Visiting Three of Guelph's Must See Beautiful Attractions

Cane rental shop across from the Royal City Park on Gordon St. Guelph, Ont.

We had about two hours of free time in the afternoon on the day two of our retreat. I was asked to lead a group for a quick tour of downtown Guelph.

There were a lot to see in Guelph!

I wanted to make sure participants in my group could enjoy the same beautiful scenery as I did. So I chose three points of interest for them to visit.

Guelph has beautiful waterfront parks!

New trees growing out of a stump - Royal City Park

1. Visit to the Royal City Park

I took a group down to the park by the river that I knew very well when I was a student there.

There were more people desiring to tour the city than we first planned, therefore it took a little while to figure out who would go with whom as we needed more drivers and cars.

This time we drove down Gordon Street instead of walking.

Canada Geese crossing the road on Gordon St. near the Royal City Park, Guelph

Our group really enjoyed the walk along the river on Gordon St.

I was in the first car leading and about four or five vehicles were following me. Somehow we made a wrong turn and arrived at the park about twenty minutes.

 The people who arrived before us witnessed the Canada Geese's crossing the road like I did yesterday. Amy sent me a picture she took. They loved the sight!

We strolled in the park enjoying the mild temperature and soft breeze caressing our faces.

A young man was tight rope walking in the park

                                                     

 A lady from our group tried walking on the rope, not as easy as it seemed!

We came across a young man practicing his walk on a rope hung between two trees.


One of the ladies tried it but found that it was not as easy as it seemed!

Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate

2. Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate


Built in 1877, this church was the longest building project in Canada and until 1925, it was still being built.

It is a magnificent building both inside and outside!

Looking out to downtown Guelph from the top of the hill

The Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate sits on the central hill of the town of Guelph and visitors can see a good part of  downtown Guelph when they are on the church ground.

The magnificent interior of the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate in Guelph, Ontario

Beautiful arches and stained glass windows all around the Our Lady of Immaculate

It was not difficult finding a parking spot. We opened the door quietly into the sanctuary not sure if there was a service going on at the time.

The lady at the basilica welcome us warmly into the church. There were a few people sitting in the sanctuary. We asked for permission to take pictures.

The pipe organ inside the Basilica

The nice lady encouraged us to go up and take pictures of this beautiful place of worship filled with stained glass windows and arches.

A gentleman sitting in one of the pews directed our attention to the huge organ on the balcony.

A beautiful sight!

Entrance to the Basilica

Sculpture of John McCrae

The Civic Museum is located right next to the Basilica.

On the ground outside the Civic Museum stands the statue of John McCrae.

Major McCrae was born in Guelph, a soldier, physician and a poet who wrote the well known poem of In Flaunders Fields in 1915.

The sculpture of Major John McCrae and the poppies outside the Basilica

The poem, though written over a century ago, is still read every year on Remembrance Day, described the sacrifices made during the first world war.

 Thus the poppy has been used as a symbol for remembrance around the world to remember the ultimate sacrifices of the soldiers died fighting for freedom.




3. Old Quebec Street Shopping Mall

Old Quebec Street Shopping Mall, Guelph

We could have easily walked to the Old Quebec Street Shopping Mall after visiting the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate. But to save time we drove and found parking without any problem

The Old Quebec Street Mall is located in downtown Guelph, a unique mall with an indoor streetscape. I could imagine during a cold winter day, this would be a nice warm place to stroll about.

Our group got there after 5pm on a Saturday afternoon and we didn't expect many shops opened at that hour.

Our group had a lot of fun visiting  Guelph's downtown 

We were hoping for some ice cream.
Fortunately, the ice cream shop was still opened. Preparing for closing, the staff had already cleaned the frozen yogurt machine. Because we ordered some frozen yogurt with fresh fruits, the lady did make them for us!

We enjoyed walking about, sharing some tasty food and sharing a laugh or two.




Within the two hours free time we had, we were able to see three of Guelph's interesting places, relaxed and joked around. It was a great time for us and an opportunity to get to know other people at the retreat!

R.T.
Guelph, Ontario