Monday, March 7, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I don’t even have to drive to work and I still hate Mondays.
Calgary traffic lights, Centre Street, downtown. Photo by Jill Browne, February 22, 2011.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Here are more of the pics I took yesterday while driving around, mainly from the south to downtown and back.
Today’s highlight was breakfast at Pfanntastic Pannekoek Haus, a Dutch pancake house on Crowchild Trail just south of 50th Avenue SW. You can get to it from northbound Crowchild, but if you are southbound, take the 50th Ave exit and head left (east), and work your way south a couple of blocks. Easy.
Mine was bacon, raisins, apple. Suzanne had brown sugar and lemon juice. Our mystery guest had the same as I did. All enjoyed the meal.
This is a Calgary classic and always reliable for a tasty and filling mid-day or even evening meal. The pancakes are giant crepes that lie flat on the plate. You get one, with your choice of 80 topping selections (including some combos). Very tasty. One is a meal.
Yesterday’s driving pics.
Crane images on Zoo overpass. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Pedestrian ramp to reach Bridgeland C-Train station by crossing Memorial Drive. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Where the Calgary General Hospital used to be. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Copper domes on church. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Entering downtown on the 4th Avenue flyover. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Booker's for seafood. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
New condo apartments for sale near the Bow River. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
I took these pictures on an average day at the very tail end of rush hour. It was still busy (around 8:30 a.m.) but in Calgary the downtown workday starts at 8 o’clock. We were more into the school run and people like me doing their errands. The pictures are a bit blurry because I took them (a) through the car window and (b) while moving, but not while driving. Someone else was doing that.
School bus morning run. Photo by Jill Browne. Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Lafarge sand and gravel and concrete. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Concrete pipes by Lafarge. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Driving toward downtown on Memorial Drive. The haze is partly from the windshield dirt. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Truck carrying yellow pipes. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, Feburary 22, 2011.
Big trucks through a dirty window. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Red and yellow Max Bell Arena. Photo by Jill Browne, Calgary, February 22, 2011.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Today is Groundhog Day. We haven’t got groundhogs and I’ve never heard of Prairie Dog Day, so nothing to report on the rodent meteorology front.
Another bright sunny day, even warmer than yesterday. Up to about 5 above zero, I think. Celsius.
The pictures I took yesterday of the new LRT and the downtown skyline show something of how parts of Calgary are getting high off the ground.
I remember being quite charmed the first time I encountered a quiet European tram at ground level. It was in Bremen, Germany. More recently, I had the horrible experience of driving in Toronto on the elevated expressway (not for the first time, it was just a particularly yucky ride). There is something so unbecomingly dominant about a road that puts cars above people, literally.
I like the new Vancouver rail line from the airport to downtown, and it’s elevated.
So, what’s the difference between the elevated car experience and the train experience? It must be the feeling of being about to be killed by other drivers that ruins the whole car thing for me. I feel safe in the train. I’m looking forward to riding the new C-Train when it’s ready.
jill