Here are some photos I took while at the Remembrance Day ceremonies, which took place in downtown Ottawa. Seeing as how Ottawa is the nation's capital, this is the major ceremony in Canada on Nov. 11. Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson were both present, presumably accompanied by many other dignitaries and ambassadors. The event started at approx. 10:30 AM. Just before 11:00 was the playing of Taps, followed by a two-minute silence. Then came a 21-gun salute, and the laying of wreaths at the War Memorial.
Warning: large images ahead. Please be patient.
Here's the view from the Rideau Centre, the largest public centre in downtown Ottawa (which also happens to be a shopping mall). The bus station is on the other side of the centre, so this is the view of the Chateau Laurier (far right) and Parliament Hill when you've made it through.
This is the Chateau Laurier, a very upscale (and very old) hotel. It's great for tourists, since it's directly beside Parliament Hill (Canada's seat of government).
Here's the Hill, just further along Wellington St. What you see here are the East Block (on the right), the West Block (just beyond, with the tall tower), and then a slightly more detached federal building beyond that (on the left). The East and West Blocks are mostly offices for the Ministers of Parliament, but the Centre Block is where the House of Commons and Senate are housed. All you can see of the Centre Block in this photo is the Peace Tower, the very tall clock tower on the right. And other than the Peace Tower (which was built after the original Centre Block burned down in 1916), these buildings are as old as Canada itself, made from limestone and copper roofs (which have oxydized to form a distinctive green colour).
This is the War Memorial, a tall concrete structure featuring bronze statues of soldiers below and an angel above. The Memorial is for all the wars participated in by Canada.
The ceremony took place in front of the War Memorial (toward the left), but people tried to fit themselves in wherever they could. A very large crowd formed on Parliament Hill to the right, and on Wellington St. in front of the Hill.
Here's a better photo of the East Block, and of the people crowding around it.
This fly-by came right after the two-minute silence.
After the laying of wreaths came the veteran's parade. I wasn't in the best spot to see the parade (unlike those on the Hill). The top photo features the provincial flag bearers. In the bottom photo are the Knights of Columbus (left), Canadian naval officers (right), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (beyond them in the centre, wearing their famous ceremonial red).
Here's the crowd after the ceremony, returning to the Rideau Centre. You can tell by the sheer mass that this was one of the larger ceremonies to date.
Finally, this is a photo from Nov. 12's Ottawa Citizen. This is looking toward the Chateau Laurier (upper right) from the left of where I was standing. It gives a much better view of the actual ceremony in front of the Memorial.