Reciprocal invitation and exchange ideas between Calgary City View B&B in Calgary Alberta Canada and L'Etoile Guesthouse in La Bastide-Puylaurent Lozere France.
Calgary City View Bed & Breakfast Between Prairie and Rockies
Native
of Quebec, spontaneous, keeping the amateur side making her fresh. This is
Micheline. There is a life in Calgary City View Bed and Breakfast, we feel
welcome and comfortable at once. Working as a nurse during many years, Micheline
also covered the World from Alaska to Brasil going through Europe and Malaysia.
She loves challenges and she is rather successful.
Her
villa facing Calgary downtown is sitting on a small hill which is a magnificient
location; the view opens both on downtown buildings and on Rocky Mountains
situated about 2 hours drive to the northeast.
Enlightened by the large window, without excessive decoration, we feel that
Micheline is very present in her B&B. She really lives there. Her computer is
swiched on and connected in her living room, there's also the piano which
attracts me and later I would play it to entertain a bit 'my' two ladies.
Sunsets are gorgeous here playing on the clear sky with all colours. Slowly, the
sun is setting behind the snowy range of Rocky Mountains and the daylight is
swiching to the brilliance of thousands of lights coming from downtown
buildings, olympic Saddle Dome and famous Stampede stadium. Calgary City View
B&B is the ideal place for romantic evenings.
From
time to time Micheline likes going on trips with her son Eric on their big bikes
in Harley Davidson style. Eric works in Hyatt Hotel in city centre. Calgary
reminds me Tucson in Arizona, fully expanding city with its new buildings and
large flat expanses all around.
It is almost always sunny here contrary to much
more watered Vancouver or to Quebec where it doesn't stop snowing in winter
time. It is very nice to live here.
The
Chinatown in the north downtown area was the most animated and busy district on
Sunday and that was also the place where we did our first meeting with Calgary.
Mr. Dobie To, whom we met just after our arrival, pointed out to us very
courteously the Dragon City Plaza where we can have an access to the Chinese
cultural center to check our e-mails. After having made a couple of back and
forths inside the commercial centre looking like little Hong Kong we came across
Patricia Lam, Vice-President of Calgary's Hoy Sun Association gathering
immigrants from Hong-Kong and China.
She invites us very kindly to come in and use the computers inspite of the
closing hour. Exchange of business cards, Patricia wants already to visite my
place in
La Bastide-Puylaurent
and spend a few days in
L'Etoile with
her daughter. Discover France, the real France ! Meet the French people gathered
around one big guest table and live the experience of relaxed and friendly
atmosphere.
Should they have continued with their waggons or stopped ? The settlers had to
be at the end of their strengths after so many miles of effort through large and
endless plains... and than... this range of mountaines... the Rockies, the last
obstacle before Pacific ocean.
The tribe of
Tsuu T'ina indians
was still in control of the lands, thousands of buffalo lived in prairies and
the relations with other
tribes
were good. Nowadays, the T'suu Tina's live in reserve, "Natives Land," touching
the area of fancy townhouses of Calgary and they content themselves recieving
the 'guilty money' from Canadian government... 60 000$CD per person which do
not arrange anything, young natives spend its majority buying cars, alcohol
and narcotics. The 'white Canada' on the right side of the road with its
constructions growing like mashrooms and on the left side the native land
where everything seems like being waiting for something. It faces the TransCanada
highway heading to Banff in
Rockies, small town crowded by tourists and financed by japanese capital. This
highway will lead us up to Revelstoke to Green Gables Loft B&B run by Gundy
Baty.
Calgary
City View B&B, Micheline Boisvert, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ![]()
***
Old romantic Hotel with a beautiful park along the Allier River. L'Etoile Guest-House is located in La Bastide-Puylaurent between Lozere, Ardeche and Cevennes. Hiking trails GR7, GR70 Stevenson, GR72, GR700 Regordane (St Gilles), Cevenol, Roujanel, Margeride, Allier, Ardechoise and many hiking loops around. A mountain retreat in the South of France. The right place to relax.