Calgary - From Foodtrucks to Jamaican Bobsledding, Calgary, Alberta

I didn’t think much of Calgary when I first arrived. It looked very industrial, vacant lots, bland office buildings - a very uninviting city centre. Turns out I turned the wrong way when I walked out of my hotel and ended up on the outskirts of the town, not so pretty, but probably vital to business in the region.

But as I kept walking the city quietly grew on me. I was determined to find the river and Prince’s Island - anything with that name has to be pretty, right? So I kept walking and walking. I’ve probably mentioned before that one of my favourite things to do in any city is just to walk and get lost - it helps you discover the real soul of the city and not just the touristy bits.

I finally found the river - a lovely turquoise colour framed with rocks and trees and rewarded myself with a hot chocolate in the local café - Phil and Sebastian’s Café.

As chance would have it the guy who served me was an Australian, from Adelaide who had moved to Canada for love, unfortunately the love didn’t last, but his love for Canada did so he was still here 18 months on.

I followed the river around and came upon Princes Island - a man made island in the middle of the river. It was worth the walk. The island is home to a large number of ducks and other birds, there is a park, café and nature walk. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).