After dropping off my Mom, John & Christina at the airport in Calgary, we were left with John's jeep and an open road. To Edmonton! The prairies stretched out from under us like a never-endng carpet and the clouds hung like opium smoke in the sky. I hadn't felt the freedom of the road in such a long time and we took advantage of it, stopping at every Tim Horton's on the way. We parked downtown and walked to the Artworks, Brandon's Aunt Wendy and Uncle Peter's store. We passed a Greyhound bus station and a greasy-haired young woman propositioning an equally sketched-out middle-aged man. "You can have me and her (motioning to her friend sitting on the curb) all night for 100 bucks." Welcome to Edmonton. I suppose we had idealistic visions and nostalgic memories of our homeland and the reverse culture shock hit. On the way back to the car they were being fined by 2 police officers on bikes.
Peter and Wendy live a life Brandon and I aspire to. A self-designed house in the woods 30 mins from the city, horses, good food, travel, and a great collection of books, paintings and antiques. The 2 dogs and 3 cats won me over despite the allergic side-effects. The first night, we cooked them some Vietnamese dishes that were featured in our cooking class and washed it all down with sake and their stories of back alley carpet deals in exotic countries. We woke up the next morning to Pete's rendition of "I called to say I love you" and Gussie, their energetic terrier, scratching at our door. It was egg-in-the-hole Thursday. Their breakfasts of fresh orange juice and fig bread worked to cure our jet-lag, luring us out of bed and into the day.
We spent our days exploring the city with Uncle Pete, checking out his latest interiors and perusing his collection of 19th century circus freak photographs. Our food check list got shorter and shorter as we whisked through the culinary treats Edmonton had to offer. Mmm, Alberta beef. We were able to see our friends Caroline and Yuji and met their new baby boy Kai-kun. They have just moved into a new place and are beaming with that new family glow. Edmonton left a good impression on us despite the prostitutes and the mall. Our generous hosts treated us very well. The trip back to Canada was a success!
Naomi
