This morning passed working from the laptop until it was time to set off for lunch at Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant. This beautiful brick built building sits alone in a field of a city park, protected from encroaching development. It’s old, by Calgary standards, giving it some character.
Approaching the wrap around veranda we were shown to our table in a large hall. White linens and multiple sets of cutlery setting the scene for fine dining. Not something we had really brought clothes for, but no one seemed bothered by our dusty trainers.
We had a lovely lunch here, chatting about all things. My plate of food was delivered very much later than everyone else’s, but a complementary beer stemmed complaint. This did mean by the time we left I’d had 2 instead of 1 and so felt myself a bit giddy as we set off to explore the city.
Julia and Graham were perplexed why we would want to roam around the city but dropped us off at princess park at our request. From here we wandered around the island park watching black squirrels forage. We found ourselves an ice-cream and planned a rough route through the city. I got out my whoop batteries, charger and a battery bank and rigged them up, held together with an elastic band. I need to find a box or some way to charge in my bag because it honestly looked like I was walking around the city with a home made explosive. Probably not a smart move but it was fine, no one questioned me.
We found our way to the +15’s, a series of bridges connecting most of the downtown buildings together. Each their own unique style from the era the building was erected, they form a huge network of walkways. Called +15’s for their height over the road, these connecting corridors become very useful when it’s -30°C outside. Interspersed with small shops and food vendors is like a very spread out shopping centre. Until we were led to the actual shopping center called the Core.
Clearly the city shops are targeting the financial workers because there were lots of jewellery, watch and luxury clothing brand boutiques. But also a toy shop with a better collection of Pokémon toys than some Poké-centers in Japan! There were whole walls lined with different Pokémon. Far too tempting for Aimi to resist, she picked up a Dragonite.
Popping outside after a few more bridges, we found ourselves at the locally iconic building called The Bow. The footprint of the building is shaped like a tubby banana, curve facing it’s entry plaza. Here we found a huge metal net sculpture in the shape of a girls head. It was so big there were doorways in the neck so you could go in and see it inside out.
The metal net was just calling out to be whooped. The holes were small and would have been a challenge to thread the whoop thru. But Aimi wasn’t happy with how populated the area was, its not illegal but its not likely to be popular with law enforcement. Frustratingly, when we found the park nearby I was aiming for, the sculpture of tall gangly people holding hands wasn’t there. The photo on google maps must be wrong or the sculpture has been moved. And when I suggested diving the Calgary tower, I got a look from Aimi that may have ended in divorce haha! So I didn’t get to do any whooping downtown today.
Popping in the elevator we went up the Calgary tower. Today has definitely been the clearest of all the days. For whatever reason the smoke haze has lifted a little and we could see really quite far. All the way to the Airport, we could see the winter olympic ski jump tower and the saddle dome where the Calgary Stampede gets hosted. While the tower is no longer the tallest building, it’s got a 360 viewing platform that’s still a great way to see the city. There was also a glass floor some ladies were a bit nervous to stand upon.
From here we walked down a street full of bars, the smell of sizzling meat starting to make us hungry. At the end there were some strange pointy sculptures lining the avenue. We couldn’t work out what they were, but I’m sure they were significant shapes to some artist somewhere. Just beyond we found a green space outside the courthouse and tucked under a bench, a tiny geocache. Frustratingly the pen we had didn’t work on the water resistant paper rolled up inside. But this is still my first cache found on the North American continent.
It was time to head back to casa Julia and though they kindly offered to come collect us, I wanted to ride the train out of town. Its part of the city and every city does things slightly differently. Here, they have a whole street downtown dedicated to the trains / trams. See, I hate trams, but trains are ok. It’s the process of combining trams into the cars carriageway that I hate most. Luckily here they only have a short stretch in the city and then the trams run on their own dedicated tracks, away from vehicles. It was a cool way to see more of the city as it whisked us out to the suburbs.
Before I made everyone nacho’s, we took the dog for a walk so I could actually use some of the whoop batteries I’d charged. Half a battery in and I donked a metal pole and killed the camera. I have to admit I’ve not been very impressed with this whoop. I hope I can fix it, but that will have to wait till I’m home with my tools. I did bring another whoop with me, but forgot to bring its cable so I cannot program it to be able to fly. Ah well, no more whooping for me, much to Aimi’s relief.