Plett's white glove tour

We were lucky enough to actually be around this time when a fellow Manitoban came through Ottawa. Plett was doing a whirlwind business trip into Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, last April and managed to spare an evening to get some drinks with us at the Heart & Crown in the Irish village. Later, we toured from the Byward market over to the Rideau locks on the canal, and then took this photo from Major's Hill park across from the American Embassy. (Next time he'll have to come up with a more sane schedule and bring his wife)

Sophie and I left for Calgary during the last week of April, and spent the weekend at Paul & Jill's house in the ultra-hip Sunnyside neighbourhood. Our first night had us taking in a Flames win at one of the local pubs. Maybe it's the high percentage of young proffesionals moving to Calgary, but this place partied hard. I still can't believe though that the province lets patrons smoke in the taverns.

We also had a chance to meet some of the poets and writers that Paul and Jill hang ten with, at a pub downtown. It's an old converted house set amongst the glass and steel of downtown, and they make very tasty pizza. I (Soph), got a chance to attend one of the spoken word events taking place in Calgary while we were there, and hear some amazing poetry by Angela Rawlings, among others. How inspiring! I'm glad our trip coincided with the poetry reading events, even though I didn't get to all of them. Paul was heading off to Banff to be a writer in residence at the Banff Centre for several weeks just before we left.

Above - taking Paul's Electra for a cruise.
Right - White wine action with "Sweet Home Siberia" on the front porch. Those pants are mint.



I (Sophie) also had a chance to visit with Nadine and her girls, and see them in their space which I think is always interesting. We enjoyed an unseasonally balmy day in the park, and I think I got a sunburn while sitting on the hot black rubber tire material that is the new 'sand' in playgrounds these days. Those girls are so much fun!

I took the day off on Saturday, and Sophie and I made a day trip over to Banff. There's a nice lookout point on the side of Mount Norquay, allowing for panoramic views of the valley and the town centre. The open meadow is also packed full of gophers who provide lots of entertainment.



We met up later in the day with some of my work colleagues, and one of them had expressed interest in taking the gondala up Sulpher Mountain. Here's a photo of us at likely one of the most photographed spots in Canada.


This is what I saw during my week of work in Calgary. The site is high above the deerfoot trail, and the mountains were yet to be obscured by the smog of summer.