London

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London in Calgary, Alberta – Challenge 1

This time last year my husband and I were in Berlin visiting the Christmas markets. As I sit here writing this on a bitterly cold Calgary afternoon, we were supposed to be on holiday in London with a side trip to Belgium thrown in.

BERLIN

A few weeks ago, we had to cancel our trip, so my challenge is to replicate 10 days of activities we’d planned in London/Belgium in Alberta. Can it be done?

Challenge #1 – CHRISTMAS MARKET.   There’s something very special about European Christmas markets. For me, it’s do with the fact that most of them are held outdoors, the glittering twinkle lights, warm gluhwein, hot roast chestnuts, Christmas music playing, fire pits to warm yourself up, and, of course, all the goodies for sale. Could I find all that in Calgary?

FIREXMAS MARKET

Over three weekends, Spruce Meadows hosts an International Christmas Market. We visited on Friday afternoon and it provided everything – and more – that you’ll find in a European market. Outdoor (and indoor) vendors? Check. Gluhwein? Check. Hot roast chestnuts? Check. Fire pits to sit by and savour the warmth and scent of burning logs while sipping on a hot chocolate? Check. Christmas music? Check. Plenty of goodies for sale? Check.

REINDEER

In addition, there were 12 of Santa’s reindeer in attendance, as well as a petting zoo for the children. Did you know a reindeer’s nose warms the cold outdoor air before it gets to its lungs, and that both male and female reindeer have antlers?

So did Calgary meet the Day 1 Europe/Alberta challenge?  Absolutely!

(Many thanks to Laura MacU2 for taking pictures when my battery died!)

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London versus Alberta

Here’s the challenge.  If you’ve read my blog, you know how much I love London.  My husband and I were supposed to spend three weeks there this December, with a side trip to Belgium (Brussels/Bruges, two hours on the Eurostar) thrown in.  We’ve had to cancel our visit, so is there any way we can replicate what we were hoping to see in Europe in Calgary/Alberta without visiting places we’ve already been?

LONDON: Marks and Spencer Xmas shopping. Jude Law in Henry V. Dennis Severs House. Geffrye Museum. Hamley’s Toy Shop in Regent Street. Carol Service at St Martin’s in the Fields. Ice skating and Xmas markets on The South Bank. National Army Museum. Making of Harry Potter, Warner Brothers’ Tour.

BRUSSELS/BRUGES:  Tour of WW1 battlefields. Belgian Beer. Belgian Chocolate! Belgian food! Walk along the canals in Bruges. Traditional Xmas markets. Herge/Tintin  Museum.

Can we do it?

Watch this space!

 

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Surprise Day – Part Four

Last, but not least, our final destination, Red Cross Gardens (Click), a street away from Cross Bones Graveyard, and a real hidden treasure.

There’s a memorial plaque there to Octavia Hill. (Click) I’d never heard of her before, but she was a famous social reformer of in the 19th Century and one of the three founders of The National Trust. (Click)

OctaviaHill

It was just after lunch when we visited there.  Children were racing around the paths, office workers relaxing on the (burned – hey, it was 30C) grass beside the lily pond.

plaque

What I love about London is all its secret places. My idea of heaven on earth?  To spend a month (or two) in London so I could start to scratch beneath its tourist surface.  But for starters, next time I’m going to follow this Secret London/Borough (Click) walk, and this walk through some of their secret parks. (Click)

It was a fabulous day. Thanks, J. I’m looking forward to our next trip and the next surprise day.  (Pressure’s on!)

Apologies for all the ‘clicks’, but I just realised that the links weren’t showing up very well in all my posts and some of them are really interesting.