Edmonton Day 5

Friday — Canada Day! — we got up slowly and went to dimsum at a tiny little place in the seedier area of downtown, “The New TanTan”. We met up with Mavis’ friends Jeni and Sean. The food was great, considering the unassuming exterior of the restaurant:

Nearby we saw the gateway to Chinatown, which reminded me a bit of Victoria as well:

From dimsum we walked to City Hall, which was filled with hundreds of Canada Day revellers enjoying the county-fair-like food:

…the pool:

…the petting zoo:


…and some kind of show taking place inside the glass pyramid roof inside City Hall:

…even the Edmonton Transit System was was feeling patriotic:

From there, we walked to the Alberta Legislature in order to get a tour. On the lawn adjoining the space in front of the legislature, we saw a sign for a dog demonstration, and it was just about to start! So we checked it out:

Video:

• click me! [45.6mb]

After the show, we entered the legislature for a self-guided tour. They’ve got a dome just after you enter, just like the BC leg:

The unwashed masses, on-tour:

Some of the 83 seats in the Alberta Legislative Assembly:

A view from the gallery:

Stained glass in the gallery:

View from the 5th floor:

So the story goes one of the MPs was not so happy with the bland cafeteria food, so he brought in a hamburger from and tabled it as a motion (and yes, it passed):

After we finished the walking tour, we took the “Pedway” (underground pedestrian walkway network) to the LRT (subway). One of the neat features of the Pedway at the legislature is a big set of mirrors that lets people in the Pedway see what it looks outside:

…a closer look:

Hardave and Mavis in the “proof of payment zone”, heading down-downstairs to catch the LRT:

On the LRT:

The Shaw Conference Center:

Me and the North Saskatchewan River:

After leaving downtown, we hit Save On and headed home. Mavis and Hardave cooked a great meal, which we enjoyed with Sean and Jeni and good conversation. After, dessert (a patriotic red and white strawberry shortcake!) and coffee, then we walked down to Mavis’ Lakehouse, flag in hand:

Lots of new construction going on in Mavis’ and many other neighborhoods around Edmonton; a stark contrast to the multitudes of abandoned/bank-owned properties in Sarasota:

Why did we hit the Lakehouse?

To see the fireworks, of course 🙂