As there was no reason to linger in Cardston, and the motel was absolutely dreadful we left as soon as we were ready and got going to Calgary. We stayed at the Days Inn near McMahon Stadium and when we got there at about noon our room wasn’t ready yet, but we were able to leave the car there and walk a short distance to the train/tram station which took us downtown. The train is free for a large part of the downtown area, which I think is a very good idea, but we had to pay as we were staying a bit further out – it was still a fairly short journey though.
Calgary appears to be a very big town/city when you drive into the town, but downtown is quite compact and we managed to see the Calgary Fort, do the Riverside Walk, Stephen Avenue, the financial district, Prince’s Island Park and China Town in a few hours. It was a lovely warm day and towards the end of the afternoon we decided to cool down in a bar/restaurant called The Palomino Smokehouse that had a patio area outside so we could enjoy the nice weather. We then headed back to the hotel, as I had plans to have dinner at Big T’s BBQ that was featured on ‘You Gotta Eat Here’, a program on Food Network. We got there about 18:30 and Brian had a pulled pork sandwich that he really enjoyed, while I pushed the boat out with a meal of smoked brisket, ribs, mash & gravy and hush puppies. My meal was great and best of all there was enough for leftovers the next day!
After dinner I went for a walk next to the river with Michelle, which is a distant relation of my brother in-law’s and Brian stayed home to watch some TV. We had a lovely walk and chat and it was the perfect way to finish off a great day!
Biltong and Burger 