Vancouver and the Rockies July/August 2018 - Day 17 - Exploring Calgary on foot

[jocat]

Index is here.

Day 17 - Wednesday 8th August 2018 - Calgary parks, art and dinner at Ruth’s Chris

I slept really well and didn’t wake until 9am. I’d have probably slept longer if it wasn’t for the sound of the shower going and the music of Bridge Over Troubled Water playing. I have no idea where it came from - maybe the room next door, but I’m sure Martin thought I’d gone mad when I told him about it when he came out of the shower, as it had completely stopped by then.

I got myself ready and we went to the lounge at 9:40 am for the breakfast that they provide. For quite a small space, it had a good variety of foods. There were cereals, fruit, granola, yoghurts, a range of pastries and muffins, cold meats, cheeses, boiled eggs, bacon, scrambled egg, sausage, frittatas, sourdough and granary breads etc.

I had some fruit and a mini pastry, plus some toast, which Martin and I shared. He had some granola, then bacon, sausage, frittata and scrambled eggs. We both had some orange juice too.

We went back to the room to get ready to go out, but didn’t end up leaving until about 10:45 am.

We turned a corner onto Stephen Avenue and almost bumped into a film crew carrying some very large cameras. I moved out of the way and then Martin said “that was Michael Palin.” I turned round and saw the back of a man in a pinky-red coloured jacket with another couple of camera men. We continued along Stephen Avenue for a minute or so before Martin informed me that it wasn’t Michael Palin after all, but was Michael Portillo instead. Perhaps he was filming about Canadian railway journeys this time.

We headed out towards Prince’s Island Park, via Jaiper Bridge. There were a lot of geese there! We also saw black squirrels, who were having a great time chasing each other around tree trunks. There was also a staging area for an outdoor performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which is shown most evenings. No tickets are required, instead you pay what you want. We walked to the far side of the park and saw someone swimming in the Bow River. Well it was a warm day!

We read a lot of the information boards about the Calgary floods in 2013. Three days of heavy rainfall and snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains in June that year, caused river flows in Calgary to be heavier than the city had seen in over a century. The whole downtown area was submerged under water and without power for several days.

We continued walking up towards the Peace Bridge, then left the park and walked towards another park in the city that Martin had read about.

We passed some lovely buildings, one of which was the McDougall Centre, which had been the first ‘normal school’ in the area. It was actually used for Teacher Training when it opened in 1907, but as teachers needed practical experience, a grade school operated there too. In 1922, the Calgary Normal School was moved elsewhere, so the Public School Board purchased the building and renamed it McDougall School. It was used as a Junior High School and then an elementary school for the next six decades, but once Calgary’s population shifted away from the downtown area, the school closed in 1981.

In 1987 it opened as a government office and meeting space. There were lots of workers enjoying their lunch in the lovely grounds at the front of the building.

We decided to go for a drink and found Paper St, a bar and restaurant close by. We sat at the bar and Martin ordered a Mill Street West Coast IPA and I had a Diet Coke. We chatted to the barman for a while about travelling. He’d visited Paris and Versailles and had just found out his mum’s father was from Manchester. He talked about spending most weekends in the Banff area and showed us photos of winter scenes there.

We paid the bill of $11.29 and rounded it up to $15 to include a tip, then continued our walk to Central Memorial Park. It’s only a fairly small park, but was lovely. There were children playing in the small water fountain areas, plus there were two larger fountains and lots of lovely planted areas.

We walked to 17th Avenue, which is supposed to be an eclectic neighbourhood full of vintage stores, bistros and coffee shops. It is probably a great place in the evenings, but in the daytime I just wasn’t feeling it. We didn’t venture far down it before deciding to turn around and come back towards the main downtown area.

About 10 minutes later, we found ourselves back on Stephen Avenue and decided to stop for lunch. We ended up at Earls again, but noticed a difference in prices to the last time we visited in Jasper. Calgary is definitely cheaper - most items on their menu were about $8 cheaper here.

