It’s no secret: libraries are one of my favorite things ever. Yesterday morning I got to tour Canadian Parliament! And I discovered another insanely beautiful treasure of a book-hoard.
“It’s fifty-five degrees in Ottawa this morning,” the radio told me, “with a strong wind blowing cold from the north.” My phone confirmed the degrees in Celcius: 13. Ah, Canadian summer! And I hadn’t brought a jacket, either. So it was just me in my short-sleeves waiting for the tour with a diverse group of strangers.
“Is there anyone in the group who would prefer the information in another language besides English or French?” called out short, curly-haired tour guide Sophia as we gathered after security. Booklets were available in many languages. “Italiano!” one woman called boldly. How many? Eight. “Spanish!” Two. “German?” A schoolkid. Of course! One for her. But some were clearly not from Canada and hadn’t requested their language. The several Asian families with us hadn’t spoken up.
“Anyone else? Another language besides English and French?” tour guide Sophia called again, eyeing them. They caught that she was looking at them especially and one dad said, rather hopelessly, “Chinese?”
“Of course!” said Sophia, and dashed off for the booklets. They looked rather shocked and extremely pleased to have a non-western language in their hands. They considered us? their faces said. The dad took Sophia’s picture.
We toured the marble halls with gorgeous arches, where we were forbidden to stop and take pictures, but of course I did anyway. I’m refusing to crop out the guard’s face just so you can catch his expression.
Finally, we came to the old library. It’s one of the oldest parts of the building; it survived a fire thanks to its heavy iron doors. We filed in silently, but the excitement was in the air as tourists gestured to each other and took many photos. It’s a round room with a domed top. In the middle of the room is a marble statue, stark and white against the dark books and wood carvings. Around the room’s walls, sections of books proliferate in sections and shelves; they smell faintly musty. The room is refined, orderly, and peaceful.
I had to leave the tour after that to return to giving my own castle tours… But what a pleasure. And I hadn’t even known the library in Canadian Parliament was an item of interest! Definitely a bonus to an already intriguing tour.
-The Dauntless Princess-
