After a late night with friends, board games, and good conversation – we had to wake up early to catch our cab for the airport.  The process was surprisingly seamless and the entire trip was smooth and easy.  We quickly got our taxi and made our way to the hotel.  The trip from our friends’ house to the airport was the only hiccup – it was especially longer than expected and to be honest I could barely open my eyes because of the minimal amount of sleep I had.  A highlight was the Japanese-style hot dogs we had at the airport (Japadogs) which were incredible!

We quickly got into our hotel, the room was amazing, much bigger than expected, and I realized that I got the free King Suite upgrade.  We had a kitchenette and a full-room suite, not what I was expecting.  We quickly dropped our stuff and despite being overtly tired (all of us) we went out to explore Calgary.  First thing we did was walk up through Olympic Plaza which was nice but nothing too impressive, keeping in mind its 1988 age vs. the more recent one we saw in Atlanta for the 2000 Olympics.  We had our lunch at the Anatolian Turkish Restaurant.  It had an interesting cavernous space and if it wasn’t for the small Turkish décor accessories, you wouldn’t know it was Turkish, even the music was R&B.  The food, however, was great, and we ended up sharing 2 dishes between the 4 us.  Our Iskender Doner and Mixed Grill was tender and full of flavour.  We opted out of dessert and Turkish coffee and headed through Stephen Ave. We stopped at the Chocolate Lab, and could not resist trying some amazing flavours including the Matcha Vanilla, Orange Cardamom, and Chai-infused chocolate.  The Tropical paradise was also impressive.

We did the Calgary Tower, and the views were well worth the ticket price, especially since we got our 4-year-old in as a free 3-year-old ticket.  The glass floor was a nice scary touch and the history of the tower’s torch flame purpose for the Olympics was fascinating.  We walked along Stephen Street some more and got some water bottles (20-minute wait).  I was struck by the number of homeless and drug addicts on display.  It was on par if not slightly more apparent than Vancouver(at least on this trip).  Certainly worse than Toronto or Montreal as far as I am aware.  Never thought Calgary had that problem and  I was rather surprised a city this size had such a visually disturbing problem, and it’s really one you find in most places around the downtown.

We went to the Architectural wonder that is the Calgary Central Library.  My little one spent a good amount of time in the play area at the Children’s section.  The wood interior and teardrop design are striking.  Even outside the entryway was a visual punch.  We headed back after getting a doner sandwich for a light dinner and a Tim Horton’s for Timbits and coffee.  We will opt for an early night and the scheduled pool and fancy dinner plans were quickly canceled so that we can rest up, recharge and be ready for a full day tomorrow.  Let’s see how much we can jam-pack on our last day in Calgary (originally we would have had three more days, but the last day was changed to Canmore at the last minute to squeeze some more nature into our trip).

(Homewood Suites Downtown Calgary By Hilton, Day 1 – 11:27 pm, Tue Jul 18, 2023)

Apparently, yesterday was quiet the day, everyone was exhausted and I think days of travelling on the cruise and Vancouver finally caught up to our second day in Calgary.  They all slept in and had a good 13-hour sleep before waking up at around 11 local time.  I was awake, as usual, unnecessarily early and went down for breakfast on my own, and actually did work for a good two hours.

After everyone finally got their act together and we grabbed a quick snack from the nearby Tim Horton’s in lieu of breakfast, we walked to the Core Shopping Mall.  The mall was an urban mall with up to 4 floors and a narrow long configuration.  The highlight was the Devonian Gardens on the 4^th floor which were a great indoor space, I can imagine what a refuge it would be in the cold Calgary winters.  We had a look around the mall, and among other things, we stopped at a Japanese toy store where each of the little ones got a small “toy”.  My eldest replenished his obsession with K-pop by buying a band album, and the youngest took a baby toy of all things of a caterpillar just because.  We went down to the Cactus Club restaurant which we were targeting to try ever since our first trip to Vancouver two years ago.  Always tried, but never quite made it.  Today was finally the day, and it was full of business professionals on their lunch break, the portions were huge and the food was good – nothing special but great nonetheless.

We grabbed a cab and headed to the Telus Spark Centre which is an interactive science centre.  We’ve been to a few in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, etc.  This one was the best one with great interactive facilities and multimedia exhibits.  I especially like the four elements comic interactive video exhibit which had a native cultural twist to it.  We also saw the Infinity Dome (aka Cinesphere/Imax) move about bears and the kids had their fix of the outdoor play area as well as a VR experience for both of them.  My son tried to stop animation and loved it completely.

We headed to the Barclay area but the market mall was closed, we got a few water bottles and after a little bit of a confused back and forth due to construction we found the bridge to cross the river and head to Prince Edward’s Park.  We had a nice walk through the riverfront to a Vietnamese restaurant (Pho City) for a light-ish dinner.  My vermicelli noodles with shrimp were great and the highlight as usual is the cold Vietnamese coffee.

