Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I thought that blogging would be an easy way for me to keep track of the vaguely cool stuff that I do. How wrong I was – blogging is time consuming! That must be the reason why people do this as a full-time deal. I think my real downfall is that I want to do these blogs in chronological order. If I could just blog at the moment I might be better but I am so neurotic that I there is no way I could actually abandon linear time.

That being said, in February I headed up to Calgary, Alberta. I had never been to western Canada before and I couldn’t believe that my first trip was going to be in February. I am not a snow person, and from what I hear about Canada (the Great White North is not a joke after all) I would definitely be out of my element. Luck was in my favor the week I was there, not much snow, just a lot of cold. I don’t think I have been that cold since I lived in Logan, UT. To make matters worse, I don’t even know how cold I was because they use Celsius. As much as I detest the metric system, it was cool to drive 110 kph – I felt drunk with speed and power.

When I arrived in Calgary, I saw a lot of steakhouses. And since I am my father’s daughter, I decided to eat steak. It had been a long day by the time I reached Calgary and I was ready to eat. I ended up going to Cattle Baron, which I guess is pretty well known (at least according to the framed articles in the lobby). I ordered a 6 oz filet and it was adequate. I honestly expected a little bit more from the famous Alberta beef – although I am not sure it is the cows fault. I must admit that the bread they served was amazing. Is it sad that I remember the bread?

I did eat at the hotel (Embassy Suites to be exact) on a couple of evenings because it was cold. I know that is so pathetic but once you get ensconced in the warm hotel, why would you leave? The hotel food was passable although after I ate I wish I had gone out.

One of my students recommended a restaurant called Moxie’s Classic Grill. It was very nicely decorated and trendy but I still felt comfortable eating by myself. I don’t remember the entrée (oops) but I do remember the avocado spring rolls that were super yummy.

Another student recommended a place called Thai Boat. It was nice and they had a pretty good pad thai. I would have liked something a bit more robust, but for the price it was just fine.

My students decided that we all needed to go out to lunch on Thursday. Olive Garden was chosen because it is good for a lot of people. Fortunately for me, one student told the waiter it was my birthday and the wait staff brought out a cake and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” It was so hard for me to just play it naturally and not crack up. My students were the nicest group of people that I have met in quite some time.

The coolest thing I did was drive up to Banff National Park and see Lake Louise. I have wanted to go to Lake Louise for a while and for a couple of reasons. One, I once saw an episode of the Jeff Corwin Experience (I love Jeff Corwin) at Lake Louise and it looked stunning. Two, I have Webshots on my computer and one of the rotating pictures is of Lake Louise. I guess I just wanted to say when the picture rolled around on Webshots that I had been there.

Banff is about 1.5 hours away from Calgary, so I took off after my class finished around noon on Friday. I drove up to Banff and it was just lovely and even better, it wasn’t snowing. I was a bit hesitant to make the drive up into the Canadian Rockies as I didn’t have any snow gear aside from a glove, scarf, and hat set that my brother got me for Christmas. I definitely didn’t have shoes that would work well. I ended up taking my sneakers and hoping for the best.

Lake Louise is stunning. For overnight guests there is Château Lake Louise which sits right on the lake. I would love to stay there, although I don’t think I make nearly enough money. The alpine beauty of the Château and the lake reminded me so much of Austria.

I walked over to the lake and it was totally frozen. They had ice sculptures, as well as a skating rink, and a hockey rink. I was watching people walk across the lake and I was dead set against setting one foot on that frozen mass of water. I had always thought people hanging out and having funtivities on frozen lakes was an urban legend. It just seems unnatural.

After realizing that this was my one shot to walk on a frozen lake, I decided to take the proverbial plunge. I figured I have had a good life, so if it ended then so be it. I loved walking across the lake. I only made it about ¾ of the way across until the sun dipped behind the mountains and it became very, very cold. Needless to say, I lived to tell the tale. It is, perhaps, one of the most memorable experiences I have had.

On the way back to Calgary, I stopped in the town of Banff, which can only be described as picturesque. I walked around the main streets of Banff with the distinct feeling that someone took Park City, UT and moved it to Canada. I had a hard time finding someplace to eat as everything looked really cheap or really expensive. I finally decided to pick a place and just go – I was on en expense account so what did I care? I would ask forgiveness when I got back to the office.

I ended up eating at the Maple Leaf. It was amazing! They let me sit by the window with a panoramic view of the mountains. What made it even better was that I got to watch the sunset as I ate. The New York strip steak was perfectly cooked and tender. The mashed potatoes were so creamy and the vegetables were just the right and perfectly al dente. I cannot think of one bad thing to say about the place. The wait staff was outstanding and even let me join in their conversation about Lost. For those of you that like wine, they have an extensive selection. If you are ever in Banff, do not skip the Maple Leaf.

And now for two side notes: First, the Canadians are not kidding when it comes to hockey, as every other channel covered some hockey game. And second, I did find a used bookstore called the “Wee Book Inn.” Sadly, it was going out of business because of rising rent prices.

Next Trip – New York City