Skiing in Canada

Patrick Canada, Sport

No, I haven’t been meaning to neglect this blog. I just decided that spending the weekend skiing was a better alternative to writing stuff up. Now that the long Easter weekend is over and I’m back in my hotel, I can afford a little time to write up about the weekend.

Lake Louise

I can’t really complain about that much, even with legs as sore as I have now, considering I’ve fit in two and a half days of skiing and I’ve only been in Canada for just over a week. With a ski package for Lake Louise conveniently booked via SkiLouise I was fortunate they still had rooms available for this Easter weekend. Despite three major ski areas located relatively close to Calgary (one to three hours away), it’s not as easy as you’d think to get to each of the ski areas from downtown Calgary with most of the transportation direct from the airport. None of the transportation is publicly owned, so I ended up booking transportation from my hotel to get to where I was staying through SunDog Tours.

More Lake Louise

Of the three major resorts I’m told are near Calgary (Banff, Lake Louise and Sunshine) I’m glad I went to Lake Louise. It helped that my old workmate, Suhail is based out there at the moment, helping me upgrade my stuff to a high performance kit and just helping me out on the slopes and around town. Staying at Lake Louise means that you’re also only about a five minute drive from the base of the mountain, unlike the longer forty minute drive from Banff with your trade off being less of a night life scene (not a big problem when I’ve only got two and half days to ski!). Suhail did give me a glimpse of the crazy antics that staff parties are known for, showing me “Chucktown”, the block of apartments he stays at hosting the hundreds of staff manning the slopes. In one way, it feels very much like an American college with 5 or so rooms to each apartment, in addition to a shared living space and bathrooms. Each building also has a large social common room well equipped with pool tables, football tables, stereos and TVs. Although the accommodation is pretty basic, the social scene more than makes up for it. It seems though that, with the way some people speak of it, becomes a little stifling at the tail end of six months.

Ultimate Steeps

Lake Louise claims to be one of the biggest single ski resort areas, and offers plenty for everyone although most of the trails appear much more suited for the more advanced skiers. One of the areas, aptly named the Ultimate Steeps (see above picture) show a series of double-black only trails with a single blue trail the only other alternative down that side of the mountain. Another big contrast was the huge number of trees on the slopes that I’ve seen. Apparently Lake Louise are much more lenient than other litigation-conscious North American ski resorts with many people heading off the trail to weave in and out of the trees.

Pat on the ski lift

I am thankful that the snow was much better than I was fearing (i.e. at least it was there) although for the first two days, it tended to be a little bit icier in the morning. Only just before the last day did the mountain get some fresh snowfall and with it, the lush softness only deep powder brings. As a result, after the first two days, I ended up extremely exhausted with that shin-splitting, leg straining tiredness you only seem to get with those unforgiving ski boots. All of it, of course, completely worth it.

Flights

Patrick Annoyances, Travel

I’m normally exceptionally tolerant of flying, especially of very long distances. I stock up on books, watch a couple of movies and listen to lots of music. Coupled with the meals, walking around, a bit of sleep and the trip, regardless of how long it is, seems to go by pretty quickly. I found out that having decent passengers sharing the same block of seats makes a huge difference, and as a result, my flight to Calgary had to be one of the worst ever.

I had the window seat and the misfortune of sitting next to one of the least respectful passengers I’ve ever flown with. Firstly, he smelt real bad to the point where I wanted to offer him some deoderant. Secondly, he was extremely wide, often invading what little space I already had. He was so big that his belly touched the table when it folded down and constantly squirmed at different angles to sit comfortably. The final straw was how he took it upon himself to use both arm rests to their fullest, and this will sound childish, crossing over into my chair space. Without knowing it, twice he changed my video channel (it was definitely on the wrong armrest), and once, triggered the attendant call.

Let’s just say that I was one happy bloke to get off into the fresh Calgary air.

