Highlights in Edmonton

We booked a last minute vacation to Edmonton after Hurricane Odile hit land at Los Cabos and forced us to cancel our Mexican vacation.  We were disappointed that we would not get to enjoy sandy beaches, hot weather and lazy days, but were thankful that we were not in harm's way, and felt sympathy for all those affected.

We arrived in Edmonton late on a Monday night. We were so thankful that we still had a chance for time away from work and home, and grateful that we weren't imposing on family members on such short notice.

The first few days were lazy; we enjoyed the unusually warm weather 25 - 29C, walks in Mill Creek Ravine Park with a dog and 1 year old, and enjoying local restaurants.









Our food highlights include several highly popular restaurants.  First, Padmanadi, a vegan Indonesian restaurant, where the "meat" is formed to look like the real thing.  The food was super tasty, even for us meat lovers.





We also had take-out from MEAT; great BBQ ribs, pulled pork and andouille sausage!  









Tres Carnales was a great Mexican restaurant, where the tacos were so tasty even for their small size.  

We also went to Narayanni's, South African Indian buffet.  Lots of options for my gluten, egg and dairy sensitivities.  The curry lamb and eggplant were our unanimous favourites.

Of course, a shopping trip to West Edmonton Mall is a must.  We were overwhelmed with the size, even being from Metro Vancouver.  We don't have Simon's department store, so that was a good place to start. Lots of entertainment for families, including a pirate show, sea lions, ice rink and more.

We wandered downtown for an afternoon, going to Churchill Square, City Hall and the Alberta Craft Council, which had wonderful pieces of art.  As an artisan, I always like to support local and visit farmer's markets.  There were quite a few here, and we went to Mother's Market, the only indoor 3 day market, and the Old Strathcona Market on Saturday.  Both were impressive, with many vendors with organic produce or meats, local crafts and food.

A walk along popular Whyte Avenue on a sunny afternoon gave us a chance to go in and out of different shops, bakeries and cafes.  Remedy Cafe was a good choice for my diet; I was so happy to have a chocolate muffin!

The #1 attraction for Edmonton according to TripAdvisor is The Winspear and #2 is the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.  We had the chance to go to the season opener and have the opportunity to hear Paul Jacobs, world renowned organist.  What a beautiful venue and fabulous merge of 2 types of music.  Great Saturday night date.

We took the High Level Bridge Streetcar on another sunny day.  What a great ride, with stunning views over the Saskatchewan River, and a bit of history from the volunteers operating the train.  It was definitely a highlight of the trip.  

We got off the streetcar to head to University of Alberta to enjoy a free afternoon concert by the University Symphony Orchestra for Alumni Weekend.

Over the week, we had a chance to wind down, visit with family and see many highlights of Edmonton.  It was a great time; we were so glad to have great weather, family to host us and a chance to visit a 1 year old, seeing the progress he's making!