This afternoon, I’m off to see a pyramid.
But I’m not in Egypt.
Turns out that you can find pyramids in the most unexpected places.
I’m in Canada. And the pyramid I’m off to see, at the Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna, British Columbia, is not old but new.
Purpose built by winery owner Stepen Cipes, the four story concrete Cheops Pyramid replica is used as a cellar to mature the organically grown and produced wines for 30 to 90 days.
This isn’t the first time I’ve come across a pyramid in the most unexpected place.
A few years ago, on a road trip from California to Arizona, I was driving the I-8 nearing the Arizona border when I saw a sign for the ‘Official Center of the World.’ Naturally curious, I slowed down and exited. After all, it’s not everyday you arrive at the center of the world.
Not sure what to expect, I must admit I was quite amused to discover the town of Felicity, complete with it’s own pyramid. The pyramid and the rest of the town was built by Jacques-Andre Istel in an effort to support and bolster his claim that here was the Center of the World.
To actually step on the center of the world, though, you have to go into the pyramid and stand on The Spot, a small dot on the pyramid’s floor. Do that and a town official will give you a certificate authenticating the exact moment you stood at the center of the world.
Timing, however, is everything when visiting the center of the world. The pyramid is only open between Thanksgiving and Easter. During the rest of the year, you can wander around the outside but won’t be able to get the ‘center of the world’ certificate.
There is more to the township of Felicity than just the pyramid. Over the years, it has become a place of remembrance, with a series of two inch thick granite walls, with monuments dedicated to everything from Franco-military action in WWII and the Korean War to the history of granite.
Another unexpected pyramid discover occurred earlier this year when visiting Sydney, Australia. Wandering around the city’s Royal Botanic Gardens, we happened on the Pyramid Glasshouse. Built in 1971, it houses the garden’s tropical plant collection.
It might be less famous than other glass pyramids around the world – such as Paris’s Louvre Pyramid and Las Vegas’s Luxor Hotel and Casino black glass pyramid – but it was there first.
(Disclaimer: My visit to Summerhill Pyramid Winery was arranged by Tourism Kelowna as part of a pre-excursion activity before this weekend’s Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticon, British Columbia)
(images @Liz Lewis)
