Roaming Edmonton: What to do on a Rainy Day

Edmonton is so rainy right now. Everything is wet and I hate it. At first it was fine, a little rain is always great, but now it’s just a constant sad drizzle with intermittent downpours. I’m ready for the sun.

But since I’m no magic man/rainmaker, I thought I’d put together a list of things to do in Edmonton when it rains:

1.  Strathcona Farmers Market: open on Saturdays, the farmers market is great if you’re looking for something fresh, or if you’re partaking on a dinner experiment like we did last weekend. It’s busy busy busy so go early!
2. T&T Supermarket, or the Italian Center: once again, great if you’re looking to experiment with food. My advice is to go on Pinterest and find a recipe you’ve never tried before. That’s what we did when we made pho and we’ve done it countless times at the Italian Center. Both places are super fun to roam around and check out foods from different cultures!
3. Whyte Ave: go out your raincoat on and explore Whyte Ave! I bought a lovely canary yellow, t-swift style raincoat the other day to get over this depressing weather. You can shop-hop the whole way up and down, and stay out of the rain for the most part. There are bookstores, music stores, pubs, clubs, and shopping all throughout. 
4. West Edmonton Mall: it literally has everything. If I remember correctly, it’s one of the biggest malls in North America. There’s shopping, a skating rink, a seal show, an aquarium, Galaxyland, a movie theatre, and a water park. The choices at literally endless.
5. Any mall: Edmonton has plenty of malls if you want to avoid the hustle and bustle of West Ed. Southgate, Capilano, Kingsway, and Bonnie Doon will all give you something to do on a rainy afternoon.
6. Telus Space & Science Center: along with their normal science displays and interactive rooms, the Space & Science center usually has a feature exhibit going on. Last summer, we went to the Indian Jones one, and it was hands down one of the best dates I’ve ever been on. My boyfriend went to the exhibit that’s currently on display (Sherlock Holmes) which is apparently pretty good too. There’s also the massive imax 3D movie theatre.
7. Cinema: speaking of theatres, a movie is always rainy day material. There are a literal shit-ton of theatres in Edmonton. We recently also got one of the upgraded theatres where you can order food or drinks and they’ll be delivered right to your seat! That’s on our to-do list!
8. Comedy Club: lately, I’ve been super into stand up comedy and I’ve been watching a ton of it on YouTube. I’ve been to a couple of comedy clubs in Edmonton before, and they’re a great experience! Also a great date idea, laughter always breaks the ice 😉
9. Paint Nite: I’m in love. Go to paint nite. Doesn’t matter if you can’t paint, they show you a step by step tutorial, and the instructors are great at helping out! Hit me up if you want a 50% coupon code. We’ve done paint nite quite a few times, and learning and laughing over your masterpiece is always such a hilarious night!
10. Leave Edmonton: escape the rain. Like literally just leave. I’m going to Calgary to escape this weather, and then to Banff to escape it even more. Find an online radar map and go where it’s dry!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures guys! I assumed from the get-go that this post would be more text based than photo based. But since I’ll be visiting Banff, I can guarantee some lovely pictures in the next few posts 🙂

Did I miss anything that you love to get up to on a rainy weekend? Let me know!

Roaming Edmonton: Strathcona Farmer’s Market

Holy crap. 

So we went to the Strathcona Farmers Market, which is near the end of Whyte Avenue. The market is only open on Saturdays, so for once we actually planned the day out. It was my first time ever going, but definitely not the last!! If it weren’t for the fact that the boyfriend and I will be traveling for the next two weekends, I’m sure we’d be back. 

We got there around noon, and it was already packed and stalls were already sold out. The bread and bakery stalls must have been particularly good, since they were completely sold out. 

As we wandered around, we thought we would make a game plan and figure out dinner for the night. After having a million amazing samples, we narrowed down our options.

Elk on the right, bison on the left.

We ended up with elk and bison steaks (which were fucking awesome), as well as some pesto to put on pasta. It was so garlicky, so it was basically heaven. I’ve never had bison, or elk, or homemade pesto before, so this was a really nice treat. 

We bought some rhubarb wine, which was waaaay better than I expected it to be! The Birds and Bees wine stall had some tastings, so we tested raspberry, honey, rhubarb, and cherry wines. All of them were knock outs, but the rhubarb was our favorite. Also had to get some cheese to go with our wine!

By the end of our trip, we had wine, cheese, meat, macaroons, pesto, and olives. So basically, our dinner was the best we’ve made in a while. We always like to try new things, so I was pretty impressed. 

We’re already planning out our next trip there!! 

Next weekend I’ll be in Calgary visiting my sister, and then the weekend after that I’ll be dragging my boyfriend to Calgary to do some touristy stuff. Might go back to go to the Calgary Stampede with one of my friends later and visit my big bro. Probably the most I’ll have been to Calgary in one summer ever!

What do you guys like to do in Calgary?? What’s something that o can’t miss out on when I go?

Roaming Edmonton: T&T Market

The other night the boyfriend and I did one of our favorite kinds of dates. We decided to try to cook pho together!

Most of the ingredients for the Vietnamese soup can be found at normal grocery stores, but for fun we decided to find some of them at T&T Market.

I absolutely love markets that have food from other cultures. There are so many unique foods there!

We bought delicious fresh sushi, and grabbed a couple of spices for our pho. We also walked up and down every aisle. I’m a fan of the candy aisle 😉

It’s impossible for us to go to any grocery store without visiting the meat section, and this one definitely didn’t disappoint. You can get fresh crabs, fish, lobsters, and clams. I played with the crabs, they’re snappy and amazing. 

