8-3-2015
Calgary, Alberta

The way the air feels and smells, the energy on the streets, the proximity to an outdoor paradise, the food, the beer, the beautiful people.  Calgary, I love you.  I think you have turned me Canadian.

I broke out of Johnston Canyon fairly early to avoid the crowds, and headed into Calgary.  My first thoughts on entering the city was that it looked just like Omaha.  But a bigger, better Omaha with mountains.  Omaha on steroids.  Of course, me loving Omaha, this was a good sign.

Because I got to town so early, my room wasn’t ready.  I had to kill time until 2 pm.  I drove around town a bit until I found an Irish pub called Joyce on Fourth.  “It has my favorite author in its name, why not?” I thought to myself.  So the pre-noon beers began.  Seeing as Canadian beer is my new favorite thing, I stuck with locally brewed brown ales and just people watched.  The women here are gorgeous.  I think I fell in love 60 times in as many minutes.

I took off from Joyce on Fourth around noon, and walked the streets a bit.  It was around this time that I realized that I smell absolutely awful (I haven’t showered in close to 3 days, and I’ve been spending each day hiking, in campfire smoke, etc. etc.).  “Oh well.  Gotta wait until 2 pm before I can shower.  People are just going to have to deal.”  I noticed a street sign that caught my attention (because I can relate), and I went into the establishment, b.o. and all.

It’s difficult to pin down what Savour actually is.  A bizarre combination of Vietnamese food, Japanese teas, and French coffee and pastries that somehow works.  Really well.  I start off with an expertly brewed genmaicha…

…and end up staying for a delicious Vietnamese bang mi (you know…that sounds way less dirty when the proper accents are added) with Hong Kong style Peking Duck.  The meal gives me all the energy in the world.

Still having a bit of time to kill, I park my car at the Hotel Elan where I am staying and head out onto 17th, a growing, vibrant part of the city where (just as in cities throughout North America), Millenials are breaking out onto the food scene and bringing along mountains of fresh energy, ingenuity, and talent.

Or, if you are cynical and do not care for new things, a haven for hipsters.

I find a pub along 17th where I grab one last beer just to kill time.  Then, I head back to the Hotel Elan and check into my room.  Now, brace yourselves, because you are probably going to hate me as I describe this place to you.  I will let you know that when I booked this place, it was meant to be an extremely lavish and posh pad for me and my friends who tagged along on the journey, after nearly a week of camping and roughing it in the woods.  This was the splurge night.  However, my friends having dropped out of this trip because they are workaholics who apparently don’t like the concept of trips of a lifetime, the place ended up becoming a way too posh pad for one guy for the night.  To think, just last night the only thing I had to call “lodging” was a tent and a sleeping bag.

Okay, here we go.  This is the nicest place I have stayed.  Hands down.  The staff is extremely professional, helpful, and kind.  The decor is extremely modern, clean, elegant, hip….more positive adjectives.  The wifi is blazing fast and actually making blog writing a lot easier than my other nights on the trip.  Annnnnd my room.  So, my “room” is more like a 2 bedroom apartment than a room.  It has a large living room, kitchenette, working desk, dining area/conference table, workout room (yes! it has its own workout room complete with exercise bike and weights), 2 bedrooms, a huge tub with color therapy, a huge walk in shower, and a private balcony with table and chairs overlooking 17th.  It’s…just whoa.  Go exchange rates I guess, because I would have never been able to afford anything remotely like this in America.

The living room (too lazy right now to edit to improve the lighting)

The balcony.

One of the bedrooms.  I’m not posting photos of every room in this place…I think you get the idea.  It’s nice.

I take a shower (finally) and spend some time sipping water on the deck and reflecting on my travels.  I’m now two weeks deep into this trip, with this being my final week.  This time next week, I’ll be back at work.  It’s interesting to think how different my work life is from the vagabond life that I’ve been living the past few weeks.

Finally, I convince myself to get up and head out for dinner.  I head to a place I saw earlier on 17th called Cibo.

They do authentic Italian food, and they do it better than half of Italy.  And by Italian food, I don’t mean lasagna or anything like that, I mean the real stuff…the stuff that you usually have to go to the motherland to find.

I stick with my drink of choice here in Canada (Canadian beer), and order a true italian meal (less insalata) of prosciuto di parma, foccaccia, Italian style pork, eggplant caponata, and risotto milanese.  For dessert, I have a cannoli filled with a clearly homemade lemon ricotta filling.  I could discuss this meal for days, but will keep things simple and let you know – it is to die for.

After dinner, I’m feeling way too stuffed and satisfied with life to continue out to the bars.  So, I head back to my room, kick back, and catch up on blog writing.  My time in Canada has come to an end.  It was my first journey up here.  It will definitely not be my last.

Cheers,

Rob