Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Food glorious food

This post is dedicated to one of my favourite thigs, yes food! I have a love hate relationship with. I love the taste, the smell, the texture. I hate the inches it adds to my hips. Here is a list of restaurants and take out that i have dined at and would return to;

1: Red Lobster, This is my new favourite restaurant. I first dined here a few weeks ago and i have to say i was pleasantly suprised at the quality and quantity of their meals. I had the ultimate feast which consisted of the following; A tender split Maritime lobster tail, steamed Canadian snow crab legs, savoury garlic shrimp and Walt's Favourite Shrimp. I wasn't a fan of the lobster, this isn't because of the quality of the lobster its just my own preferance. The taste was nice but i really didn't like the texture. The crab was to die for, it was succulent and flavoursome and an absolute treat. The garlic shrimp was also worthy of praise. when our food was served i took a look at the shrimp and thought that it was going to be very greasy, overcooke and have absolutely no flavour but i was wrong, the shrimp was cooked to perfection! i have a really hard time finding restaurants that serve shrimp that i actually like but red lobster have the nail on the head. It was delicious and the potion size was very generous. I wasn't overly keen on walt's favourite shrimp as it was deep fried but my husband loved it. The meal also came with a salad starter and savoury scones which were also very satisfying. I would give this Red lobster 8/10. The score would have been higher if i didn't have to look at the poor lobsters in the tank while waiting for a table. Yes i know it is to be expected when going to a lobster restaurant but for me it is unecessary to keep them in such a small tank just because they're going to get eaten! All in all a fantastic restaurant.

2: Peter's drive in, my first visit to this drive in was saturday and the burgers were amazing! I had heard so many good reviews that i had to try it for myself. I ordered a cheeseburger, fries and banana milkshake. The burger was heavenly, it was filled with sauces and pickles and the normal size cheeseburger had 2 patty's. It was alot bigger than you would expect and very filling. I have to say that peter's drive in do serve the worlds best burgers. The fries weren't great but we got a small size and they were plenty big enough for 2 people. The milkshake was delicious. It wasn't overly sweet and it tasted like real banana not just syrup. I will definitely be visiting again soon. I wouls rate this restaurant 7/10, mainly because they don't except debit cards and in this day and age all restaurants should take cards.

3: Denny's, where do i begin? I guess its the english in me that makes me love Denny's. There's nothing better than a fried breakfast to get you going saturday mornings and nobody does breakfast quite like Denny's! I tend to have the lumberjack slam but i like to try new things so i've had most of the breakfasts that they serve. I love the hash browns, the crispy bacon, the french toast, the pancakes..... ok this list could go on and on, Denny's do great breakfast and proof of this is the long queue i always end up waiting in. i'd rate denny's 10/10, i really can't fault them.

4: Tony Roma's, I love ribs and Tony Roma's do tend to serve the best ribs that i've tasted so far, this doesn't mean they are the best i just haven't got around to trying every restaurant in calgary. I have been dissapointed with Tony Roma's on occasion. Their ribs have sometimes been too dry and the wait has been ridiculously long even when the restaurant has been empty and the waiters seem to have a hard time understading my english accent, apart from that i am mostly satified with the food.

5: Panago pizza, Yep i love pizza and i've found it really hard trying to find a half decent pizza in calgary. Domino's a possibly the worst offenders with papa john coming a close 2nd. Pizza hut have ok pizza's and i would buy from them again but panago have really good pizza's. My personal favourite is the chicken club. It comes with jalapeno white sauce, grilled chicken, canadian ham, bacon tomatoes and mozzarella. I'm not a fan of spicy food and thought this would be spicy since it has a jalapeno sauce but suprisingly it's very mild and just delicious. so i rate them 8/10.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Calgary Zoo


I ♥ The Calgary zoo. There is always something to do there. The last time i visited the zoo was on the easter weekend. They had an easter egg hunt for the kids and at the end were mini eggs,yummy! they have ongoing events all year and there is so much to see that the zoo is a whole day activity. There are karts for the kids which are a great idea if you don't have a stroller although a little expensive to hire. I believe they cost $10 to hire for the day. One complaint i do have with the zoo is the new parking fee they inforced this year. Its $5 which isn't to bad but why inforce it now when the zoo has been open since 1929? 81 years later and they decide they need to start charging a fee? They say its because people using the calgary transit were using their car park, then why don't you refund parking when a zoo admission ticket is purchased?
Anyway apart from that i have no complaints. The zoo has a lot to offer. They have an events and programmes calender on their website so you can look in advance at whats coming up. Over the next few months they have the following special events;

Hulabazoo
Saturday, May 8
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Bring your whole herd to Calgary’s Child Magazines and Shine FM’s HULABAZOO and enjoy a fun-filled day for the whole family! Go wild with our Scavenger Hunt; explore the zoo and enter your completed scavenger card to win fabulous prizes.
Join Calgary Zoo naturalists for lively presentations throughout the day that will get you a little closer to nature! Our entertainment stage under the 'big top' will feature interactive theatre, performances and more!

Mother’s Day Brunch
Sunday, May 9
9:00 am OR 11:30 am OR 2:00 pm seating

Adult 36.95
Senior 34.95
Youth 36.95
Child 22.95


We all know moms play a special role in nature and here’s your chance to learn about some of the jobs animal mother’s have and delight in a scrumptious brunch buffet. We'll fill your minds and bellies before you head out to explore the zoo on your own.

POP n’ a PANCAKE - Father’s Day Brunch
Sunday, June 20
9:00 am OR 11:30 am seating

Adult 36.95
Senior 34.95
Youth 36.95
Child 22.95

Join us for an interactive performance that provides a sneak peak into animal Dads at our Father’s Day Brunch. A buffet feast fit for kings will fuel you up for a zoo scavenger hunt and maybe you can swing by the gorilla exhibit and really see where Dad evolved from ;o).