We both ordered a salad - mine just a starter portion of a Caesar salad, and Martin had a regular portion of a Caesar salad with Cajun Chicken. We also ordered some Italian style bread to share which came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I know the salads look a similar size but mine was on a side plate honestly! I stuck to water to drink, while Martin had a Diet Coke. The bill came to $32.

We came out of the restaurant and noticed a bit of a crowd up the street, plus raised voices. It turned out to be a 10 minute play being performed in the street.

We continued walking and found ourselves near the Wonderland sculpture, in front of the Bow Building. There seems to be lots of art around the city.

We decided to go back to the hotel for a bit of a rest - it was 3:30 pm now and our feet were aching a bit. It was another hot day today and we really needed to get out of the sun. We called into the lounge to grab a soft drink each and took them back to our room to have with some ice.

This was a photo taken in our hotel lobby. Although it looks lovely, I'm not sure a fire is necessary when it's 35 degrees outside!

I spent some time writing up my trip notes and we put the TV on for a bit. We then got showered and changed for dinner. It wasn’t far tonight - just over the road at Ruth’s Chris, which is on the lower floor of the Calgary Tower.

We do like their steaks and after first visiting one in Toronto, we also visited in San Francisco last year. It’s usually a bit pricey, but it was our last night, and the food is always great.

When I’d booked, I’d been a bit naughty - they ask if you’re celebrating anything, so I wrote that we were celebrating our anniversary. Well it’s only a month early.

We checked in and were wished Happy Anniversary. Martin looked a bit confused by it, because I hadn’t told him what I’d done. To be honest, I’d forgotten until that point. We were shown to a lovely booth, where the waiter said we’d got the best table in the house, as you could see the road opposite that would look beautiful later when it got dark and the lights came on. I couldn’t see it myself, as it just looked like a road, but I took his word for it.

We looked at the menu, then noticed they’d decorated our table with happy anniversary and champagne saucer table sprinkles. There was also a card wishing us Happy Anniversary. We looked at the wine menu first and ordered a bottle to share. We then decided to order from the special Date Night menu. This includes a glass of wine each, an appetiser to share, an entree plus side dish each, plus a dessert to share. Total cost of $120. On the normal menu, our main course plus side dish would have come to more than this, so the Date Night menu is good value. As we had ordered a bottle of wine, he took $10 off instead of giving us the glasses of house wine.

We ordered the mushrooms stuffed with crab meat, an 8oz fillet steak each, with sides of mashed potato and broccoli, plus a creme brûlée for dessert.

The food was delicious and the service was very attentive without being intrusive.

The steaks come on a sizzling hot plate, so it really keeps your food hot while you eat.

We were offered a dessert each for no extra cost. Apparently you get a complimentary dessert for it being your anniversary, but we wouldn’t have managed to eat it, so we did politely decline the offer. They did decorate the plate though for us though.

Martin finished the meal with a Spanish coffee, which had kahlua and brandy in it, and we paid the bill of $218 - that was an expensive bottle of wine! It had been a lovely way to finish the holiday though.

We walked back to the hotel, grabbed a soft drink from the lounge and sat on the sofa in our room, discussing the holiday and pondering where we might go next year. I’m not sure it will beat this one!

[Melbatb]

What lovely parks! Sometimes just wandering around can be such a rewarding visual experience!

You had some lovely meals again! A great way to spend a final evening!

[WileyCoyote]

Lovely day, looks a nice place. Love all the street art and entertainment.
Dinner sounds fabulous !

[parisdisneyfan]

You saw a lot more of Calgary than we did. I'm never keen on cities but I think I could spend a bit longer there next time!

We did the anniversary thing as well at our hotel, not until October but we will make it!

Happy Anniversary to you for a couple of weeks as well xx

[MarionG]

A lovely day spent exploring the area.