Day 8 - Bonjour! Comment allez vous? Ca va bien!

The boys left Kingston early in the morning to head to the nation's capital - Ottawa - directly on the border of Ontario and Quebec. After a two and a half hour bus ride, the boys deboarded in front of Parliament Hill - essentially Canada's White House. Here the boys learned a lot about the political history of Canada, the relationship between the English and the French, and about the different houses of Parliament. Perhaps the coolest part of the entire tour was the Parliamentary Library which was an amazing room containing many important books, such as the first published copy of Harry Potter in Canada and Audobon's Birds of America, which is worth $13 million! The library was the only part of the building that was original, since the building had undergone several fires, but the library was always protected. Mr. Kleespie suggested that Canada should find better fire-prevention techniques.

After a quick lunch at the Food Court in the Centre Rideau, the boys shopped for a short time before boarding the bus again for their next destination. Port Hope is a small town on the shore of Lake Ontario, about one hour east of Toronto. The boys were greeted by Mr. Randy Mills, organist and choir director at the Anglican Church in Port Hope and the Catholic Church in nearby Grafton. Mr. Mills also teaches Music at Trinity College School where the boys will hold a concert tomorrow night.

The boys are now safe with their host families. So far I've heared of pizza parties and ping pong tournaments so I'm sure they are having a great time. Tomorrow is a day at the beach in nearby Cobourg, a choral exchange with singers from the local churches and then a concert in the evening.