Heading back to Calgary

[TheCommodoreAfro]

Sort of a backwards situation. See, I've been here in Japan for enough time that I haven't been back to Calgary in almost 4 years. My sis is getting married in September so I'm bringing the family and myself out for a visit. Just enough time to have missed the entire oil boom, and the recent influx of people. My question is one in reverse to a lot of the "going abroad" topics you find here on the Off Topic thread. See, I know Calgary from five years ago, and have a list of places to go and things to do/see while I'm there. But I also know that it's changed a bunch since. And since I have about two weeks to explore I was wondering what are some of the new things to do in town, and wanted to get feedback from folks here. As a guide, I'm looking specifically for places to:
> eat
> drink (though I'm with the family, I am going out)
> buy shoes (I'm not a huge guy, but you can't find a size 10.5-11 shoe here in a style you like). This includes clothing, but I'm not too sure I need much help with this.
> Entertainment (especially for someone who has a young family who may get tired of associating with relatives)

Basically anything you recommend that's interesting or noteworthy from the past four-five years in Calgary.

[burn_baby_burn]

Things have changed. But they havn't changed that much. The biggest change will be driving downtown with all the construction. Other than that you won't notice a massive differance.

[tvp2003]

I left Calgary in the fall of 2003 and returned in the summer of 2006. A few comments which should not be surprising if you're a frequent visitor to this board:

1. City has grown a lot, particularly out in the suburbs. Lots of new houses and new, understaffed commercial developments. Which leads me to number 2:

2. Labour shortages means that many service industries are understaffed (read: crappy service, if you receive any service at all).

3. I would say traffic is worse, but I didn't drive much before 2003 and don't drive much now so it's hard to say. Transit is definitely busy; glad I rarely have to take the C-Train.

Enjoy and welcome back!

[FireFly]

You should shop at Town Shoes. They have the best shoes. There's one in Chinook and one in Eaton Centre. Chinook is undergoing construction and their parking lot sucks right now, though.

[troutman]

Hurry up - the best places are getting shut down - King Eddy, Regis, St. Louis, Cecil . . .

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

2. Labour shortages means that many service industries are understaffed (read: crappy service, if you receive any service at all).

Excellent point. Service has become a joke all over the province. Allthough it has gotten slightly better. 2006 was really, really, really, bad.

[spydermal]

Food begins and ends with Peters!

[Rubber Ducky]

TheCommodoreAfro - I was living in Tokyo for a couple of years, and when I came back, I was interested to see how much hadn't really changed. Sure, some places came and some places went, but by and by, I don't think there's been tons of changes.

The one really big change is the amount of traffic on city streets. Deerfoot is a parking lot daily during rush hour. It absolutely triples or quadruples your transit time if you have to go north to south, or south to north. Traffic is pretty much a nightmare during peak times anywhere in this city. Ugh.

[4X4]

I think the only thing you'll really notice that has changed over the past 5 years is all the new condo buildings and road widenings/interchanges.
All your questions about entertainment and places to eat are still a crapshoot. Good Italian food can be consumed at Boccavino's on center street.