U2 360 in Edmonton ...

On Wednesday afternoon, C and I drove to Edmonton, Alberta's capital city to see U2 playing on their 360 tour.  Of course, I've always enjoyed the music of U2 but they have never been on my music concert bucket list, but they should have been.  It was quite simply, amazing.  I'd never been to a concert so big (60,000) or so theatrical.  The stage was like something from out of space and the images on the big screen complemented the band on the stage very well.  And Bono.  Well, what sex appeal!  He had the crowd eating out of his hand as he sang and strutted his way around the stage.  It was an amazing experience.

Support act, The Fray, play in the daylight

Bono on the stage and on the big screen

The big screen fully extended

The dismantling of the stage

A visit to China ...

Okay, I'm struggling to contain my excitement here.  Because ... I'm going back to China!  C is visiting Shanghai for business in the first week of July (he goes twice a year) and I happen to have that week off, so I decided to join him.  As I have written about before, I really miss China, so I'm super excited about heading back there to visit friends and enjoy the things that I miss so much about China.  Unfortunately, most international schools will have finished for the year, meaning that many of my teacher friends will have already departed for a summer holiday in their homeland, but my Chinese friends and several other expat friends will still be around.  I'm also excited to share a Chinese experience with C since it is how we first got chatting when we met a year ago.  Here are the things I'm looking forward to:

Massages ... every day.

Visiting the tailor and getting a new wardrobe made.

Eating street food.

Showing C my 'home city' of Wuxi.

Catching up with Ashley, my old work colleague and dear friend from Melbourne.

Catching up with my Chinese friends (and hoping that they'll take me to some secret shopping and eating destinations in Shanghai!)

Catching up with Wuxi friends, Peter and Virginia (and meeting their baby, Senne) and any others who might be around.

Shopping at the Hongqiao Pearl Market.

Shopping for DVDs.

Eating at Uberfood.

Eating real Chinese food.

The Lilac Festival ...

The sun finally came out on the weekend and to celebrate, we headed to the Lilac Festival on Sunday.  There were no lilacs to be found, but plenty of stalls for a wide range of interests - everything from hippy clothes to local parliamentarians.  Bands played all along the street in beer gardens outside pubs, but we avoided these as we were at the festival with a young family, and I'm having an alcohol free month.  Perhaps the most common stalls were pet related, which worked perfectly well for me in my bid to convince C that a puppy would be a good addition to our lives!  We also stumbled across an Aussie Rules stall, promoting the game in Calgary.  As it turns out, the AFL scene is alive and kicking in Calgary (even if there is nowhere to go to watch a game on a big screen) with several teams in action, including a few teams for women.  After a while, however, all the stalls seemed to be promoting the same wares, so we headed out of the crowds and back to C's house for an afternoon of lazing in the sun on the deck.

A drumming circle

AFL stand!

Dog watering hole

Blues band

The spring rain has arrived ...

 

 

 

This is me on my way to work in spring - ski jacket, cap and gumboots!

May and June are typically rainy months here in Calgary (unfortunately, last year, someone forgot to tell the weather gods that July and August are not meant to be rainy as well!).  We've been spoilt the last few weeks with lots of sunshine and warm weather.  However, four days ago, the rain arrived and it has been our constant companion ever since.  The rivers are raging and there is flooding all over the city.  Thank goodness I bought my lovely Hunter gumboots to splash about in!  C and I were hoping to do our first hike of the season this weekend, but in this weather?  I think not.  Instead, it'll be an open fire, a pot of tea and a good book!

A stroll along Gonzales beach ...

As I mentioned yesterday, Victoria is a great city.  In fact, it is the city I'd most like to live in, given the choice of Canadian cities.  It reminds me a lot of Hobart (small, close to the water, filled with quaint old buildings) and has the added advantage of being close to Vancouver (for flights to Australia!), in amongst the Gulf Islands and close to the US (hang on, is that an advantage?!).  There are so many great neighbourhoods, all close by to the water and downtown.  C and I spent Sunday afternoon driving through my favourite neighbourhood, Oak Bay (think big old homes with beautiful established gardens and water views).  We stopped at a small beach, Gonzales beach, and got out for a stroll.  As we walked, we watched kayakers enjoying their time on the water, sea lions enjoying their time in the water and dogs enjoying their time on the sand.  Hmmm, I could easily live here!

A visit to the bog ...

Enjoy your visit to the bog!

 

On the long weekend, C and I travelled to Victoria to help his parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  Victoria is a terrific city because everything is so close to the water and to downtown.  His parents live about 15 minutes out of the city, right next to Rithet's Bog.  Which I found quite funny given that 'bog' is a slang word used (albeit infrequently) for 'toilet' in Australia.  I giggled when C's mother suggested a walk around the bog.  But, it was a very pleasant 45 minute stroll, looking at the wildlife, plant life and neighbouring homes, all while listening to stories of cougar sightings in the area and the most horrifying story of a woman being sucked into the bog.  That certainly made me stay on the path!

 

The bog

A tent caterpillar

The boggy bog

A disappointed duck ... we didn't have any food for him

Having a peaceful paddle

An eventful but slow blogging week ...

C's homemade birthday cake - wholewheat, low cholesterol chocolate cake with raspberry coconut icing ... mmmm!!

This week has been an eventful one.  On Monday, it was C's birthday, so I took him on a bike riding adventure along the Bow river and then to a famous steakhouse for dinner.  On Tuesday evening, I drove myself to the emergency department of the Oilfields General Hospital (yes, this is oil country as well as cowboy country) with an incredibly painful stomach.  There, I spent 7 hours being prodded and poked and finally hooked up to an IV drip.  The problem?  Pancreatitis due to dehydration caused by too much wine and green tea.  Just a little embarrassing.  Wednesday bought my first ever parent teacher interview on the other side of the table.  Kind of weird considering I don't actually have any children of my own.  Wednesday also bought the tragic death of a much loved polo pony here on the ranch.  Thursday was a day of rest for me, given that the family have disappeared to Salt Spring Island for an extended long weekend.  I spent most of the day getting over my illness, with a little help from endless episodes of Sex And The City.  Today, I finally roused myself to begin my second university assignment.  And tomorrow, I head off to Victoria for the long weekend with C where we will be celebrating his parents' 50th wedding anniversary (sans the champagne for me!).  Here's hoping that next week isn't quite so eventful ... or painful.