Entering Calgary...population of just under a million people and home of the Calgary Stampede.
View from our hotel room. You can see the Rockies in the background.
We met Patrick for dinner when we arrived and the next day we went to his office to meet for lunch. Here is Patrick, hard at work, and looking very spiffy!
The next day Jim and I did some Christmas shopping at the Chinook Mall. We had arranged to meet David (Joanne's son) and his fiancee, Sara, for dinner at a restaurant downtown. The Broken Plate is a family-owned Greek restaurant, and on Friday and Saturday nights part of the tradition involves breaking dinner plates while the staff dance "Zorba the Greek." Breaking plates in praise of a dancer or musician is part of "kefi," the irrepressible expression of emotion and joy. Breaking plates is also an act which implies abundance, as in "we have so many plates, we can break them!" It can get quite loud and boisterous as you can see from the video. There is, of course, a little drinking involved!
David and Sara ordered saganaki or flaming cheese. It is quite a spectacle complete with cries of "Opa!"
David and Sara, newly engaged!
The whole gang...
We had a great evening. It was wonderful to see David again and to meet Sara.Patrick worked on Saturday morning, so we went downtown to the Calgary Tower to get a panoramic view of the city. Here is the round tower, complete with a glass-bottomed observation deck.
Jim and a new friend...
The wedge-shaped building is Calgary's Municipal Building. They held a province-wide design competition, which was won by a Calgary architect for his unique design of a mirrored, triangular-shaped building. The building was officially opened in 1985 and a time capsule was embedded in the floor to commemorate the event. The capsule, which contains memorabilia from the Winter Olympics, is scheduled to be re-opened when Calgary celebrates its 200 anniversary in 2084.
This is the view straight down when standing on the observation deck. It took me a few minutes to step out there!
In the center of the photo is the Saddledome, home to the Calgary Flames hockey team, and was also the main site for the ice hockey and figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics. The building in the foreground with the green roof is the Calgary Stampede grounds.
View of the city with the Rockies in the background...
I found the architecture of the buildings to be very impressive as they all have a similar look...
A very common sight in Calgary...building cranes everywhere...
Here is where Patrick is living. He and his roommate Andy lucked out on a nice apartment that is affordable!
Andy and Patrick putting up with having their picture taken!
We had a great visit in Calgary! It's Day 41 and we are moving on...
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