On our last visit to the zoo we visited the recently renovated Dinosaurs alive exibit in prehistoric park. I was pleasantly suprised at the new interactive dinosaurs. when i had visited the dinosaurs a couple of years back there were just a few worn looking models and its great that the zoo have finally renovated. We went with some small kids and there were some tears and screams! There is what seems like a life size t-rex which is pretty awesome and many other models some of which are interactive. The zoo is a definitely worth a visit and one of my top 10 favourite attractions in Calgary.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Thomas the tank engine at heritage park


Thomas the Tank Engine returns to Heritage Park with all of his friends for the Celebration Tour 2010! For two weekends only, Heritage Park transforms into the Island of Sodor for Thomas themed fun. Don’t miss the excitement!!
The dates are May 8th and 9th, 15th and 16th.
Day Out With Thomas offers an opportunity for children and their grownups to take a 20 minute ride with Thomas the Tank Engine and to have their picture taken with Sir Topham Hatt, the Controller of the Railway. Activities and entertainment include, but are not limited to: storytelling; Imagination Station; "Hans On Trains for Kids" Garden G-Gauge Interactive Railway; video viewing; story telling; wooden maze; antique midway; face painting; children's entertainers; temporary tattoos and wagon rides. The activities on site at Day Out With Thomas are for you and your children to enjoy for several hours or more. Please plan your arrival times accordingly. You should arrive no later than one hour before your scheduled train departure.
tickets are $21, children age 2 and up must have a ticket.

Bowness Park Rocks!!


Yesterday i took the boys to Bowness park for a picnic. The sun was shining and it was perfect day to play. The lake hasn't been filled yet so its not looking its prettiest but the ducks were out in full force and very very hungry! Alex, my 11 month old, was happy to share his food with the ducks. He found it all fascanating. Reece, my 5 year old, kept asking the duck what his name was and then asked me why the duck wasn't answering :) Lucky for me the ice cream shop wasn't open. Reece always picks the most colourful ice cream which makes him super hyper! We had a stroll around the park and the boys enjoyed playing on the swings and slide. All in all it was a fun afternoon.

Bowness park was Donated to the city of calgary by John Hextall one of the founding fathers of the Town of Bowness in 1917. In 1927 the first fountain was installed in the lush green park. However, by the late 1960’s the fountain was removed. It wasn’t until 1988 with the help of an anonymous donor a new fountain was installed to replace the old one.

Bowness park really does rock! The park now has Mini golf, ice cream shop and cafe, play area's, bbq's, a lake in summer and ice rink in winter, spray parks, shelters and pedal boats. Make the most of summer and visit Bowness. I can't recommend it enough!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Calgary family golf centre


After writing my first post yesterday i realised just how much I had left out! There really is a vast range of activities in calgary and surrounding area's and its great to go out there and explore, i always love finding new places. Last night I went to Calgary family golf centre. Its located on 9550 Bearspaw Dam Road Northwest. Its Great for mini golf. I've been to a couple of mini golf courses but I like this one the best. There was a group of us, about 8, and we split up into 2 teams. we had 4 kids with us so it took a while to get around the whole course but it was great fun. We went in the evening so it was quiet and we didn't want to cause to many queues :)
The location is great as its opposite Bowness park. On the way home we stopped by Dairy Queen :) They have an offer on the blizzards this week only, buy one get one for 25 cents, so i couldn't resist. We went to the restaurant in ranchlands. I love DQ! Another place i visited this week was baker park. Its a nice park, not much to do but if you like cycling then its a great place to go. Its on the bow river opposite Bowness. I would love to hear any comments or suggestions on places to visit in Calgary. i would love to visit at least 1 new place every week!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Welcome to Clagary Rocks!!


Welcome to my blog. This site is dedicated to Calgary. Hopefully i can keep you upto date with things to do in calgary and surrounding area's, the best place to shop, eat and visit. So here we go with post 1. Here is a list of places i think are worth a visit in calgary
  1. Calgary zoo, I love taking my boys here in the summer and they always have family events through out the year. We went there on the easter weekend and they had an easter egg hunt for the kids. Was great for them to get chocolate eggs but what about us adults who are the ones actually doing the hunt??
  2. Heritage Park, I've only been to Heritage Park once last summer and it was a great family day out. The boys loved the steam train and the boat. There was alot to do and we didn't have time to get around the whole park. I will definitely be visiting again this year.
  3. Bowness Park, for all those who don't want to spend money then this park is an ideal place to go. They have a lake, a kiddies park and bbq's for the summer. If your happy to spend some money then there is mini golf, pedal boats, a very small train and a cafe and ice cream shop. Its great if your having a get together with a lot of people. Its also great in the winter for ice skating (if you can ice skate which i can't)
  4. Downtown, There's always things to do in Downtown from prince's island park to the Calgary tower.
  5. Telus world of science. I took my son here last year and i think i had more fun than him! the films they show are great but i wish they had a planetarium.
  6. The library, I know most of you think this maybe a boring suggestion but the library have loads of activities throughout the year. They have free courses and storytime for the kids. I am a big fan of there book sale, they sell books for 50 cents and often have a b.o.g.o.f promotion. How can you go wrong.
  7. Canada olympic park, I've been here a few times but never actually participated in anything! Last year they had xorbing which is basically being pushed down a big hill in a big ball. I'm hoping they have it again this year as i would love to have a go. My hubby's been on the mountain bike track and on the zip line and loved them both.

Ok so thats my list so far. There is so much to do in Calgary that i could be here all day listing things. I will keep adding things each day (hopefully).