The Legislative Assembly, October 26, 2011

This was an extremely popular trip, and it was interesting and enjoyable.

It's quite good to concentrate on and learn something new about something we see all the time and perhaps take for granted.

This picture is taken many times a day by many different visitors, but they don't all have this bright red jacket in them.

Inside, we saw the chamber before the afternoon sitting, which started with oral questions.

The rotunda has a fantastic mosaic at the bottom, and if you look up, the effect is celestial!

Fortunately these bag-pipes had been safely disarmed earlier and were secured in a glass case.

We saw several versions of the BC coat of arms.  The Latin apparently means "beauty without diminishment," literally, but this translates to Beautiful British Columbia! We agree!

The ledge is majestic without being pompous.  It's very light and airy considering the weight of the construction.  We were amazed that the main part of the construction took only 4 years - about as long as the blue bridge renovation is projected to take!

This beautiful stained glass window, made in Victoria, was a present from HRH the Queen for her silver jubilee.

This beautiful window commemorates Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. This one was made in Leeds in the UK and was lost in the ledge basement for decades before being re-discovered and replaced in a new location quite recently.

Outside, the winter pansies were already in place.

And there was another coat of arms...

The fountain was working

... and Queen Victoria was looking tall and regal on her pedestal and not at all like she did in the movie Mrs Brown.

What a great chance to renew our appreciation for this great building.  Our tour guide was excellent, and the restaurant was well worth a visit.  This was another great Let's Do It Day Trip!