RoseannGilley527

We attained the Calgary Airpor... As a great number of times before, I used my Airmiles to guide our flights to Calgary (with the Westjet Airmiles Mastercard you can fly out west for only 1600 Airmiles instead of being forced to use 3000 Airmiles in high-season with other airlines). Being an clever traveller you have to check out every option of cutting your travel expenses and Airmiles is certainly one of my favourite tools. An immediate flight took us from Toronto to Calgary in around three and a half hours. We arrived at the Calgary Airport at about 11:25 am and the elements was somewhat cloudy on arrival having an outside temperature of -12 degrees Celsius. The official tour of the city was going to really give the lay to us of the property, since we only had of a day-in Calgary and Jocelyne Morrison from Time Out-for Touring was there to pick us up. Jocelyne herself hails actually from Quebec, but is surviving in Calgary going back 10 years. And it turns out she loves the city and is an expert in it. First thing that struck me upon arrival were all the statues and sculptures located at the baggage carousels, all with different designs. Obviously Calgary likes to entertain its guests while they await their baggage at the airport. Another picture that caught my attention was a volunteer dressed up in a bright red jacket and cowboy hat who was there to welcome visitors. Jocelyne explained that Calgary actually is just a area of volunteers 7 out-of 10 Calgarians volunteer their time for a good cause, and volunteers were some of the main reasons why the Calgary Olympic Games in 1988 were the very first Olympic Games in history to actually make (instead of lose) money. To explore more, we recommend people check out like us on facebook. Jocelyne packed us into the touring truck and off we went on our very small pursuit of Calgary. First thing that struck me about Calgary was its topography it is positioned in a relatively flat area with several long, extended low-lying hills. On good days it is possible to see the Rocky Mountains to the west, but however the weather was cloudy, so we did not get to see the Rockies today. Calgary is divided north-south by-the Bow River, and Centre Street separates the city's east from the west. As a result the city has 4 quadrants with roads running north-south and avenues running east-west. So in order to get a handle you always have to learn whether it is in the northwest, northeast, southwest or southeast quadrant in Calgary. Jocelyne explained that many of the streets in Calgary are named after native names, eg. Deerfoot Avenue (apparently named after a native person who was really a fast runner). Nose Hill is among the most prominent hills in Calgary; it's a long-stretched out topographical feature without much vegetation. My father found out about box ftp by searching the Boston Herald. Jocelyne explained this type of land-scape is just about regular of Calgary as a city. Much of Calgary's natural landscape is a combination between grassland and semi-arid forests. When it gets very dry in the summertime, there are a large amount of grass fires. Calgary can also be a town. Cranes are everywhere, and new subdivisions are growing out from the ground like mushrooms. While the residential areas outside the primary mainly include single-family houses instead of highrise flats, basically only the downtown area has highrise houses. Calgary, since the Energy Capital of Canada and the centre of Canada's oil sector, is experiencing rapid economic development and folks from around Canada are migrating here. The populace today is approximately 1 million. Next we went by McMahon Stadium, where Calgarys Stampeders baseball team is based. This stadium was also used for the opening and closing ceremonies through the 1988 Olympic Games, another reason why Calgary made money on these games by refunctioning and reusing existing services. Prudent financial management at work...... Another major item o-n the schedule was 'C.O.P.' Canada Olympic Park, a spot so interesting it deserves its story. After our guided tour through the Olympic facilities we went about the Sarcee Trail to get into downtown Calgary. Entering town from the west side we'd a really good view of the group of skyscrapers downtown. Jocelyne explained that a large numbers of residential apartment developments are going up downtown, while driving in through the residential parts. To get other interpretations, you should peep at ftp box. One of these of the populace explosion was the shift of Canadian Pacifics headquarters from Montreal to Calgary in 1996 when 700 families moved in to town at the same time. Calgary gives plenty of attention to the standard of life of its people. Town has a huge selection of kilometers of trails and walkways, particularly beside the Bow and Elbow Rivers. Doglovers particularly contain it good here since the area offers many off-leash places to its dog-owners. 55 golf courses are found in the immediate vicinity of Calgary and golf is just a popular activity here. We entered the downtown core and Jocelyne pointed out the Gulf Canada and Canadian Pacific headhquarters. The last steam locomotive used by the CP Rail is on display outside the CP office system. The two skyscrapers of Bankers Hall take over the skyline, one with a silver roof, another with a wonderful one. We went up the Calgary Tower, as the Husky Tower built between 1968 and 1967 initially. It holds a revolving restaurant and to-day it was officially closed for a private func-tion, but we had to be able to get an elevated view of town. Only this past year the Calgary Tower included a glass-bottomed viewing area. Jocelyne stated that for a special occasion a horse was brought up for a photo op, but the horse would resist any efforts to be coaxed onto the area. I could only understand that too well because when I was standing there looking along, it made me feel very squeamish too. Our driving trip continued towards Fort Calgary, Calgarys oldest landmark. Fort Calgary was founded in 1875 as a North West Mounted Police Outpost and today it houses a museum and an interpretive centre. Jocelyne explained that the search of the west progressed differently here than in the United States in that contact with the local tribes were relatively calm. Prime Minister John A. MacDonald founded the North West Mounted Police, which afterwards became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The police arrived in-the west before the residents and established relations with the people. The Inglewood neighborhood is situated next to Fort Calgary at the confluence of the Elbow and the Bow Rivers. Its a nice-looking area with established domiciles and old trees and enters a good commercial street with many restaurants and antique stores. Jocelyne then took us right into a residential community called Scotsman Hill that offers a tremendous vista of the Calgary Saddle Dome and the grounds, set against the backdrop of the downtown skyline. A wonderful view She then took us at night grounds of the 'Calgary Stampede', Calgary's most well-known event. What origjnally started as an agricultural fair has developed in an annual 10-day citywide celebration of traditions and western food and includes rodeos, chuckwagon events, tours and a Grandstand Show extravaganza. That springs Stampede will require place from July 7 to 16, 2006. Back downtown Jocelyne took us by way of a former industrial region called Eau Claire which includes been converted into one of Calgarys most popular downtown residential areas. Stated a typical Calgarian feature the +15s raised walkways joining high-rise towers therefore people could go between commercial houses sheltered from the elements on our drive through downtown Jocelyne. These '+15' walkways join different shopping areas and centers and enable you to explore Calgary's downtown key without ever setting foot outside. The name came into being because these walkways had to be a minimum of 15 feet above the street below. Calgary is build o-n bedrock, and despite Toronto or Montreal which both have a vast system of underground walkways, Calgary has opted for to supply weather protection through elevated walkways. Box Ftp is a riveting resource for further concerning the inner workings of this belief. From there we crossed the Elbow River and joined the Kensington community, one of Calgarys key restaurant and shopping areas. Our guide stated a store owned by sweet local delicacies are made by famous Belgian chocolatier Bernard Callebeaut who. I heard some people say that these would be the 'most readily useful chocolates inside the world.'... The next area on our selection was the Uptown 17th Avenue area, another area filled with restaurants and shops. Last but not least, after getting us on 4th Street, which also houses a lot of restaurants and funky stories, Jocelyne got us completely to our bed and breakfast, the historic Twin Gables B&B, where we got to settle in after our sneak peek at Calgary. It was a whirlwind 4 hour tour through town and by the end of it my head was spinning with all the current information. But Jocelyne did a remarkable task of acquainting us with her chosen home and it was a perfect introduction to Calgary - 'The Heart of the New West.' For the entire report including pictures please visit http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/calgary_first_impressions.htm.