Canadian Rockies

On Friday, we had an early start as Matt dropped me off at the airport so I could catch the shuttle bus up to Banff, in the Rocky Mountains which is about 90 minutes away. I had booked on an afternoon tour out of Banff to Lake Louise and Johnson Canyon. The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. Five national parks are located within the Canadian Rockies, four of which interlock and make up the Canadia Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site - including Banff.

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Canadian Rockies. The park is 180km west of Calgary in the province of Alberta and encompasses 6640 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers, ice fields, dense coniferous forest and alpine landscapes. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff in the Bow River Valley. After arriving in Banff I took a walk around the town centre, and part of the national park. There is much wildlife in the park, and I stumbled across some Elk just hanging out by the Bow River. The landscape is just incredible, and the pictures certainly don't do it justice.

First stop on my Rocky Mountain tour was Lake Louise. Lake Louise is a small village located 54 kilometres west of the Banff townsite, is home to the landmark Chateau Lake Louise at the edge of Lake Louise. The original Chateau was gradually built up at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century by the Canadian Pacific Railway as a vacation destination to lure moneyed travellers into taking trains and heading west. It has since had many renovations and additions, and is now a fully operational Hotel open all year round. The picturesque location on the edge of the Lake provides and idyllic backdrop for visitors and hotel guests.

Second stop on the tour, was Johnston Canyon. The Canyon is a popular hiking trail which follows the gorges and the Ink Pots (a series of ink-coloured spring ponds). Johnston Creek forms part of the Canyon and originates in the glacial valleys of the Banff National Park at the feet of Cascade Mountain, and flows through a series of gorges to the confluence with Bow River. The Canyon was looking especially beautiful at this time of year, as the Ink Pots start the melt, and the creek flows underneath the melting ice. The colour of the water really is indescribable, and given the recent snow, we had to wear spikes to hike the track to the Cascade Waterfalls.

After my tour, I met up with Matt and Sherry who had driven up from Calgary after they had finished work, and we met a drink at the Fairmont Hotel in Banff. We then had an excellent dinner at the Maple Leaf before driving back down to Calgary.

My final morning in Canada, and what better way to spend it than having a true Canadian style diner breakfast. We stood out in the cold 6 degree morning (yet warmest it’s been all week) to wait for a table at Diner Deluxe. And it was well worth the wait after I saw the menu – it was so hard to chose! After much deliberation about the bacon stuffed French toast, I decided on the potato pancake with double smoked pork chop. And before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to Matt and Sherry. A great but snowy and cold trip to Calgary.

Calgary, AB, Canada

I arrived very late on Tuesday night into Calgary and was met by... snow! Snow in April! For those who don't know, Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, approximately 80 km's east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. And being located to close to the mountains, comes the unpredictable weather! Matt was kind enough to pick me up from the airport, and we headed back to his place for some much needed sleep.

On Wednesday, I had a lovely sleep in and leisurely start to the day. Just the way a birthday should be! I then caught a taxi into downtown Calgary, and spent the afternoon exploring the city. Matt works in one of the office towers in downtown Calgary, so I briefly met with him for a quick rundown of the city and then headed off to explore it all myself. Basically you can get around downtown using the +15, which allows you to get from building to building without going outside. Considering is was -4, that was a good thing! After a walk around the shops, and braving the cold to get some great snow photos, I then met up with Matt who had finished work, and we headed to his old work, The Tribune, for a glass of birthday bubbles. The Tribune is a beautiful restaurant/bar on Stephen Avenue. After that we headed to a cowboy bar, for my first truly Canadian experience. Matt ordered me a “Caesar” – a Calgary originated Canadian cocktail. I’m glad he didn’t tell me what it contained before I drank it... it’s kind of like a Bloody Mary, except that instead of tomato juice, they use something called “clamato” juice. Basically clams and tomatoes blended together... ewww! But, surprisingly tasty when you don’t know what it is! Here I am at the Palomino Cowboy bar with my first Caesar.

After the Palomino, we picked Sherry up and headed to the Laurier Lounge for my birthday dinner. One of the guys that Matt worked with at the Tribute now owns the Laurier Lounge so we were well looked after. We had some very yummy tapas and wine. And Sherry bought birthday cupcakes from a bakery near her work for dessert when we got home. A lovely birthday spent in the snow with friends!

On Thursday I had another great sleep in and leisurely start to the day. Again I caught a taxi downtown and met up with Matt when he finished work. We then went for a drive out to COP – the Calagary Olympic Park. The park is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public. During the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 the Park was the primary venue for ski jumping, bobsleigh and luge. These facilities are still maintained for training and competitve purposes. In the winer the park is also used for downhill skiing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing. After this we made a stop in a Bowness Park, one of Calgary's most popular parks for picnics in the summer and ice skating on the frozen lagoon in winter.

After arriving home, and with the snow starting the melt, Matt and I took the opportunity to make a snowman in the front yard.... complete with snowman making kit!

Whirlwind Stop in New York

Four days might not sound like a whirlwind stop, but when you are talking about New York City, it is! I met up with Jacqui at JFK after flying in from Orlando, and we headed to our cute boutique hotel in downtown Manhattan – Hotel Giraffe. By the time we arrived, unpacked and got organised it was already late afternoon and we had dinner booked for Nobu at 6.30pm. Nobu was as good as always, never a disappointment! On Saturday we got ready with the intent of having breakfast/brunch at Pastis, but upon discovering one of our favourite places, Le Pain, only a few blocks again we succumb to it! You just can’t go past their organic mint lemonade. After breakfast we stopped in a Filene’s Basement on 6th Ave, and then headed to Soho, namely Bleecker St. We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting some of our favourite places, and to even my surprise, I walked out of Marc Jacobs bagless! Needless to say, I had acquired a bag or 2 already! We then walked from Bleecker down to Soho, and by 6pm our feet needed some rest. We intended to have dinner at Lombardi’s pizza, but when we saw the line, we chose another pizzeria nearby and then trekked back, with shopping bags in tow, to the hotel.

