We slept in late yesterday in Banff and got into Calgary at about 1 in the afternoon. Calgary reminds me a lot of Denver and the surrounding area. You drive east from Banff and gradually make your way down from the mountains to find Calgary situated right near the base. Calgary is a very metropolitan city and being my first time there, I was surprised at it’s size… approximately 500,000 people call Calgary and the surrounding metro area home.
We checked into a hotel and then set out to check out the sights. Calgary has a very nice downtown area lined with shops, coffee houses and restaurants. We braved the cold temperatures and walked down the pedestrian mall for a while and finally we found a nice little restaurant and bar and decided to seek refuge from the cold and to enjoy happy hour. Good food, good drink and a little time to reflect on the trip to date.
Upon returning to the hotel and taking our respective naps, we cleaned up and jumped in a cap headed down to Chinatown to eat some Japanese sushi. We came upon a place called Sakana Grill that had been recommended at the hotel. We had a great time there. The head chef aka “Tony Montana” prepared a delicious meal right before our eyes and even slammed a few beers with us. We also talked about our trip around the world and our experiences in Canada with a very nice local couple and their son. They later somehow mentioned to the staff that it was my birthday (it was not) and before we knew it, we were dressed in Samurai costumes and drank more Sake. It was a great start to a great night.
Calgary is cold in the winter and as a result, they have a very clever enclosed walkway system that pretty much takes you anywhere you want to go downtown, although one can very easily become disoriented and get lost. We took the walkway over to a famous bar/club called the Cowboy (we were in Calgary, home of the world famous Calgary Stampede Rodeo, so we had to ride the bull) however, we were quickly informed that because Steve S. looked like a dirtbag (he was not wearing black/brown leather shoes), they were not going to let him in.
We settled on the Irish pub next door for a few drinks and pretty much ended up getting sufficiently hammer-faced. Bar time came and so did the cab to take us back to the hotel. (In the condition we were in, we definitely would have been wandering around the walkway for hours)
It was our last day in Canada and today we start the long journey back to Colorado. Calgary was definitely a great city and even though we were only there for a day, it served as a great last impression of our trip north across the border. It is on the list of places to make a return visit… maybe in July for the Stampede. Steve B.