Quick Update

Patrick UK Life

Saturday saw me use a Floatworks voucher that my sister gave me, entitling me to the one hour experience of floating in a pool of water. It’s a surreal experience and I’m glad that I didn’t suffer from the nausea that I know a few other people who’ve been had. Instead I noticed that my mind wandered all over the place, and I really don’t like stuffy closed spaces. You step into a pod of warm salty water, so salty in fact that by the end of it, you can feel some of the salt crystalised and need a shower to get it most of it off. I’m not sure if I’d go back although I’m glad I’d tried one out.

I also went out to Chiswick, or at least tried to, after a long attempt at riding a number of buses to arrive at a dinner that Stacey and Wes had organised with Gerrod and Kristy. I had a wonderful evening with them despite turning up almost an hour late, indulging in a fat and extremely tasty dover sole and hanging around with them at the Roebuck until closing time.

I attempted to pack for Canada only to realise that I hadn’t received some of the necessary paperwork I needed for my work permit. Almost panicking, I rushed into the office to gleefully find them sitting by the rest of the mail pile. Phew. In a way, I’ve been glad that this weekend has been slightly cold, dreary and rainy as I feel like I won’t be missing too much (just yet) when I leave.

I finished the weekend off with a brunch at the Blue Elephant that impressed me more when I first entered although I did leave extremely well satisfied.

Tomorrow I head off to Calgary for three months where I’m going to help out with a project for a while. I’m looking forward getting back to project delivery where I can refocus the lessons I’ve learned the last few months and apply them in my coaching and development interests.

Imli

Patrick Food, Restaurants, UK Life

I’d read a little bit about Imli in a few places and, for the most part, appeared to be a pretty good place to eat so we went along to this modern ‘tapas’ take on Indian cuisine. The restaurant isn’t massive, located in the heart of Soho and it looks extremely modern and clean. The menu is simple and split into the different types of meats and a separate section for vegetarian and other side dishes. They serve all of the curries with rice on the side. It was the first time that we’d all come here so the waiter first explained how the menu worked and the recommend of two to three dishes each, or the alternative of a set menu that sounded a bit more thali-like and less shareable.

We tried a huge variety of different dishes between the four of us, following the waiters advice. They served it in about three rounds, giving us some time to clear out the table although the end result still looked like a bomb had hit it. Next time, I wouldn’t follow the waiter’s advice, instead sticking to one or two dishes between everyone and then perhaps ordering more at the end if you’re still full. The combination between different types of dishes, lots of rice accompaniments (as part of the tapas plate) meant that the sheer volume of food defeated us. In one way, it’s not bad for money although we ended up wasting some of ours since we followed the waiter’s advice.

One huge disappointment and shocker for this restaurant is their policy with their “bottled” water. In a way, we’re partly to blame as we missed the not very obvious hints. We should have picked up on the first tip when they said that they don’t have sparkling water, and then then seen the second when they brought out their tiny “Imli” branded glass bottles with the rubber stoppers you push backwards. At £1.95 for, what looked like, a 400mL bottle of filtered water we were stunned when we received our bill four bottles later. The worst thing is that they didn’t even warn us about it when we hesitated at the first one.

I really wanted to like this place. The food is reasonably priced, fairly tasty and presented in a comfortable atmosphere to share with friends. I’m still left with a very bitter taste, one from the recommendation of ordering far too much food, and the second not being warned about the bottled water that I definitely don’t think is worth the price.

Details: Imli
Found at: 167-169 Wardour Street, Soho, London, W1F 8WR
Highlights: Small plates of Indian food perfect for sharing with a number of friends
Room for improvement: £1.95 for water you bottle yourself? Pfff.
The Kua Rating: 6 out of 10

Sound of Music

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Of all the musicals I’ve seen, I must rate the latest one showing at the Palladium as the best. Everything from the cast, the costumes, the full orchestra, set designs and succinctness add to its wonderful performance. Lasting about two and half hours including the intermission, I’m surprised that it still managed to fit in all the songs that I could remember (and then some).