Back at the hotel, we had a nice swim, we realized my youngest’s top was forgotten in our Vancouver trip two days ago (our friend said she will ship it along with a sweater), so she would swim topless!  Then one of her arm floaters was torn so she couldn’t use it.  I had a nice workout carrying her in the pool for a good hour and having her chase her brother.  The things fathers do!

We finally settles in and looking forward to getting the car rental and driving out to Canmore and the beautiful Banff area.  We missed it after 2 years!

(Homewood Suites Downtown Calgary By Hilton, Day 2 – 10:50 pm, Wed Jul 19, 2023)

Another late morning for everyone but me, I took the breakfast solo today – again!  We definitely did not get our money’s worth with the included free breakfast, since everyone else has been waking up late, but it’s better that they rest up for another busy day. We packed up until the kids woke up, and got a Tim Horton’s snack before I headed out to walk to the car rental.  The walk and car rental process was super easy and I ended up getting an early start.  Had the option to trial a Tesla, but didn’t want to risk it and have it distract from my last two days in Canmore and Banff with the family.  So I got a Kia sedan; which was a great drive except the trunk barely fit the two luggage bags and stroller – to be honest, the stroller is a bit bulky.  When I say barely fit – I really mean BARELY!  I mean it was a matter of a few millimetres and the trunk door wouldn’t close.

Our drive to Canmore was easy, and overall smooth except for some construction.  We had a pit stop for a delicious lunch at the Market Bistro on the outskirts of the town.  Beautiful scenery and the weather was perfect, a strong sun but a nice cool breeze to make it comfortable.  We quickly headed to Quarry Lake Park where we had a nice swim at the lake.  The water was cool, but the beach was relatively smooth and the mountain backdrop was dramatic and stunning.  This is Banff Country son!  They even supplied life jackets which were great for our little topless wonder, who forgot her swimming suit top in Vancouver. 

Exhausted and overdosed on vitamin D from the sun, we headed to our home for the next couple of days – a last-minute impromptu change of plans when we were on the Alaska Cruise a week before.  The lodge had amazing mountains in the background and the room was simple but clean and comfortable.  It was spacious and had everything we need.  We rested for a bit and then headed out for a light dinner at Communitea.   I had a delicious Taco Bowl with a Pomegranate Blueberry Iced Tea – rounded off with a cappuccino and a delicious chocolate bar with cranberries, almonds, nougat, and pistachios.  The kids had grilled cheese with cumin popcorn, which was so tasty, and the wifey had a healthy veggie bowl with a lavender lemonade.  We had a quick stroll to pick up some water bottles from the local grocery store in the little town centre.  The town was quaint and pretty and coming after two years, the only difference is a much sunnier day that was picturesque.

We headed back to the hotel where the kids played at the lodge playground for a good hour before we went to our rooms to settle in for a Banff-centric day tomorrow.  The views from our rooms are dreamy and I can only imagine waking up to such beautiful scenery tomorrow.  So awe-inspiring.

(Rocky Ski Lodge in Canmore, Day 3 – 7:40 pm, Thu Jul 20, 2023)

The last day of this last leg of what seemed like a long trip.  From Vancouver to Alaskan Cruise, to Vancouver again and then Calgary, with a final visit to Canmore yesterday and Banff today.  It was planned as a chill date to explore parts of Banff we didn’t see two years ago at various viewpoints including Mount Norquay and other locations along the beautiful Bow River.  Nowhere near Lake Louise, we stuck to the southeast of the park. 

Every view and drive was as awesome and majestic as we remembered.  This time it was warmer and sunnier than we last came and as a result, had a different feel.  We meet a French Canadian couple along the way, checked out the closed Norquay Lodge which was preparing for a wedding event, and capped it off in the Town of Banff where we had an amazing Fondue late lunch, seafood cooked on a heated slab, and a chocolate fondue dessert.  Sidebar – at some point, I heard a bird that was howling like a screaming lady – it was the weirdest thing. It was so heavy we are still digesting a couple of hours later and will probably not have anything else to eat as we had to an early sleep.  The kids will finish off with an hour’s worth of play at the playground (or less), clothes are packed and tomorrow will be quiet the trip back, first a drive to Calgary, then a taxi to the airport followed by the flight and the taxi back home at our final destination.

Incredible scenery and memories with views that will last a lifetime.  It was a great journey and might be our last for a while (until I find a second income – money has been tight since we renovated our new house last year, and the mortgage interest hikes didn’t help).  Hoping the kids enjoyed it as much as the wifey and I did and hope for more to come once we are able to.  Until next time!

(Rocky Ski Lodge in Canmore, Day 4 – 4:28 pm, Fri Jul 21, 2023)