Edmonton

Edmonton is the most underrated city ever. Edmonton absolutely rocks in the summer!! There’s Klondike Days (doesn’t quite compare to the Calgary Stampede, but oh well), Shakespeare in the Park, Heritage Days, Art Walk, a Taste of Edmonton, Street Performer’s Festival, and the Fringe Festical, (and probably more that I’ve missed) just to name a few. Edmonton also boasts the world’s largest shopping and entertainment complex. At the West Edmonton Mall, you can go shopping, of course, as well as splash around in a waterpark with about 20 waterslides. You can go bungy jumping at a site that consistently makes the list of one of the world’s top ten bungy sites (right inside the mall), you can ride the rides at Galaxyland, the amusement park inside the mall, which features the world’s largest indoor three-loop roller-coaster. There is a giant whale whose mouth you can sit in, an ice palace where you can go skating all year long, a sea-lion show, a pirates ship, submarines, bumper boats, a to-scale replica of the Augustus Prima Porta, mini golf, go-karting, glow-karting, movie theatres, an Imax theatre, a fire-breathing dragon, Bourbon Street, Chinatown (featuring a giant Asian supermarket with super cheap prices), Europa Boulevard, Eveline Charles Spa and Salon, a casino, and a hotel with some wacky theme rooms. I’m sure I missed some stuff, but you get the drift. Even if you don’t normally like shopping malls, this one is too crazy to miss out on.

Other cool stuff in Edmonton include Whyte Ave and the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market (Saturday mornings until 3:00 pm Saturday afternoons). Also, you could walk through Hawrelak Park and Edmonton’s river valley, which is very pretty. There is so much green and so many trees in Edmonton—it just has a nice atmosphere. And Edmontonians tend to be really active. No matter where you go you will see someone jogging or cycling. There’s the provincial musem (which also has a dinosaur exhibit), the provincial legislative buildings, University of Alberta (one of Canada’s largest and finest universities—the campus has some real gems, some really nice spots), Fort Edmonton Park, Chinatown, Muttart Conservatory, Science Centre, Valley Zoo, Hotel MacDonald, Churchill Square (with a really nice refreshing fountain/wading pool for hot days), etc, etc.

Eating in Edmonton is pretty great, too. You could eat at Funky Pickle, a great local pizza chain which has various locations throughout the city, you could eat at the very first Boston Pizza restaurant ever (the very unassuming one on Whyte Ave near Safeway), and for a special treat, you could eat at the German waffle house (Barb & Ernie’s) on 99th street where you will be greeted by a grumpy German man in liederhosen who flirts with the ladies and insults the men. Read their menu for the mouth-watering treats they offer, and flip the menu over for candid timeline of Barb & Ernie’s relationship, including a near-brush with divorce. There is so much good eating in Edmonton, it’s unbelievable. You could pretty much just walk down Whyte Ave and take your pick of any one of the fantastic restaurants (Cafe Mosaics, Yanni’s Julio’s Barrio, Sorrentino’s, that other Italian on near Devlin’s, etc). Edmonton’s also a good place to have a Booster Juice, since they are all over the city because the birthplace of Booster Juice is Sherwood Park, just a hop skip and a jump away from Edmonton.

There are so many fabulous things about Edmonton, I can’t believe people ever have any bad things to say about it!

I’m going in July 2008. have passport, will buy a ticket when they drop a little more.

I went to visit my then-boyfriend’s family and support him as him grandmother passed. Kind of a downer visit.

but she was very old and very sick, so it was not all terrible. I did get shown around, and had some great food. And met the extended family. which would have been better had he and I actually gotten married. but, no, that would not have been good at all.

i somehow convinced my parents to let me go on a road trip with two older friends to the west edmonton mall. it was educational: i got super drunk for the first time (on cheap vodka, no less!); also our campsite in edmonton was adjacent to a very horny couple. the mall was very cool, but was still a mall.

i was bourn here.

not that exciting but good if you go with some one you know. don’t go the mall, its just like every other mall. explore the place on your own and don’t go to touristy places. It’s all about creating memories in random places.

..and I’m not sure even many of the locals realize this. I had my worst customs experience ever here, because the guards would not believe I was visiting here other than business. Someone please tell Canada customs/douanes that there are people who want to visit Edmonton to just visit Edmonton! Thanks! :)

I had a lot of fun here, but compared to Calgary, which has a slightly more vibrant nightlife, there are a lot more great things to see by walking around randomly near the river/downtown than in Calgary. I never would have discovered the amount of great parks and isolated attractions. So if you’re going to Edmonton, you’ll have to be adventurous, but you will definitely be rewarded. It will obviously help if you know someone in the city, but that’s not a requirement if you have a drive on your own.

The most shocking thing was the beautifully designed ETS/LRT light rail! There aren’t too many lines, but the stations were lovely. But it seems it’s barely used. (Hey, if you guys could kick down some of that here to Seattle, that would be greatly appreciated!)

And Edmonton isn’t just about the frickin’ West Edmonton Mall! There are way too many shopping malls in downtown interconnected thought glass Ped-Ways as it is. I came here to see the city.

Whyte Ave and Jasper Ave are must-walks in the city, however.. especially the historic part on the west end/bend of Jasper, which is near the gateway to one of the riverside parks.

I could go on, but I’ll spend time uploading photos this weekend. In any case, thanks to all for the recommendations.

AND…

I got the see the Northern Lights! Not the Canadian pro-hunger-relief charity group from 1985, nor in Edmonton on the ground though. I saw them on the plane from Seattle to Edmonton somewhere over Jasper. It was incredibly trippy and something I’ll never forget. I’ll elaborate more when I write my entry for finishing that goal. :)

I discovered I wanted to be an actor while living out here. The theatre scene is great. I’m out here as I type this.

I bought my plane ticket recently, so I’m on my way!

This is kind of unfair… but I’m going here next week. :)

I just wanted to start on a good note.