The pho we made was so damn good. To cook the meat, you pour the hot broth over top, which was pretty interesting. Quite yummy, would definitely make again.

Want to know what I’ve been up to so far in Edmonton? You can check out my other adventures here, here, and here!

Let me know where else there is so explore in Edmonton!

Keep on keeping on I guess.

So guys, now that my British Columbia adventure is long over, it’s time to start planning a new one! Gotta keep myself busy this summer.

I’ve got lots of places in Edmonton I plan on exploring. Stay tuned to see where I end up! I’ve got posts planned to rate the hikes I went on, to talk about the hotels I stayed in, and of course to tell you guys about Edmonton.

I’m also planning a trip to Calgary to visit my sister, sometime after the May long weekend. Dunno what we’re gonna get up to! What do you guys like to do when you’re in Calgary??

Just a couple of bad bitches on the town.

It’s so close to the mountains, it’s so tempting to just head out there for the day!

The last day of the trip is always the worst.

 

It’s not the worst in the sense that the day isn’t as fun or anything. It’s the worst in the sense that it’s time to pack up and go home and end the adventure.

On our last day, we got up early and packed our bags, ready to head out. We took a quick pit stop in Banff to visit Johnson Canyon and do one last hike!

  
Johnson Canyon is beautiful. It’s not a long hike, nor is it a strenuous one. If you travel past the upper falls, the hike to Ink Pots is a little harder, but we ran out of time to go that far.

The lower falls is my favorite. You cross a bridge and then go through a tunnel to get there. It’s a little wet though, but well worth it!

  
The upper falls is pretty neat too; it’s quite large and you don’t get quite as wet! The rock wall next to it is amazing – with little streams running down all over it, it’s become smooth and shiny. 

  
Most of the hike is uphill, and a few days into the trio my boyfriend ran into some knee problems. Not hard going up, but going down was not fun for him! I on the other hand was fine 😉 (which is downright amazing because I’m defs out of shape).

  
After Johnson Canyon, we stopped in the town of Banff for some Cows ice cream. We’ve been to Banff dozens of times, and he always says he’ll take me but we never end up there. It was well worth the wait though!!

 

The rest of the drive home is pretty uneventful. That’s the worst part of leaving the mountains: all of the beautiful scenery is in the rear view mirror…

Does a bear sh*t in the woods?

  
Why yes, yes it does, and that’s how we started our hike to Dog Lake. Always on the look out for bears! 

  
Whoever named Dog Lake is the world’s biggest disappointment. There are no dogs and the lake isn’t shaped like a dog, which would be the dream for dog-obsessed me. I spent the day teasing my boyfriend about our future black lab and how perfect a dog would be for our adventures!

But other than the disappointment of no dogs, the lake is pretty beautiful. On day five of our vacation, we decided to do a hike out to the lake. It’s a pretty uneventful hike, just through trees and the forest area. Eventually you reach a nice little beach that gives a great view of the mountains. Very Canadian looking!
  
We saw some fresh bear poop though, so we were on high alert again so that we wouldn’t run into it. 

  
Honestly, not much to say about Dog Lake. It’s a relatively easy hike, to a relatively nice lake. I’d do it again if I had the opportunity and the weather was nice! There’s 2 small suspension bridges for crossing over the rivers, with rocky but nice beaches. A good place to stop for lunch or to spend the day!

Only one more day of posting about my vacation and I’ll have to go back to roaming Edmonton 🙂 I’ve got plans to float down the North Saskatchewan River with my friends so I’ll have to fill you all in on that adventure!

And in the blink of an eye, a week goes by!

  
Oh my oh my, this week has gone by fast! I’ve been gone for a whole week here and it’s only felt like a day! I’ve been re-doing my bedroom, which has taken waaaaay longer than I expected.

  

I still need to tell you all about my vacation in British Columbia! So the fourth day of our adventure took us to Canyon Creek (which I believe is in Kootenay National Park).

  
The Parks Canada website mentioned that the first bit of the hike is very steep, but not to be deterred by it. After getting there, I have to say that was the steepest hill I’ve ever climbed. I’d say that parts were to close to a 60° angle. Very intense, I’m glad I brought decent hiking shoes! 

The whole hike is constantly uphill, some areas not as bad as others, but none of them are as bad as the beginning. If you’re willing to do all of the uphill work (don’t skip leg day bro), then you’ll be rewarded with amazing views of the canyon. 

  
I hate uphill hikes with an absolute passion, but this one was definitely worth it! There’s no guard rails though, so be careful near the edge! It’s a looooooong way down! It’s also apparently a popular biking trail, so be vigilant or you might get run over like I did!

Didn’t see much wildlife on this hike, although we were warned about bears being sighted in the area very very recently. We did see a little snake who was pretending to be a stick, and a crow that was pretending to be a black bear. The way it peaked itself over an edge looked like the snout of a black bear, so needless to say we freaked out and I had a minor heart attack.

We made it to the first viewpoint, which was absolutely amazing. The second viewpoint is very very far down the path. When we googled it, we found out that the second viewpoint (which isn’t labeled) is just before the trail breaks down into a narrow trail. Apparently that isn’t correct, and you need to follow the narrow trail further, as it will open up more back to the normal trail. We almost made it the whole way though!

  
We were hoping to see some goats, but no luck! Maybe next time 😉

I’m not surprised how fast this past week has gone, considering how quickly time went by the week we were on vacation. In the next few days here I’ll finish up posting about my trip! Thanks for being patient guys 🙂