Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Calgary...Calga RAH!

Calgary is referred to as Cow Town by some and having engorged the delicious beef that can be purchased in dozens of restaurants, this is no misnomer.  I did not know what to expect upon arrival at Calgary because I had never met anyone from there or talked to anyone who had traveled there.  We really were heading out to Banff at the first part of our trip, but we did spend a couple of days exploring the city on our return.


It is a very easy city to explore,  easy to walk in and not so large that you get lost.  The theater district is not dynamic like New York City but we saw a play called Panelopiad which was professionally produced,  a play based on the story of ever faithful and ever patient Penelope waiting while Odysseus was out fighting wars for Helen of Troy.  It had an all female cast that portrayed the roles of men with convincing sexiness and all had excellent singing voices that I always encounter in Canada.


The food is wonderful in the city restaurants and VERY expensive if you eat in the nicer restaurants.  We ate at one place near the theaters which we thought was 'sort of' high end.  When we arrived (early because we were still on East Coast time) we noticed a young family at a large round table toward the modern kitchen bar.  There was a young baby in a bright red high chair and food was on the floor everywhere...just like at MacDonald's.    When we quietly asked, the waitress explained why three small children were eating just across from us with their mom and dad at this fancy restaurant.  The family it appears was renting a house owned by the restaurant owner in the nicer suburbs outside of Calgary.  The owner had it listed for 4.5 mil and had not sold it.  So these folks were renting it at $20,000 Canadian a month..!  They were celebrating a birthday for the youngest who had just turned one, which was, therefore, no big deal at such a high end restaurant.  And in spite of the fact that the two older little girls had beautifully highlighted hair and were dressed like Hannah Montana, all children behaved exceptionally well and the father who looked like an ex-hockey player was totally devoted to his third daughter throughout the night.  (As an aside, hubby and I spent the most we have ever spent at a restaurant eating here and I ordered only one glass of the cheapest wine with the meal, but the food was very good.  Although $18 for a salad of organic tomatoes with buffalo mozzarella topped with a rare French chile powder and sitting on prosciutto and basil was a ridiculous price and not nearly as good as something out of my garden and from my grocery.)


Weather was in the high 70's most of the time we were in Calgary, so walking around the city was an easy adventure.  The photos below were taken from the Tower downtown that had been built when the Olympics were held there back in the 1980's.  The third photo shows how ugly suburban sprawl is alive and well in Canadian cities.  In the last photo you can see the Canadian Rockies in the distance which was our primary eventual destination.  Most of those outdoor photos of dramatic scenery in the Rockies will be posted on my other blog.










14 comments:

  1. Interesting tale and photos. I have only been to Ontario, and I'd love to go to western Canada!

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  2. Yikes... $18 for a salad? That sounds outrageously expensive. Calgary has never called to me as a place of interest but points west certainly do. I'm looking forward to more photos.

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  3. Beautiful photos, principally the "calcity3". I will see more photos on your other blog.

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  4. Interesting; I like eating in high end restaurants occasionally; I'll even accept kids if they are as well-behaved as the ones you mentioned.

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  5. Calgary is not on my short list of travel plans, but I sure did enjoy the vicarious trip there.

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  6. Hi Tabor, I shouldn't be surprised at the prices up there... Gads---$18 for a salad... Gee!!!!! I've heard that Alaska has similar prices...

    I would love to see some of the Pacific Northwest sometime... We'e talked about taking the train across Canada sometime.

    Thanks for the report and pictures...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. I just look at situations like that with an open mouth. 20 grand a month for rent? I look at 200 dollar meals with the same sort of shock. I liked that small inner city park, and yes that wall of close packed houses seems universally found outside every city these days. I'll wander over to the other blog when I get back from the dentist. We can sparkle at each other.

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  8. I guess Canadian dollars are nearly the same as US $$ these days, so yeah that was a pricey salad; in a city famous for its beef maybe they were trying to "steer" you into ordering a steak?
    Looks like there was beautiful fall color on the foliage in that nice shot looking over the city west to the Rockies.

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  9. I hope you had a wonderful time.

    I just had a tomato and mozzarella salad in Santa Fe for $9.95 and I thought that was way expensive for four slices of tomato. It was very tasty though.

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  10. Anonymous5:12 PM

    I have always been interested in that part of Canada. Sure never thought of Calgary that way!

    Was the park as good as you expected? It is on my "someday" list.

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  11. I was eight years old when I went to Canada. I would love to go back but not to pay those high prices! Love your account of your trip.

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  12. Tabor, thank you for correcting me.
    I should not be commenting at 5:30 in the morning. My daughter is always telling me to PROOF READ.
    Your friend from the woods :)

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  13. Such an interesting trip. Wow I don't think I could eat a salad that cost that much... Have always wanted to go to the Calgary Stampede, rodeo at it's best.

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