For something that’s so widely known, it’s very hard not to compare it to the movie. The performers don’t really look the same, although they still put on the same amazing performance. I’m also glad that they cut scenes that repeat a number of songs, turning the four hour epic I seem to remember the movie taking into something a little bit more manageable on a school night. The original movie is amazing in its own way, and this stage production takes it to the same level in a slightly different way.

The scenes changes probably amazed me the most, with the basic stage transformed into the alps, outside gardens, and the abbey through a combination of floating stages, circular platforms and lots of props dropping from the ceiling. It all occurred so seamlessly that they were hardly noticeable.

TheKua.com Rating: 9 out of 10

Gods of Carnage

Patrick Entertainment, Theatre, UK Life

Gods of CarnageA new comedy act recently opened on the West End starring Ralph Fiennes and I was lucky enough to score a preview ticket on this Saturday just gone. As expected, it was a full house and so the laughter filled the entire theatre. The play, best described as a bit of a black comedy involves four actors and actresses on a very simple set and focused around the story of their children getting into a fight and all the craziness that ensues to resolve it.

Based on some of the topics covered and the amount of swearing, the writer obviously wrote this script relatively recently and at least seems to have some French origins although it also includes plenty of the classic understated British humour, focused on many suggestive hints and plenty of sarcastic comments.

We had perfectly centred seats that was close enough to see some of the very visual and physical parts of the comedy theatre without being too close to be covered by it (you have to go and see it to know what I mean). I’d highly recommend any people who have a sense of humour (or at least appreciate comedy) to go and see this if you’re seeing any West End show.

Spitalfields Taste Festival

Patrick Food, UK Life

After having dinner with Marc and Amanda last week, I noticed Spitalfields had a Taste festival this weekend. Less of a farmer’s market and more of a food festival with lots of samplers, Spitalfields appeared much busier than it normally is on a Saturday with a number of new stalls bolstering the handful of the normal ones just outside where Giraffe and Canteen sit.

Cooks on Stilts

A few street entertainers including a number of chefs on stilts, another juggling chef, kept the audience mildly amused by walking the small kids surrounding the small petting zoo. As I mentioned previously the food focused on selling sample wares from local restaurants. Everything appeared there from fresh scallops, mushroom risotto, ox heart burgers (of course provided by St John’s restaurant), and plenty of stalls to keep everyone happy. They even had a number of places offering free New Zealand lager and best of all, an organic cider place that proved perfect protection against the chills of the cold spring winds.

Scallops

I’d definitely go back to Taste next year, although I hope they put the central stage somewhere other than in the middle of the crowd where it effectively blocks all pedestrian traffic whenever a show is on.

The Crush

Patrick Travel, UK Life

I’ve been especially lucky in my two and a half years in London that my commute always seemed to be outside of peak hours, or at least, I could travel during peak hours on alternatives other than the tube. This means I’ve been able to walk to wherever my client or office is, or I’d be travelling much earlier/later than the majority of London.

The last week has seen me brave the central line at peak times. I’m a big fan of the central line – it tends to be fast, frequent and have the least number of delays (which is easy compared to the district or circle lines I used to depend on). Its other major advantage (often duel playing as a disadvantage) is that, like its name, the line cuts straight through the middle of London. It spans all the way out west, through the west end, continuing on to the city and further east. Combine this with its speed and you can literally fly through London, that is, if you can get on.

I’ve learned that if I catch the central line any time between 5:30pm and 6:30pm, it’s best to know what side you want to get off, and stay close to the exit. When people get on and off at places like Oxford Circus and Holborn, people don’t really hesitate to fill any space they can see, or even simply think there is. Others may shuffle at some point to free some breathing space, though it’s guaranteed to be packed. To be honest, it feels extremely claustrophobic and I find it difficult to remain perfectly polite when you’re trying to exit without stepping on anyone’s toes, or bumping into anyone else’s body.

Of course, this is all a part of living in a big city like London and I knew it was bound to happen. At least I haven’t had the experience of the entire tube station shutting down because of the sheer number of commuters overwhelming the station capacity.