Calgary

I recently spent several days in the lovely city of Calgary, Alberta. 

I was there for an amazing conference, but I did have a few free hours to get out and see the city and some ex-pat Maritimers who live there.  Had a great visit with my old friend Adam (the above photo credit goes to him), and my pals Charlee and Will (below).

Calgary is a very new city.  St. John's is considered the oldest city in North America.  I would like to take this opportunity to contrast the two - I think you'll agree that they are basically the Yin and Yang of Canadian cities.

• In Calgary, all the streets are at right angles to one another.  In St. John's, the streets look like something out of a Tim Burton movie.
• In St. John's, there is a dearth of attractive, eligible men.  In Calgary, the ratio of men to women is approximately 17.5:1.  To all the single ladies:  there are many fish in the sea, but there's nothing wrong with fishing in a stocked pond once in awhile. 
• In St. John's, there are streets like Monkstown, or Carpasian, or Duckworth.  In Calgary, the streets were named by Donkey Decimal, Dewey Decimal's younger, more boring cousin.
• In Calgary, you can see for miles around.  The Rockies are off to the west, Edmonton is a faint shadow to the north, and it's so flat you can even see the farmers waving at you from the Saskatchewan border.  In St. John's, you can see fog.
• In Calgary, no one uses studded tires or a parking brake.  If you don't use those things in St. John's, your car will end up at the bottom of the harbour.

Calgary is just a great spot.  I can really see myself going back to visit some day.  I will now leave you with a glimpse of the most delicious part of my trip.  It was invented in Calgary, and Calgarian bartenders know how to do it right:  the mighty Caesar.

This little beauty was a mind-blowing blend of clamato and vodka, spiced with Tabasco and Worchestershire, topped with a hot pickled bean, a pickled asparagus shoot,  a wedge of lime and a dollop of horseradish, rimmed with steak spice...  Yep, definitely going back to visit some day!