Summer Fun...
In the summer, I was blessed to have my family, my mum included, be able to come and visit me and my sister for a few days. My mum, uncle, Aunt and cousin along with her boyfriend who are all based in Toronto came to stay for a few days towards the end of July. It was really great to see them all and show my mum and family where I live and another part of the country! My Canadian family had never been to Alberta! While they were here, I was back into tourist mode but, I didn't mind one bit! During their time here, we spent most of our time in Banff visiting Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. The weather around this time was amazing! Lake Louise, what can I say, this is a sight anyone who is anywhere near the area simply must see! The same goes for Lake Moraine. I have added some photos for you all to see as, I simply cannot explain the views and the photographs don't do it enough justice! Go there. That's all you need to know. You can kayak/canoe on these lakes which sadly I did not get the opportunity to do, it was to busy at Lake Louise and the weather was not on our side at Lake Moraine. Nevertheless, views have to be truly breathtaking to leave me lost for words and these views, are.
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| View at Lake Louise |
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| View from the Banff Gondola Summit |
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| Lake Moraine. So perfectly still... |
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| Lake Moraine. Image taken from the end of a walking trail. |
It's a Stampede!!
Every year, the city of Calgary is known worldwide for becoming the host to the biggest outdoor show on the planet! The Calgary Stampede. If you are reading this from outside of Canada, you may not have heard of the Stampede before? Before I came to Calgary, I had never heard of it either! It takes place every year, usually at the start of July and lasts for one week and it is so much fun! Expensive, but fun! There's so much to see and do like rodeos, stunt shows, exhibits, concerts, lots of food and drink! It's great to see such a hustle and bustle about the city and it makes a huge impact on the Alberta economy! You can buy weekly/daily entrance and (carnival) ride tickets at Mac stores and I believe at Safeway stores beforehand and I strongly recommend that you do this! You save so much more money that way! Save up before hand always because like any other tourist attraction, venders are there to make money. There is some of the greasiest but best food ever there! Like deep fried Oreos, fried chicken smothered in BBQ sauce, the freshest, sweetest corn on the cob... These are just some of the things I had. I have to stop talking about food now. If you're reading this and live in Canada and have never been... It was an amazing experience and I really did have so much fun! I hope to make it again in 2016!
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| Wannabe Cowboys. |
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| Giant turkey leg with BBQ sauce! |
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| The Stampede crowd from above.. |
Driving Experiences...
Driving in Alberta I have been fortunate enough to make it through without a scratch! However, if you're going to drive over here, you definitely need to have your wits about ya! In Alberta (not sure if this is a Canada wide thing) you are not required to do any driving lessons once you require your learners permit. Although things are a lot more strict currently in Ireland, I feel it's better to legally have to do lessons than not to them because, as I result, I have seen some mad sh*t on the roads! Just bad merging, speeding, darting in and out through lanes. Honestly, I would pay money to see these people navigate Irish roads! The car thankfully hasn't given me so much as a glitch, I was taking a real stab in the dark purchasing that car as it has over 300,000kms on and it's only a 2002 which is a lot, even by Canadian standards!
One thing I would heavily advise when it comes to driving here particularly if you are driving an older car similar to mine is, you WILL want/need to invest in winter tires. They will just make your journeys a lot safer in thick snow. Get them on early is another piece of advise. Calgary had a very mild winter this year. Normally the snow would arrive September/October. We did see some in the late autumn/early winter months but, it didn't properly arrive and stick until December! I made the mistake of waiting until the snow arrived properly before going about sorting winter tires. We got a hit of it in mid November and that's when I went about sorting them only to be told there was a month long waiting list! Oops. I got lucky that the snow subsided and could manage without the tires for a whole month. If you're living and driving in Calgary, best get them on early just so you can have them on and be done with it. You don't know when the snow could arrive and how thick it will be. Do it around Sept/Oct, seems early I know but, you'll thank me later!
Recently, myself and my boyfriend have made a pretty important decision. There'll be a blog post following this to let you all know about our exciting news!
That's all for now, thanks for reading!
Ciara.
One thing I would heavily advise when it comes to driving here particularly if you are driving an older car similar to mine is, you WILL want/need to invest in winter tires. They will just make your journeys a lot safer in thick snow. Get them on early is another piece of advise. Calgary had a very mild winter this year. Normally the snow would arrive September/October. We did see some in the late autumn/early winter months but, it didn't properly arrive and stick until December! I made the mistake of waiting until the snow arrived properly before going about sorting winter tires. We got a hit of it in mid November and that's when I went about sorting them only to be told there was a month long waiting list! Oops. I got lucky that the snow subsided and could manage without the tires for a whole month. If you're living and driving in Calgary, best get them on early just so you can have them on and be done with it. You don't know when the snow could arrive and how thick it will be. Do it around Sept/Oct, seems early I know but, you'll thank me later!
Recently, myself and my boyfriend have made a pretty important decision. There'll be a blog post following this to let you all know about our exciting news!
That's all for now, thanks for reading!
Ciara.
