My wife and I have had a string of bad luck with our plans for recent anniversaries and our respective 50th birthdays. Ever the optimist, when a week’s trip to the Okanagan to celebrate her 50th fell through on account of the health of a close friend, we put together a quick three day visit to Calgary because even in tough times you have to find a way to celebrate.

Calgary has quickly become a favourite city for the two of us since moving to Saskatoon. It’s a reasonable 6+ hour drive, we’ve found a favourite hotel, and over a number of visits we’ve found a collection of favourite restaurants and bars to fill a weekend. On top of that list is Native Tongues, where an early meal during their happy hour lets you order the delightfully named “snackarita” that saves you money to buy even more of their amazing tacos. Hands down so far, this is our favourite restaurant in the city.

As this was a celebration of my wife’s 50th, the weekend in Calgary was tailored to her wishes. One “must visit” for her was the Central Library and its stunning architecture. We both fell in love with the central library in Halifax that was like a second living room for us when we lived there. If we lived in Calgary, this library would be a frequent hangout for both of us.

No trip with my wife is complete without some gluten free food stops. Heaven was a new to us restaurant that quickly became a favourite for their empanadas and arepas. This place was so good that we ordered takeout later in the trip when we were enjoying hotel cocktails so much that we decided to stay in for the evening. This place is now on our permanent must-visit list for Calgary.

One other gluten free highlight was this fried chicken from CHIX Eggstop. While my wife is usually the gluten free detective when making our travel plans, this was a find from me that earned me some brownie points as we dug into this plate of deliciousness!

If my wife is choosing the itinerary, then a zoo will always be on the list. The Calgary Zoo made for a lovely morning without the crowds and a lot of close up time with many of their star animals.

While all of those activities were lovely, what came to be the main attraction and core memory of this trip were the cocktail bars and cocktails we enjoyed on this visit. First was the happy hour at Proof cocktail bar with its dangerously priced drinks that were so good we visited twice.

Our downtown hotel’s bar was a hangout one evening after a few of those cocktails at Proof. They whipped up a couple classic cocktails for us. There’s something about a hotel bar and an Old Fashioned with my wife that makes my heart sing!

Through all of the cocktails, the absolute star of the trip was Shelter. On a tip from a server at our favourite Saskatoon restaurant a week before our trip, we visited this bar for its happy hour and were blown away. The bartender had a conversation with us about our likes and whipped up a few “one of a kind” cocktails for us that were stunning. We still talk about this place a year after we visited and it will be the cornerstone of our next visit to Calgary… hopefully in the not too distant future.