Devauld.ca

The end of the work week brought a trip to Banff. We set up base at the Banff Rocky Mountain Resort, arriving in the dark of night. The room was a bit tight, but it had everything we would need for the next few nights. A voyage to the hot tub and sauna finished off an incredibly long day, and started off a much needed night of rest.

The next morning was a slow rolling start, enjoying some coffee in the room, before heading up Mount Sulfur for my first ever trip to a spa. The soak in the hot springs was as expected, and an excellent way to relax before another first for me: a massage.

I've never had a professional massage before this experience, and now I can see why so many people actively pursue them. My masseuse pulled out fingers of steel, fists and even long hard elbows to work out what felt like every tight spot on my body. Not only did every muscle in my body sign with relaxation, but my skin was incredibly soft and moisturized. They definitely know how to treat you right, keeping the outside chaotic world at bay and providing a very comfortable time. It was a nice precursor to our dinner out.

Sonja and I went for dinner at Le Beaujolais. I figured it was going to be finer dining when we found out that suit and tie were optional. It was the best service I have had in a very long time, one of the best five meals I have had in my entire life, and the most expensive I can ever recall. The wait staff were all very attentive, discrete and even decked out in cuff links and bow ties. It was the kind of meal that takes hours to eat. Courses were served to us through the evening, and each flying around our mouths with flavour. I started with salmon prepared three ways, followed by an indulgence of foie gras with my main entrée consisting of vegetables and veal tenderloin. The whole day was quite a treat.

We returned to Calgary late in the afternoon, after doing some window shopping in Banff. The rest of the evening was consumed with providing free technical support, which hid the cold that was slowly taking over Calgary.

This morning Sonja and I both found ourselves trapped at the house. Not really taking the weekend into account, my car had been sitting since I drove home on Thursday night. Sonja was the first out, and when she informed me that she couldn't get her car started, I immediately thought of how we would be able to manage the rest of our day using only one vehicle. I had been planning on some climbing which would be awkward with only one vehicle at the end of the work day, but those thoughts vaporised when I tried to start my own car.

A slow lazy rorw-rorw-rorw let us know that we weren't going to be getting to work on time. A lot of wasted time was wasted cranking the already taxed battery before we started coming up with some better plans. Our initial plan was to warm up the batteries, and what resulted was a comedy of errors stumbling though service companies, electric heaters, borrowed transportation, propane torches and their blasted left handed thread, much broken plastic and a lot of time spent in the cold outdoors. Calgary usually only sees days this cold five or so times a year but ordinarily when the arctic air takes over there isn't 30km/h winds. In the end I prevailed, and tomorrow should be a lot easier on the fingers and nose.

My first Monday without work in some time started with some ominous grey clouds and spats of rain. We wandered down to the baker and got half of a fresh, sliced loaf of bread for 0.95€ and enjoyed it with some cheese and meat while we planned out our day. Sonja needed to meet up with her her Oma. We found her as she disembarked from the Tram. Some pleasantries were exchanged, and we headed off in search of coffee. The warm rain didn't seem to slow Amsterdam down at all, and we found a cafe where we had the Dutch traditional coffee with a little cookie. I wasn't able to participate in the conversation very much, although they were very patient in explaining what they were talking about when they say the confused look on my face.

I spent a good deal of time checking out the decore of the place. Mirrors were on most walls, trying to maximize the little space. Cloth is hung at the door to allow the fresh air of the open door to not be polluted with a draft bothering the closest partons. It seems that most restrooms have a single knob on the sink, and it is always produces a luke warm water.

Ingrid and I went off on a little walk to leave Sonja and her Oma alone, and as we walked about Ingrid filled me in on all sorts of little details about Amsterdam. A Gaeper is a ceramic man with his tongue out, which designated the pharmacies in the streets. Everyone rides a bike in Amsterdam as they are very convienient, and because of the chain guard every single bike has, even gentlemen in suits and ladies in dresses or skirts are able to ride about without mangling their clothes. Walking back to the cafe we stumbled upon a ladybug built into the stonework, which is a symbol against senseless violence. I learned more in that little hour, than most tours can ever do justice in significantly more time.

When the shadows started to get long, we said our good-byes to Oma and finished up some errands to produce a nice tasty dinner. We needed our strength for our late night adventures. As I walked about for the last couple of days, I was taking inventory of what I would like to see and photograph once the sun had set.