me and I instantly break away from the pack. Often, I want to do my own thing. And it's great to travel with a group of ladies who are understanding of this and don't feel that I'm being rude as I frequently head off down the street, by myself.

Such was the case in Ottawa last weekend. The bus parked on Wellington just west of Parliament Hill; we were told we had to be back at the bus by 2:30. I took my first photo as I stepped off the bus at 1:56 p.m. and my last photo at 2:25 p.m.

For those 29 minutes I quick-stepped my way over to Bank, down to the Sparks Street pedestrian mall, over to Metcalf and back up to Wellington and then made my way back to the bus. In the rain. And then.......my big adventure of the weekend. The bus wasn't there! Much cursing ensued (I knew I was early, not late), a moment of panic (not huge panic as I knew the bus was headed to the Museum of Civilization and it would be easy to catch up with it there, but still........), I attempted to reach my friends by cell (no luck) and finally....finally!...I spotted what I thought was our bus a couple of blocks down.

Yes, the bus changed its pick-up point, but the tour guide did not think it important to station himself back at the original drop-off location to tell people this. Yeesh! The bus moved due to a police request -- there was a large demonstration on Parliament Hill at the time (that's one of the protesters, below) -- but I still can't believe the tour guide did not think the location change was important!

Anyway, in my 29-minute walkabout, I managed to capture a slew of photographs -- despite the rain, despite the hurry. These are but a few.

More photographs from my getaway to come in the days ahead!