Life lately, according to my iPhone

1. Our first Saskatchewan Rough Riders game!, 2. New Vans + blurry cat, 3. "Beef dip" (thinly shaved roast beef in a hot baguette, with gravy dip), 3. Cool Whip (fake frozen whipped cream), 4. Percy Pig delivery from Mum!, 4. Me and my homegirl, 5. Alan Partridge costmetics, 6. My fave slurpee flavour - grape, 7. Maple photobombing me (taken by David), 8. Fake Canadian Bourbon biscuits (not the same).

Calgary Road Trip - Part 1

On the weekend of September 14th, David and I drove from Regina to Calgary for the weekend. We left this fluff ball behind, but don't fret readers, our friend Nathan came and kept her company...

We set off at 4am in the dark and started our 8 and a half hour journey (with rest stops included).

Our first stop was at the town of Swift Current, where we enjoyed an EPIC breakfast from Smitty's. I had the 'Farmer's Skillet', which is a hot dish filled with a a whole omelette, green peppers, spicy sausage, onions, tomatoes, grated cheese, bacon and a bottom layer of crispy hash browns (fried potatoes to the Brits), oh and it also comes with toast in case you need more food! Breaky heaven.

 Smitty's also had some delightful wolf-inspired artworks in the foyers, that claimed to be the 'perfect gift for any occasion', how true.

We reached our halfway point, Medicine Hat and indulged in a Canadian favourite, Tim Hortons. David had a coffee (bleurgh), I had a frozen lemonade (yum) and we shared a box of Tim Bits. Tim Bits are 'doughnut holes', or tiny round doughnuts that have different fillings and glazes, meaning you can try lot's of types without having to scoff a whole tray of doughnuts. Very clever.

Where the name Medicine Hat came from, according to our favourite and most reliable Internet source, Wikipedia: The name "Medicine Hat" is the English translation of 'Saamis' (SA-MUS) – the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headdress worn by medicine men – or 'Medicine Hat'. Several legends are associated with the name from a mythical mer-man river serpent named 'Soy-yee-daa-bee' – the Creator – who appeared to a hunter and instructed him to sacrifice his wife to get mystical powers which were manifest in a special hat. Another legend tells of a battle long ago between the Blackfoot and the Creein which a retreating Cree "Medicine Man" lost his headdress in the South Saskatchewan River.

In Medicine Hat, we also had the pleasure of viewing the World's tallest teepee, which reminded me of those weird gas structures back home. 

We reached Calgary at around 1pm. I don't know whether it was because of the good weather, but the city looked really nice and clean, like a super-sized Regina with a bit more ethnic diversity (and a Topshop, but we'll get to that in Part deux).