Calgary's High Points
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2010
1
14
57
Trip End
Nov 29, 2010
Where I stayed
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
This morning we need to sort out storing our bags till later in the day as our airport shuttle is not till 3.25pm for our 5.15pm flight to Vancouver. We set off to explore Calgary about 10 o'clock starting at the Calgary Tower which was not too far from our hotel (Ramada Downtown). We zoomed up to the Observation Deck in 62 seconds!!! I’m glad we were inside the building so I couldn’t see the world flash past... Wow! What a great view – so pleased it was a fine day as we could see right over to the Rockies where we had come from on our Greyhound bus. Calgary is about the same size as Auckland and mostly flat. It was easy walking so we went to a park we could see from the Tower. It was where the 1988 Winter Olympic medal ceremonies were held – would have been really nice then. Unfortunately it looked like it was home to vagrants as people had been sleeping there overnight; also people were going through the bins... For a total contrast we next ventured into some fancy shops. You could almost smell the money there. Needless to say we just looked. There was a Market over the other side of the city centre where we could get something for lunch. Prince’s Island was handy to the Market and heaps of people were going there so we followed along. Joggers, walkers, office folk having lunch alongside the riverbank gave it a lovely atmosphere as everyone was enjoying the sunshine. After lunch we thought we would follow some aerial walkway signs we had seen earlier. These take you up to the first floor level and the covered walkways go from highrise to highrise (over the road below). They go for block after block and must be a useful way of getting around town in the winter weather. It was strange walking straight through the centre of the buildings... We went into one and alarm bells were going off and lights flashing – then we saw people putting on Warden vests! It didn’t look like the place to be so we went down the stairs really quickly back down onto the street just in time to see ambulances and fire engines arriving. The building was over 30 stories high and no lifts were working so I wouldn’t want to be a worker on the top floor!! We found another walkway and came out near our hotel in a building with a beautiful lobby complete with trees, pond, goldfish and turtles. It was time to get our bags and go out to the airport. We had two pilots and a stewardess on our shuttle (another airline though). Our bags were way under the weight limit – Whew! Then it was off through Security – no problems for us but it took forever as lots of people had their bags opened and checked or queried at Xray. Calgary has a reputation for having the toughest security checks (according to the lady behind us on the plane). When we got our boarding passes (Air Canada) we weren’t seated together – even though we had booked and paid last year!! We were not impressed!! However the guy beside Bruce offered to swap with Ros so we could travel together. Yahoo... I was able to get some great photos from the plane window (getting better at using the new camera’s aerial shot mode). It’s only a 1 ½ hour flight but we changed back 1 hour to Pacific Time as we crossed over the Rockies and it was still daylight when we landed in Vancouver. Bruce and I thought we’d have a go using the train to get ourselves into the city and then get a taxi to the hotel. So far, so good. However when we emerged from the Underground we didn’t know where we were (it was now dark and we didn’t have a map) – and we couldn’t see any taxis. A lady told us to just flag one down which Bruce did. The driver saw him from the other side of the street and then hung a U-turn blocking all the traffic!! In we piled with all our bags and were soon at the hotel. On checking in we were told we had been upgraded to a top floor room with balcony overlooking English Bay (at no extra cost). SCORE!!! After the hassles with plane seats this was great news and a wonderful welcome to Vancouver!!!
Comments
Great photo of the rockies from the air :) What wonderful weather you have had!
Southland was snow free and actually sunny and warm, what a difference a week can make down there! Was interesting to have a look at the stadium, they have already resumed using the velodrome but a few businesses are still closed due to roof damage. Have a great flight to the UK and enjoy your campervan - hope the weather cooperates there too.
School starts in two days ... we will be thinking of you Bruce and missing you.