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Calgary City View B&B Between Prairies and Rockies |
   
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Originally from Quebec, Micheline is spontaneous and has retained that fresh amateur spirit. Life abounds at Calgary City View Bed and Breakfast and you immediately feel welcomed and at ease. A nurse for many years, Micheline has traveled the world from Alaska to Brazil, including Europe and Malaysia. She loves challenges and is quite successful at them.
Her villa, atop the small hill, is magnificently located; with a view of both the downtown skyscrapers and the Rocky Mountains about 2 hours away by car. Very bright thanks to large bay windows, without excessive decor, you can tell Micheline lives in her B&B. The computer is open and connected in the living room, and there is also this grand piano that catches my eye. A magnificent sunset coming from the Rockies floods the plain and the city. Just opposite is the famous Stampede where rodeos take place.
With Eric, her son, Micheline often goes for rides on their big Harley Davidson-style motorcycles. Eric works at the Hyatt hotel downtown. Calgary reminds me of Tucson in Arizona, a city experiencing rapid growth, with new buildings and vast flatlands all around. The weather is almost always good here, unlike Vancouver which gets more rain and Quebec where it snows for much of the winter.
Near downtown, Chinatown is the liveliest area and this is where we entered the city. Mr. Dobie To, whom we met upon our arrival, courteously directed us to Dragon City Plaza where, on the 3rd floor, we could access a Chinese cultural center to check our emails.
After several trips back and forth in this shopping center that came straight from Hong Kong, we came across Patricia Lam, vice-president of the Hoy Sun Assoc. of Calgary, which brings together immigrants from Hong Kong and China. Despite the closing hour, she kindly allowed us to use the computers.
Bragg Creek, a small village located southwest of Calgary, is the perfect spot for hiking and fly fishing. The Valley, with its prairies, woods, and river, plunges us into the atmosphere of pioneers and gold seekers. Should they have continued with their wagons or stopped? After so many miles and efforts across the great plains, the settlers must have been at their wit's end, and then this chain of the Rocky Mountains, the last obstacle before the Pacific Ocean.
The Tsuu T'ina natives were still in control, the bison numbered in the tens of thousands, and coexistence with other tribes was good. The Tsuu Tina are now on "Native Land" reserves where at majority, they receive $60,000 CAD, the guilty money of the white people which might not change much.
To the right of the road, the white Canada where construction is booming, and to the left the reserve where everything seems to be in waiting. Straight ahead is the road to Banff in the Rockies. A small tourist town funded by Japanese capital. This road will lead us to Revelstoke and Green Gables Loft B&B run by Gundy Baty.
Calgary City View B&B, Micheline Boisvert, Calgary, Alberta, Canada - Map 
Former resort hotel with a garden on the banks of the Allier, L'Étoile Guesthouse is located in La Bastide-Puylaurent, nestled between Lozère, Ardèche, and the Cévennes in the mountains of Southern France. Positioned at the crossroads of GR®7, GR®70 Chemin Stevenson, GR®72, GR®700 Voie Régordane (Saint Gilles), GR®470 Sources and Gorges of the Allier, GRP® Cévenol, Montagne Ardéchoise, and Margeride. It offers numerous loop routes for hiking and day-long cycling excursions. Ideal for a relaxing stay.
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