Banff is not a very large town. It sits within the much larger Banff National Park. The town limits are set and are not allowed to expand beyond its current limits, lest it creeps into the national park.
We had finished our afternoon of touristy cliches, we were left to our own devices to for the whole evening. The stores along Banff Avenue would be closing up soon. It was a Sunday evening, so we had to work quick if we were to get a little window/real shopping in for the day.
The bus had dropped us off at our hotel, the Spruce Grove Inn. It was quite a distance from the main shopping stretch of Banff Avenue. So we hopped into a couple of taxis to save time. Some of the shops had already closed for the evening since it was Easter Sunday. We wandered into whatever might still be opened.
Beaver Tails is a Canadian classic. If you are not familiar with Beaver Tails, it does not sell actual beaver tails. Although I’m thinking you internationals would not have put it past Canadians to eat the actual tail of a beaver. Beaver Tails are a pastry treat that is flat and shaped to look like a beaver’s tail. Then they add cinnamon, sugar, and a whole host of different ingredients that one can choose from. Vancouver doesn’t have one anymore (except for the one on top of Grouse Mountain). So I hadn’t a Beaver Tail in ages. I just had to have one with the wifey.
The last thing we did in the shopping district was to buy some fruit at the Safeway for tomorrow’s bus ride. One never gets enough fruits and veggies on a trip. So it was best to fill up on some bananas or mandarin oranges. We then walked back about 20 minutes to our hotel.
Tonight, we were on our own for dinner. There could only be one choice, and it wasn’t Chinese food. There was a Keg Steakhouse in the hotel next to ours. It may have been 8:30pm or so when we arrived at the restaurant, but it was still very full. There was a party of 10 that was a part of our bus tour. They had been waiting for over an hour for a table. When we came, we didn’t care about having all 11 of us sit together. We asked for 3 separate tables and we got in almost right away. The other party must have dropped their jaws. I think they ended up splitting up their party too. We were all too hungry at 8:30pm.
So when in Alberta, one must have the famous AAA Alberta beef (unless you’re a vegeterian, of course). It was steak all around for us. It was so good to have something other than Chinese food for a meal. It even called for a glass of wine for me. Somebody else even bought bottles of German beer for us to have. Now that was the right meal to end a good day.
metro babel 