when I mentioned to some woman that I was going to Edmonton she looked mildly horrified and said "you must have friends there". bit like Hamilton huh. there are similarities. both are flat, landlocked, and have rivers running through them, but I'd rather live in Hamilton any day. although I may like to swap public libraries... the mighty Waikato is much more appealing too and Hamilton's 40 minutes from a beach as opposed to 14 hours. even skiable mountains are closer.
the airport is a good half hour south of downtown, which we (my friend Dan and Teo and Mike picked me up) drove through. admittedly it was dreary Sunday afternoon but it was still a little depressing. it's just one colour and an ugly one at that, kind of tan. everything looks the same. we then headed east past the oil refineries to Sherwood Park, the world's largest hamlet. Dan (and beagle Teo) recently moved up from Calgary to move in with Janice (and bishon Mike). Dan made a lovely dinner, burgers made from Portobello mushrooms, pancetta, and buffalo mozzarella. I slept on an inflatable mattress which deflated overnight but the carpet was thick and comfy so it was cool. I slept till 10am so it must've been ok. which meant I didn't have a lot of time to go explore exciting Edmonton. I figured out the 2 buses needed to get there. the art gallery is the coolest building in the city but it was closed Mondays so all I did was look at the gift shop. I also visited the public library which, while not as funky as Seattle's, was well organized, signposted, resourced and comfortable. I didn't do much else, happened upon a mall that you would never know was there, and then went to meet Dan for a ride back to the hamlet. he finishes at 4. that night we had elk sausages which, as they are a member of the deer family, tasted a lot like venison.
the next day I slept late again, this time because my alarm clock was on B.C. time. Janice suggested I go to Whyte Avenue, the cool street on the south side of the river which i did and it was pretty cool in that it had some interesting shops. had lunch at a New Orleans style diner called Da De O. the blackened catfish po' boy i had was yummy. before i had that they gave me a tiny scone with a bright green jelly thing. i ate it. it was a little sweet and a little spicy. after the meal i asked what it was and it was jalapeno jelly! eventually i had to get back to downtown to meet Dan again but i couldn't figure out the right bus and a pay phone took my money and wouldn't give it back or make the call so i had to get a taxi. for dinner we had yak steaks! really good. then Janice went to see Aerosmith with her sister and Dan and i went to the West Edmonton Mall. this mall is the biggest in the world (and it's not even in the US), mostly because it has various theme parks attached. i took a few pics but they're on my other camera which i forgot to bring the cord for so i will add them at a later date. then we checked out a couple of bars on Whyte Avenue and that was it. the next day i caught the bus to Calgary, a 3 hour journey. more on Calgary and the other places i've been soon.
a hot dog place on Whyte Avenue...
Well I tried to post this message earlier but then boring old HamiltON had its very own power cut; we have storms, that's exciting! Actually although it is still very windy and squally at times, true to form we have not had as much excitement as other parts of the country; snow caused the roof of the Invercargill sports stadium to fall in, just missing people who were there. HamiltON has its very own Sherwood Park too, so maybe we should become a sister city with EdmontON and create our own excitement :). xoxo
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