Guide Work - May 27th
Even when we say guide work, sometimes it involves tasks different from leading tours.
This day was one of those jobs.
The Rotary International Convention is being held in Calgary in June.
A tour conductor who will be guiding the attendees was coming for a site visit, and they wanted to know what is in downtown Calgary and what can be done there.
So, it was a job that felt like introducing downtown Calgary.
Calgary, the first-timer's trap.
It is common for first-time visitors to be surprised and say there is nothing here.
Even if you walk along the streets, you can't seem to find any shops at all.
That is typical of Calgary, if you want to put it that way.
Actually, there are quite a few shops hidden in various places.
In fact, I had received a message via LINE the day before,
"I walked around downtown Calgary and the area around the hotel, but there is nothing there."
That is what I was told.
First, we had lunch on Stephen Avenue, which is a pedestrian-only street, and talked about those things while we ate.
Since Stephen Avenue is a place where various restaurants are gathered, I recommend this area or Chinatown when looking for a place to eat.
For architecture lovers, the Calgary Central Library and the Bell Music Centre might be good.
Are there supermarkets in downtown Calgary?
Are there liquor stores?
Where are the places to shop?
We went through them one by one.
Perhaps it is unimaginable to people from Japan, but in the middle of winter, the wind chill can drop below minus 20 degrees.
Because of that, Calgary has what is called the +15 system, where the second floors of many buildings are connected to the neighboring buildings, and the second-floor levels of each building contain food courts, liquor stores, and grocery supermarkets.
So, if you are just walking outside, you cannot find any shops at all. It is understandable why people might think it is a city without even a convenience store.
We actually walked around downtown and checked each one.
18,000 steps.
That is how many steps we walked just in downtown that day.
The agent from Japan seemed to feel that downtown Calgary actually has quite a lot to offer.
They seemed to feel a sense of accomplishment, as the reality was completely different from their first impression.
I would be happy if I was of any help.