They say, "if you don't like the weather in Alberta, wait around 5 minutes and it'll change". In fact, walking back to the hotel today, I heard someone say exactly that.
And it's true.
Today we had glorious sunshine and 30C+ heat, then awesome thunder and lightening, then rain, then back to the 30C+ heat. Then more rain and thunder.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Today was always going to be about the Calgary Tower. It's the one thing that Sandra latched onto when I showed her pictures of Calgary. She really set her heart on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calgary_Tower
It's 626 feet tall. There's an observation platform around 580 feet up. And I don't like heights. But what can you do? There's no point in flying 4000 miles and not going for it.
We queued for 2 hours and more. Why? Because Sandra wanted to go up it. And because we'd flown 4,000 miles, etc. In the last few yards before the lift, you get to the bit where you have to pay. I'd got it as about $25 for the two of us. No. There was no charge. Why? Because June 30, 2008, is the Tower's 40th anniversary, and admission was free. Well hey, that's gotta be worth it! So two hours of drudgery suddenly didn't seem too bad!
Stepping out of the lift at the top of the tower, for me, was kinda like a thump in the stomach. Looking down on buildings I'd only so far looked up at. But then... you can't travel 4000 miles, wait in a queue for over two hours, and then not stand on the transparent observation platform that reveals a sheer drop to the ground over 500 feet below... can you? (Check out the Flickr site to see whether I did it or not.)
Then we had some free food in the restaurant at the top of the tower, because they were just trying out some items off their new menu. Brilliant! A totally free and amazing experience.
After that we wandered around SE Calgary for a while, then stopped in a bar for a couple of beers (free Coke refills for Sandra, man alive today was a "free" day), before coming back to the hotel, getting changed, and going out for a meal (in the only Chinese restaurant I've ever been where they didn't give you chopsticks).
We're still fighting the jet lag a little (it's a bit mind-boggling to realise that, as we set down for breakfast, people in the UK are starting to think about finishing their working day). Sandra slept 14 hours last night, and still woke up feeling tired (that woman has a disease). She went to bed about an hour ago (about 10pm - or 5am body time), but I'm determined to stay up later to force my body into the new cycle.
Canada Day tomorrow, big parties and concerts on Prince's Island in the Bow River.
http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Hall/Business+Units/Recreation/Events/Canada+Day+Celebrations/Canada+Day+Celebrations.htm
Free, you'll notice. Oh wow I love this country, they know how to have a good time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Free everything! You lucky, lucky b*****d!
Watch out for them bees. 12 million of them apparently. Spilled out of a lorry. You wouldn’t have thought that anyone would be too worried about 12 million bees ‘at large’ in a country the size of Canada would you?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2225526/Canada-truck-crash-releases-12-million-bees.html
Those bees are in New Brunswick, they're probably closer to you than they are to me! Though some kinda beastie took a bite of me yesterday and my arm's all swole up.
Post a Comment