Calagary

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So, I have another two days to tell about.

Yesterday was our trip west. We started at Gananoque in the Thousand Islands and, as usual, left later than we planned. We'll have to do something about that trend. We drove directly to Toronto to meet Seymour and Doris at Mother Tuckers restaurant near the airport. We had a lovely meal and a wonderful time with Seymour & Doris. Dad called us on Skype but we could barely hear him with all the noise around.

Anyway, we transferred two big suitcases to Seymour's car, said our goodbyes and headed off to the airport with a lot less luggage than we'd been lugging around before. What a relief!

We got lost in the airport a bit. If you think Ben Gurion is confusing you should try Pearson! Imagine a ball of yarn after a litter of kittens got done with it. One great big tangle of several strings. Now imagine you have to unravel it all, but from the inside.

Anyway, eventually we found the rental car drop off center and from then on things went very smoothly. Pearson is super efficient! We did the early online check-in and got through the baggage check-in in no time, and there was always someone there to answer any questions. Very nice. No trouble with security either, but our plane was delayed by about two hours! It arrived late from its previous destination because of weather, so we finally landed in Calgary at 9 PM local time instead of 7.

Still, it was an ok enough flight. We discovered that on internal flights (in Canada a 4 hour flight is only half way across the country) you pay extra for a snack. Good thing we ate a good meal before the flight! We will be prepared next time.

Calgary airport is small. The connection flights, baggage collection and where people come to meet arrivals are all in the same place.

We got our car and headed to the hotel. Our hotel, the Lakeview Signature Inn, was a surprise. We didn't expect a suite with a full kitchen (including oven and stove, dishes and pots, and even a dishwasher)! And the room is big too! A short exploration and a few exclamations later, we promptly crashed.

Breakfast was good too. Just one kind of meat, the obligatory pancakes and waffles, but also some fruit.

After our meal we went out to town. We started on 8th Avenue, also called Stephen Avenue. On the way we saw a parade of sorts, a wagon train with lots of happy people, followed by a street sweeper, to clean up what the horses leave behind.

Stephen Avenue is a long pedestrian street with restaurants, shops and other businesses. Now, during the 10 days of the Calgary Stampede, there's lots going on here. Food and souvenir stalls, parades, square dancing, and lots of people. Men, women, kids of all shapes and color were dressed for the occasion. Stetsons, cowboy boots, plaid shirts, big fancy belt buckles, the works. Everything but a six shooter! Lots of fun! At the Olympic Plaza, where Stephens Avenue begins, we saw a breakfast dish competition of three local chefs and then some line dancing. Further down the street we saw another parade with fully costumed First Nation people, followed by the same street sweeper. Horses will be horses...

We went on to CORE center, a large, and very nice shopping center. Why go to a shopping center, you ask? Well, on the fourth floor is one of the biggest indoor gardens int he world, the Devonian gardens. Beautiful! And many people get something to eat and go there to enjoy their lunch break.

We left the gardens and got a hotdog on our way to the Calgary Stampede. Now That was exciting! Our seats weren't the greatest, to put it mildly, in the sun on a hot day, but we still enjoyed. Tamar was very worried for the first portion, but then she had to go ask one of the competitors (I think he was a bronco rider) about the treatment of the animals. He was really nice, and explained to her how the horses really enjoy it. They just love the action and throwing off their riders, and, besides, they are super well treated. Tamar felt much better after that.

So, we saw the whole deal; wrangling, bull riding (ouch!), both saddled and bareback broncos, barrel racing, even children's pony racing! Then we walked around the stampede grounds, saw the First Nation area, their tipis, costumes and dancing. We had some bannock, which is a fried bread (like donuts but less oily and sweet), and moose ears. Moose ears is bannock coated with sugar and cinnamon but with a name like 'moose ears' we just had to try it. Very sweet, but good.

By now it was getting late and we were tired and overheated. It was a hot day! We headed back towards Stephens Avenue, but the events there were all over, so we went to the car and drove back to the hotel.

See our day here:

Tomorrow we leave Calgary and climb to Rockies!

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Photos

Bronco riding
Ouch!