Banff

Banff and the Fairmont Hotel are as close to heaven as I’ll ever be.  I know I’ve said it many times before that I love the Rockies, but the Canadian Rockies are perhaps even closer to perfect than the ones in Colorado. 

I met Hannah at the Calgary airport and we drove up to Banff on a perfect afternoon. Locals say this week is the best weather of the summer so far, as June and July were unusually wet and cold here.

Thanks to Hannah’s taste for luxury, we’re staying at the historic Fairmont Hotel with endless views of the mountains and river.  The hotel was built in the late 19th century and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Our first stop was for a drink and a snack on the patio.

Bow River runs past the hotel, which is not far from the headwaters at Bow Lake. 

After settling in and a good night’s sleep, we grabbed coffee and pastry at Wildflour Bakery, then drove about 30 minutes north on the TransCanadian Highway to Johnston Canyon to hike and catch some stunning waterfalls.

The water really is that color turquoise.

Even though we shared the trail with lots of other tourists, this was one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. Hannah liked it, too, and was happy there were only tourists and not bears.

Now we’re back at the hotel for lunchtime tea and some R&R poolside.

As I said: Heaven on Earth.

Calgary, or day one in Canada

Hello and bonjour from up north, where I am spending two weeks in beautiful Alberta and BC. First stop is Calgary, sometimes called Cowtown because of its famous rodeo and tasty Alberta beef, both of which I missed. But I did enjoy a walk along the Bow River and Prince’s Island, Chinatown, Stephen Street mall, and visiting Studio Bell.

A bull made of letters in the Central Library…

And a rodeo bull give Calgary a cowboy vibe.

Studio Bell is home of Canada’s Music Hall of Fame honoring performers I adore like Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, and Leonard Cohen. Here I am listening to a video about jazz great Oscar Peterson.

Always time to smell the flowers

Stephen Street pedestrian mall

Chinese influence is everywhere, as this area is largely populated by people descended from immigrants who came here from China to work on the railway in the late 19th century. In addition to Canadian Chinese, immigrants also came from Taiwan and Hong Kong to settle here, creating a vibrant Asian community.

Rolled matcha ice cream was a new experience for me.

And of course, dim sum was high on my to-eat list.

Calgary Tower lit up the night sky outside my hotel room. 

Good night for now. Tomorrow, off to Banff!

August photo dump

Barree and her daughter visit for the afternoon.

Guy on Forest Ave.

Steffi recovers from hip replacement surgery

Raspberries from the Farmer's Market

Dinner with Raymond, Matt and Noah

John's summer peach pie

Raymond and Johamy at Felix in Venice Beach

John and Matt find inspiration

A day in Old Town Orange

Summer fave

 

Laguna is in full summer bloom

All of our major travel is scheduled for this fall, but that doesn't mean that we aren't having fun this summer. So on the occasion of Major League Baseball's All-Star Break, I also pause to reflect on the start of summer here in SoCal.

Here we are with our hippie neighbors at the summer concerts in Bluebird Park.

Shawn Jones band: old guys but good musicians

Hannah visited for a few days, and she joined us at another concert: 

Jason Feddy playing 70s hits at Festival of Arts

We were "VIPs" with Ava at the band's table. 

Hannah and I cooked an Italian feast for the family. It was delicious, and plates looked great on new placemats she brought back from the south of France.

I directed Ava and Ben in a reading pf Bakersfield Mist at the local community center. After the performance, we went to dinner at Lumberyard with Jason, Susan, Jeff and Marrie.

Here, I took Gloria and her friend Cynthia from Morelia on the Laguna Trolley after a wine/food tasting at Gloria's new restaurant Amorelia, opening this summer.

GM Joaquin discussing wine with a new bartender.

Get ready for a new look inside and out.

Randy and Patrick came for a day visit to us in Idyllwild.
Another group of friends, another delicious Italian meal at Ferro.

And, another food pic from the day I made salmon poke bowls.

Linda and Yossi joined us for a Juneteenth gospel concert at Chapman...

And we enjoyed even more music at Fete de la Musique in downtown Laguna.

Summer school for me means more art classes and learning basic Italian for our fall trip to Italy and France. I'm also continuing daily walks and regular Pilates and lots of warm weather self-care. Plus, nurturing squirrels in the plum tree and monarch caterpillars in the milkweed.

Happy summer to everyone!