G'day All,
Today was a relaxing day seeing some of the sights in down town Calgary. Everybody is still in boots and hats in support of the stampede which runs for 10 days so about another 5 days to go before they are shelved ready for next year's stampede. It's not the norm to be in boots and hats :-)
Samantha and Oliver were our tour guides for the day but it was a bit concerning when the phones came out with google maps loaded :-). We jumped off at 3rd Street station in the city and made our way down Stephen Avenue, more cowboys and cowgirls than the eye could see due to the stampede. Stephen Avenue is a mall akin to Brisbane's Queens Street mall.
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| Stephens Avenue |
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| Are our tour guides lost? |
We caught a bite to eat, huge falafel wraps that were big enough for two to enjoy, which is what we did. From there we were looking for the Devonian Gardens a large indoor park and botanical garden located in the down town core of Calgary on the Stephen Avenue pedestrian mall. It is completely enclosed with glass and covers 2.5 acres (10,000 m2) or one full city block on the top floor of The Core Shopping Centre (formerly TD Square).
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| Devonian Gardens |
From there we walked through some of the Plus 15 or +15 Skyway network in Calgary. It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 18 km and 62 bridges. The system is so named because the skywalks are approximately 15 feet (approximately 4.5 metres) above street level.
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| Part of the +15 Skyway network. |
Our next destination was the McDougall School building, an early twentieth-century, three-storey sandstone building with an attic storey. The designation covers an entire block in downtown Calgary. Constructed in the Beaux-Arts style, McDougall School features a symmetrical sandstone facade with columns, ornate window trim, carved decorative finishings, and an entablature bearing the building's name.
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| McDougall School Building |
From here we headed for the Prince's Island Park, an urban park in the city of Calgary, developed on an island on the Bow River, immediately north of downtown Calgary. It was named after Peter Anthony Prince, the founder of the Eau Claire Lumber Mill. The park was built on land donated in 1947 to the city by the Prince family.
While in the park we could also see the Peace bridge. The Peace Bridge is a pedestrian bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, that accommodates both pedestrians and cyclists crossing the Bow River in Calgary and opened for use on March 24, 2012 at a cost of around $25 million. The bridge was built by The City of Calgary to connect the southern Bow River pathway and Downtown Calgary with the northern Bow River pathway and the community of Sunnyside. This connection was designed to accommodate the increasing number of people commuting to and from work and those utilizing Calgary's pathways. The bridge is reportedly used by 6000 people a day and due to its design has been called the chinese finger trap bridge by some.
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| Chinese Finger Trap or Peace Bridge? |
Along the way we saw a few other buildings and sites.
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| Suncor Towers |
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| Jaume Plense is responsible for the giant head that stands 12 meters tall in front of The Bow building |
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| The Calgary Tower is a 191-metre free standing observation tower. |
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| Clever Horse cut-outs promoting the Stampede. |
After the tour of the city it was another chance to catch up on some washing, downloading photos and a nap before heading over to Oliver's dad, Donald, for another dinner and a chance to meet up with Roger (Oliver's brother). Another great meal, this time a traditional Chinese menu, absolutely first class. From there back home to relax and finish this blog before bed.
Cheers
Gary and Penny
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