Calgary:

Great walking city.. but sad we didn’t get a chance to do the bike trails.

We arrived in Calgary to fortunately cloudy skies. Fortunate because it kept us from noticing the smoke. And it also gave us an excuse to go see “Barbie”. So well done.., thought provoking, entertaining and poignant. Brant may have a slightly different opinion, but I’m writing this.

We got loft sitting that provided unique people watching

Thanks to friends recommendations we had some terrific meals. Barbarellas:A restaurant described as an Amalfi coast inspired Italian but using Canadian ingredients. Kind of seemed like a silly description but it was very good . I have missed Indian food and was glad to go to a great Indian restaurant called the Calcutta Cricket Club.We were impressed with the diversity in the city.

When we awakened to a cloudy/smoky day we opted to check out the pickle dome. (Actually we could not smell smoke but the air rating was 4-5). A short cab drive away with a driver who was a bit confused as to what we were doing, took us to a jumbo sized Quanset hut with a locked door. The cab driver was adamant we would find a way in so I called the person listed on the website who advised to just pull really hard on the door. I guess air locks are important in a city that gets down to 40 below. Inside this huge building were 6 astroturf courts. The sign made it clear this was not just for pickleball… no cleats and no spitting was posted at the entry. While the astroturf was very kind to my foot a drop shot in this setting was killer… not much bounce!

Next we need to find clay pickleball courts.

As we were leaving a large group arrived with many suggestions as to where we should eat. (Pickleballers are very friendly and have been great way to learn about places). We were next to the professional football stadium so Nicks that has been there over 40 years won (the owner was a former professional football player). The city tram gave us a simple way to see the city. Shopping is fun when they have summer clearances and you live in the summer year round! I chatted with a storekeeper from Japan. It turns out she was from a small town in Japan we visited long ago. The world keeps getting smaller.

This is a terrific mural but curious about the story behind it

I always want to hate zoos. They just kind of seem wrong. But have to say, l loved this zoo. It is the kindness shown in the building of the enclosures that is as impressive. And of course once I hear the squeals of delight I am sold. It is really the joy and curiosity of the children that completes the experience. (We also enjoyed eating at Grazers… a restaurant with animals wandering right next to you).

The best exhibit was getting to go in the enclosure with these lemurs that walked right up to us on the path. We were advised to plant our feet and freeze when they walked by.

These unique gardens were almost as good ..

As the real thing! Note skyscrapers in back.

The city was filled with flowers, good food and close outs of summer merchandise.I would definitely come back to use the bike paths along the river, maybe a river raft through the city and many more restaurants to try. We skipped many of the places mentioned on sites because it was just fun to wander. There is much more to the city than a once a year stampede…. Actually that’s a bit hard to imagine?