Chris's Birthday ...

Sunday 27th - Chris was woken up by two excited children wishing him a happy birthday. After opening his card from Tegan and Fraser Chris remained in bed with a cup of tea whilst we finished off decorating his birthday cake.

So guess what we had for breakfast that morning? - birthday cake. After opening his birthday cards it was then time to pack and check out of the hotel.

Sam & John, friends who were also in the Rocky Mountains very kindly did a drive through and collect Tegan and Fraser as they were all back off to Ralston for a sleepover whilst Chris and I headed to the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary. Chris's birthday present was Calgary Flames tickets on the Sunday night.

So after checking in at the Fairmont we went for a spot of late lunch at a local bar. It was surprising that the city centre was pretty much shut on a Sunday, obviously Canadians go out of the city to all the malls around Calgary. The Calgary Tower was next door to the Fairmont so we took a ride to the top observation deck, 525 feet above the ground. Obviously the view was amazing overlooking the city centre and out to all the suburbs with the Rocky Mountains in the distance, along with the Olympic Park.

There is a glass floor on which you can stand, this is 36 feet long and more than four feet wide. The glass panes that make up the floor can each hold the weight of a couple Hippos! So Chris and I decided to test it out!




We then returned to the Fairmont for a quick bottle of bubbles before walking down to the Saddledome to take our seats to watch the Calgary Flames vs St Louis Blues.

After walking around the Saddledome soaking up the atmosphere we took our seats. I thought I had managed to buy fairly decent seats but during our walk around we went to the level below ours and entered a different world. For a start there was carpet on the floor with a members bar and restaurant and then all the private boxes each with individual bars and food being delivered - maybe one day!! The atmosphere in the Saddledome suddenly erupts as the Flames skate onto the ice with flames blasting from the ENMAX screen suspended from the ceiling above the ice, the crowd is standing with loud cheering and clapping, it is like being at a rock concert. So we were glued to our seats throughout the game, finally in the last third the Flames scored a goal - the stadium was on their feet and cheering. As we walked back to the city centre there was a great buzz from everyone walking along in the very cold evening air with snow falling - I love Canada.

We did make one purchase whilst in the Saddledome - Fraser has asked for the last year if he could have a Flames hockey top and it had to be No 34 Kipprusoff - the goalie. So we went into the Attic - the official shop - and found a youths top (having decided that he could have a fairly big top in order to grown into) and marched up to the counter to pay - at this point neither Chris or I had bothered to check to see how much it was. We both looked at each other when the price came up, after very kindly being given a military discount we still both took a deep breath and said we loved him and handed over the credit card. Needless to say Fraser was absolutely delighted and has so far worn it to school, ice skating, bed and any other time possible, when not in the washing machine.

So we strolled back to the city centre and went out for a fantastic dinner at the Saltlik restaurant arriving back at the Fairmont just before midnight. Monday morning we didn't have to check out of the hotel until 12pm - so we jumped out of bed at 11.30am showered, packed and checked out just in time and then hit the road back to Ralston. The weather in Calgary had been fine however just outside the city it all changed to the point where we couldn't see much of the road with the snow swirling in the wind all over the place. We did manage to get to the school in time to collect Tegan and Fraser which was lovely after a night away.