2008: Weeks 25 & 26

Did I mention that June was going to be busy? After my French exam on the 16th it was time to start preparing for the next adventure, a very brief trip home to Sydney. It was my first visit in 18 months, so I was very excited, but also trying to keep things low key and avoid over-scheduling.

I flew a different route to usual. Air Canada have recently started flying direct from Vancouver to Sydney, so I decided to try them out, and I'm pleased I did. The 777s flying the route are brand new, and the personal TV screens certainly made the trip less boring. Avoiding US customs was great, but Vancouver airport is in rather a mess as they expand for the Olympics.

The time at home flew by as always. I opted to spend a lot of time with my parents and grandparents, and I had a number of bits and pieces to take care of, so there wasn't as much time to catch up with friends as on other visits. I'm planning a longer visit soon, so hopefully I can catch up with more friends then.

This morning I arrived back in Calgary to a heat wave - it was 28C in the house, and about the same outside. Fortunately an afternoon thunderstorm cooled things down a little. Now I just have to finish unpacking, recover from jetlag, and steel myself to go back to work on Wednesday.

Best of the week(s)
- The first glimpse of land out the plane window, then flying over Sydney Harbour.
- Spending (way too little) time with friends and family.
- Passionfruit, haloumi cheese, lamb cutlets, and the red wine I've been storing for years.
- Good coffee. Everywhere!
- Feeling confident after my french exam!

Worst of the week(s)
- Sydney airport and the last glimpse of land out the plane window.
- Too many friends, not enough time.
- Leaving Matt behind in Calgary.

The last night in Ithaca

The last night in Ithaca, and guess where I am? The lab of course, frantically typing up experiment summaries. But 10.30pm is the cut off, then I'm off for a last drink at the h house. Tomorrow morning is an early meeting with my boss, the last coffee at Gimme! then off to catch our 11.35 am flight. It's a good thing the airport is only 5 min drive from work!

Banff, Stampede, and Home

Getting a little out of date here. Sorry.

Thursday Matt and I drove out to Banff National Park, a little over an hour outside of Calgary. I had really hoped to see an elk, but it wasn't to be. Still, there was no shortage of impressive sights - Lake Louise gleaming turquoise against the craggy mountains and distant glacier, Moraine Lake more blue than I thought possible, the Crowfoot glacier (one of the toes has receded since it was named), and Peyto Lake and its source glacier viewed from the highest pass in the park.

Friday we joined the cowboys and girls at the Stampede for mini donuts (think of a bigger version of the Berry Donut Van serving bags of miniature hot fresh cinnamon donuts - yum!) and chuckwagon races. Alas, I couldn't find a cowboy hat I liked enough to fork out $30. The races were followed by a kitschy patriotic show featuring the "Young Canadians of the Calgary Stampede". It was pretty cool, although a little bizarre to hear Canadians being so overtly patriotic. They usually tend towards more subtle maple leaves on their backpacks or hockey jerseys. The bars afterwards were crazy, but we finally managed to find a beer at the Unicorn Pub. It's still a mystery how a pub founded in 1979 could be Calgary's original pub. It's a young city, but really...

Saturday was a sleep in followed by some pretty good Mexican for lunch, then off to the airport. Quite some tears later I was on the WestJet plane (kind of the Canadian version of Virgin, lots of fun) back to Ottawa. It's a little strange to think that the three and a half day drive could be reversed with a three and a half hour plane ride. Matt's lovely parents picked me up, fed me coffee and alcohol, then let me sleep in on Sunday AND fed me bacon and eggs for breakfast! What legends!

Of course all good things eventually end, and after breakfast I headed back to Ithaca. A very uneventful drive, which may or may not have been punctuated by a trip to the Carousel Mall in Syracuse. And finally I arrived back to Ithaca, to a steamy 30C apartment, some very wilted plants, and the fun of unpacking. Oh, and work tomorrow. Hooray....