My body clock continues to be screwed so I was up at about 4a.m reading Arsenal moaners on Twitter. I packed up all ready before my tour and went for my breakfast at the grill. I love American/Canadian breakfasts, pancakes, poached eggs, sausage, bacon and toast with a load of maple syrup mmmm. Today the server was an Italian guy and he was excruciating. He had this weird thing when he did this little pathetic chuckle/laugh everytime he said something! There were a few people in the restaurant so once I latched into it I couldn’t get passed it and he was cooking my swede. ‘Would you like another orange juice teeheeheehee’?
It was an early pick-up for me as I could only squeeze in this tour before I needed to head to downtown Calgary. I got all my michelin man gear on again and bounced to the front of the hotel to get picked up.
Thankfully, the tour hit the minimum numbers and we only had four of us today. 2 sweary Canadian girls (the type that have VLOGS) and a Korean fella who was sporting some questionable mod boots in this weather.
The tour started pretty well when we saw more Elk knocking about and saw another massive herd on way to our first stop. All stops were class photo opportunities and I actually learned something with the guide so that was all good. It weirds me out when the locals keep referring to it as a warm winter when it’s -11 degrees, they’re used to -20-50 at this time of the year… I told him to refer to it as less cold than warm.
We got to this particular viewpoint which was icy, they dished out hot chocolate and maple cream cookies. My hiking boots were a Godsend yet again, but I refer you back to my Korean tour buddy. On the way back from the viewpoint, Korean fella was taking photos and his mod/goth black German raver boots sent him packing and he cut all his hand open. I have to say, it was worth the admission fee alone and we had to waste a few minutes while he cleaned up his cuts and put a bandage on.
Anyway, the whole tour was class and especially after telling us about the Elk antlers, the blood vessels in them, the painful experience they go through shredding them each year, he whipped some out of the boot! They were crazy heavy and that was only one side! So got some cool photos on Lake Minnewaka with these and then we headed back.
When I got back I popped into the shops again and picked up these Elk coasters and holder I fancied. I knew the price but when I got to till she said not included (the coasters) so ended up double the price. In true British fashion I just said ‘ok’ for not wanting to cause a fuss and off I went. It was niggling me all the way back though and when I got back to change into my hockey gear and get this skiing stuff off I checked label. They did say coasters with holder so I went back and the owner who wasn’t a clueless teen like the other one, sorted me out a refund. I went to an Irish bar for a Magners and then waited for my coach to take me into Calgary where it was much warmer.
I got dropped off at my hotel and the suite is amazing here. 2 TV’s, King size bed in separate room, sofa’s, chairs, desks, kitchen and a balcony on the 15th floor. I wanted to get out pretty quickly to head to the stadium though.
The Saddledome was cool, it was old school. I got talking to some Isles fans and joined them for food and drinks in the bar before the match. I decided to start a trend of picking up a puck from teams I visit on the road so bought one of those and then headed to my seat.
I cannot remember why but I chose a high seat in this one, it was a great view but I always prefer to be close to the ice, roll on Edmonton front row. We weren’t great to be honest and were 1-0 down for majority of the game. 3 fights though kept me interested and local boy Thomas Hickey who I met last month got the equaliser. We then snatched the win in Overtime with 17 seconds to go so I was very happy, 1 out of 1.
I headed back to hotel and watched some Hockey before slipping into my coma. No real plans for tomorrow yet, I need to get thinking, I don’t think there’s a huge amount to do in Calgary so I may just wander around and eat the meats they’re famous for.
