Calgary

Our lift to Calgary 

We landed in Calgary where we faced our first problem;  as there was a long delay in off-loading our luggage, this made us miss our pre-arranged shuttle! We were helped by some lovely volunteers dressed in red (the colour of the Canadian Maple leaf on their flag), complete with cowboy hat and waistcoat. They are there to help new arrivals and lent us a mobile in order that we could contact the hotel. The hotel suggested that we caught a taxi at their -the hotel`s expense -and subsequently we booked into the Calgary International Hotel, 220, 4th Avenue South West.

The itinerary had just said 'Room with Breakfast' therefore we were expecting your typical U.K.Travel-Lodge!  What a surprise, it was a suite, with large bedroom, lounge with full self-catering facilities, a pattern which continued throughout our trip!

It had been a long day but the advice we had been given for crossing time zones was to accept the time zone of the visiting country and not that of home. We therefore just relaxed in our room until evening when we walked Downtown along 2nd St SW to Stephen Avenue (8th Avenue) to find a place to eat.

The first thing that you find out about navigating in a Canadian city is that the buildings are built in blocks and that the streets/ avenues run at right angles to them making it easy to navigate.

Monday, 9th of June dawned, our first 'real' day of our holiday. The previous night we had arranged for the hotel's free shuttle to take us to pick up our hire car. The depot was somewhat out of town, McLeod Trail South; unfortunately we were dropped off at the incorrect hire car depot. Not a problem, just as we had found the airport volunteers to be helpful, the hire company was just as accommodating! The man in the garage made a phone call to the correct depot and they sent a car to pick us up; they made it very easy for strangers in a foreign land!  We found this helpfulness and good manners a Canadian characteristic throughout our trip, from shop assistants to hotel managers; the UK service industry has a lot to learn! Having finally acquired our hire car, a Volkswagon Jetta 4 Door, it was with some trepidation we set off back to the hotel; driving a left hand drive automatic and then finding our route back to our hotel, but it went well. Both Driver (Bob) and Navigator (Cyndi) worked well throughout the trip!!

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Calgary sky-line from Prince's Park

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Peace Park with the Bow River Flowing underneath

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Black Squirrel on Prince's Island

Having parked the car we walked North along 2^nd St. SW to Eau Claire Market and then over Peace Bridge and into Prince's Island Park. A lovely day weather wise and with the fragrance of newly mown grass we saw our first black squirrel.

Opposite the hotel was the ubiquitous Tim Horton’s  www.timhortons.com ; back in 1996 we were introduced to  this cafe-chain and this for us is a memory that signals Canada! It is obviously still a popular chain in 2014 and throughout the trip we bought and enjoyed food and drink there -we recommend their Blueberry Muffins!

Following lunch we walked again along 2nd St SW to 8th Ave SW via a 'free ' tram service found our way to the Calgary Tower. Calgary Tower was tall and imposing but was somehow lost amongst the surrounding beautiful high rise buildings, which were staggered in height, curved or flat and made of glass, brick and stone,  We returned to the hotel tired but ready for next journey to Banff!

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Calgary 3D Sculpture