Alberta – 5th Day

Posted on July 4, 2018 by jmatie22

Last day in Calgary and Alberta. I woke up early at 9am so I could get a lot in before my flight.

Since it was raining, I started off with lunch at Ten Foot Henry (I took an Uber, and I have to say, Uber is basically like SF prices. I didn’t travel more than a mile, and I paid $10 Canadian):

Ten Foot Henry

After, since it was still a bit drizzling, I made my way towards a cafe at Inglewood called Rosso:

Rosso (Inglewood)

Sitting in the cafe, it eventually stopped raining, so I was able to walk around Inglewood (which is like a basic old town downtown). I even stopped by a local CIBC to do some banking.

Reaching the end of Inglewood lead me to the RiverWalk, where I past Fort Mason, and China town. I then ended up at Prince’s Islam Park, and walked around there for a bit.

After, I returned to my hotel to grab my car, where I drove to the Saddle Dome to check out the preparations for the Calgary stampede next week.

From there, I headed to the YYC. I was early, so I checked out the Aspire Lounge. The Lounge has a good selection of alcohol, food, and a sleeping area! One of the best Priority Pass lounges I’ve ever been to.

Alberta – 4th Day Part 2

Posted on July 4, 2018 by jmatie22

Coming in from Banff, there was crazy traffic (there was an accident on the trans Canada high way, which looked like a truck carrying cars fell into the center lane, likely from the rain).

I checked into the Delta (on 4th ave and 1st) at around 7:30pm.

From the hotel, I walked around a bit. I explored around City Hall, Olympic Plaza and Calgary Tower. I then strolled along Stephen Ave, and tried to go to the National on 10th. Unfortunately it was closed (for a private event). However I was able to go to the one on 17th ave (however it did not have any games):

National (on 17th)

After the National, I walked along 17th, between 4th and 1st. It too much was happening. I tried to go to a cocktail bar called Proof, it was closed because of Canada day.

So then I proceeded to the Peace Bridge, which is supposed to look the best at night because of the lights.

I ended off the night at my hotel’s hot tub (although it definitely wasn’t as nice as the Fairmont in Banff).

Alberta – 1st Day

Posted on July 3, 2018 by jmatie22

Arrived in Calgary at around noon. Airport seemed new for the most part.

Customs was fast because of Nexus (although funny story? Yuri slipped his Nexus card into the machine and ended up having to wait).

After customs, I proceeded to the rental car, where I skipped the line because of being an Avis Preferred member.

From the airport, I stopped by a Real Canadian super store to pick up some snacks. I then went to the “privately owned” real Canadian liquor store (which looks super ghetto inside) to grab some liquor (Haneson and some brand of vodka I’ve never heard of.

After, before going on the road to Banff, I stopped by Timmy’s to grab a chicken chipotle wrap, mocha latte, and 20 assorted Timbits.

The road to Banff was pretty straightforward. Going on the trans Canada highway was cool (the speed limit was 110 Km at some points, and the scenery was awesome).

After an hour and a half, I arrived at Hidden Ridge Resort. Since I had a smaller room booked for the first two nights, and a larger one booked for the last night, they let me upgrade the first room for only $90 Canadian so I could stay in the same room!

The room itself was pretty big. The rest of the day we had a barbecue and drank at the wedding party’s room (basically my room but mirrored).