Calgary, AB

With so much to do near the East Village, we started out at Rosso for coffee before heading to the Glenbow Museum which has 4 floors full of exhibits of Canadian History and Art.

The exhibit of Douglas and Geraldine Moodie's photographs of the Inuit natives and northern territories of Canada (Fullerton Harbor & Hudson Bay) were breathtaking. You gain a new appreciation for their work when you read their journals and the lengths they went to take the photos on glass plates in perpetual winter during the early 1900s. Photography of the art is allowed, but the photographs are not framed with museum glass, so you get horrible reflections and glare. 

They have an exhibit of Kent Monkman's provacative politically poignant paintings. While the subject matter pushes the envelope, it's balanced by a such classical style and talent. Please examine with caution: viewer discretion advised. (Also these are iPhone photos.) 

After the museum, we wandered down Stephen Avenue and our first stop was Jugo Juice for healthy and tasty refreshments. We headed onto Patagonia in hopes of scoring a Patagonia Calgary sticker. Although they didn't have and Calgary stickers, I did purchase a nano puff vest that I've needed for a while. (My current puffy vest is 10 years old and a size too small.) 

Seeing the sign for Dollarama, mom's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. (Dollarama is like Dollar General plus Dollar Tree on steroids.) I obliged and wandered the aisles of things I did not need or want for at least half an hour before we headed on to The Guild for a late lunch/early dinner. Wow! It was a brisk 64F and we sat outdoors which had me longing for autumn in Virginia. The artful tomato ricotta salad was every bit delicious as the roasted golden beat salad. We opted for dessert rather than a main course and the bread pudding definitely did not disappoint. 

After dinner, we strolled through Olympic Park where a Latin Festival was in full swing. After retiring to our hotel, we didn't leave until dinner the following evening. Saturday's rest and recuperation in the hotel room was much needed. We caught up on laundry (no drying this time) and sewing patches on my backpack. I did some planning and investigating since we've been told several times about the forest fires and back country closures in Banff (our next stop). 

Went to Charbar for dinner and walked some on the Riverwalk. Mom has been trying to figure out what these brightly colored shipping containers that she could see from our hotel. So, we walked over to the East Village Junction and met the coolest produce peddler called the Apple Lady. We bought some fresh raspberries, apricots, apples, and tomatoes. We ate all of the raspberries by the time we got to the 11th floor of the hotel next door where were are staying. 

Still haven't seen the car and that's fantastic.