On Sunday we had an early start, as we were heading out to Woodbury Common, the biggest outlet centre in the world located about an hour outside of New York. We had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and caught a taxi to the Port Authority at 42nd St where the bus departed from. The outlets have gotten even bigger since we were there 2 years ago. We arrived just as they opened at 10am, and put in a very solid effort, catching the 7pm bus home.... a very long day but well worth all the bargains we found! Needless to say, we crashed pretty soon after getting home. On Monday we decided to try out breakfast as a cute little French Cafe we had walked past earlier in the week, and is was a good decision. The French Roast is now another place we can add to the very short list in the US who can make a good and proper espresso coffee. A great discovery. After breakfast we caught the subway to the Upper East Side to spend some time on 5th and Madison Avenues. We had lunch at the cafe inside DKNY and checked out the massive shoe department in Saks on 5th Ave. Would you believe it’s so big, it even has its own postcode! By Monday afternoon our feet were truly starting to feel the pain of pounding the pavement for 3 days straight so we decided to find somewhere close to home for dinner. We found a quiet little diner just 2 blocks from the hotel, which our feet definitely appreciated!

And before we knew it, Tuesday had come around and it was time for me to head to Canada.... see I told you it was a whirlwind trip to New York! As a final New York experience, we had breakfast at the famed Balthazar in Soho, but unforetunately it did not live up to expectations whatsoever. Next time we'll be sticking to Le Pain. So a few bags heavier, I flew via Toronto to visit Matt and Sherry in Calgary.

Worldwide Franchise Convention

Well it’s been a massive 4 days! The convention is unlike anything else I’ve ever experience in McDonald’s. Over 700 sq feet of exhibits and displays... I didn’t even get to see everything in the 4 days! After arriving late on Sunday night, we had a bit of sleep in before heading across to the Orange County Convention Centre. We are staying at the JW Marriott Hotel at Grande Lakes, and it is a very nice hotel, albeit in the middle of nowhere!

Arriving after lunch meant we had missed the opening global session, so we spent the afternoon wandering around the equipment section. All of the different suppliers from around the globe had an exhibition stand with the latest and greatest equipment technology they had developed for McDonald’s. Some of the interesting things were the accu-salt dispenser, 3 platen grill, rapid toaster for muffins and pre-cracked egg holders. We were also able to try a few different products from around the world. In the middle of all the exhibits, they had set up a 4 kitchen, 16 line production centre to feed convention goers all day long. Each kitchen was staffed by a different country from around the world, and each day they would serve 3 menu items and fries from around the world. They would also sample McCafe beverages and desserts... and yes this was all free!! I have never seen so much food and drink on offer before! As well as this massive McDonald’s kitchen platform, there were also 9 different buffets, dessert kiosks and beverages practically around every corner! Food overload.

On Tuesday we attended the second global session where Ralph Alverez, Worldwide Chief Operations Officer gave an update on how the system has been performing globally since the last worldwide convention in 2006. Amazingly since 2006 McDonald’s has made more than 63 billions dollars in revenue... and any guesses for how much Australia represents?? Just over the 3 billion mark. Makes us seem pretty insignificant in the scheme of things! After this session I met up with the McOpCo franchise consultants and we spent some time exploring the CSO and People interactive exhibits. The afternoon was followed by a business session for APMEA – of which Australia is a part of. (Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa). On Tuesday night we had a QLD Licensee dinner at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney. It was a great night with some great entertainment courtesy of the Blues Brothers. This was followed by drinks in the Hospitality Suite back at the Australian Hotel. Trust the Aussie’s to put on drinks every night following “official” functions!

On Wednesday I spent some time exploring the Supply Chain, Promotions and Marketing, Decor and Design and Profit areas. It was good to just wander around all the different exhibits and take it all in. That night we had an Australian/New Zealand/South Africa cocktail reception at the hotel. Followed again by the hospitality suite! On the final day, Robyn and I made a quick trip out to the Premium Outlets which were about 10 minutes away. We spent about 2 hours checking out the shops, and I did a good job of saving myself for New York! I only made 2 purchases. Then I met Rod and Gary at the convention centre, and we spent the afternoon exploring the Innovation section. McDonald’s have designed what they call “d10” – destination 2010; the store of the future. We had seen virtual presentations of which this store might look like in Australia before, but here at the convention they had a full “d10” store set up on the floor. It is a reverse line, modular Made-For-You kitchen, based on something they call a “hub and spoke” platform. Basically, it has been designed to add or take away kitchen sections based on the needs of the restaurant. The service area no longer has “queues”, but customers can order either for a kiosk, or front counter service point. They then move across to the “pick up” zone and wait for their number to come up. As a reverse line MFY kitchen, customers can also clearly see their food being prepared. McDonald’s are aiming to be more transparent to customers with product preparation. Food is initiated at multiple points within the kitchen, and fed back down under the line on a conveyor belt. At the fry station, they have developed an automatic salting machine. Basically you drain the fries and tip them onto a ledge next to the fry station, salt is dispensed onto them and they are the automatically dumped into the fry bagging tray. The rapid steamer is now an installment on the actual line. It is two raised circular mesh plates and the buns in placed directly on to it, with the clam over the top. It steams in under 5 seconds! They have also optimised products on the line to increase holding times in the UHC, and to allow preheated hotcakes to be also held in the UHC. The final part of the “d10” platform is fast forward drive thru. This is where parking bays are eliminated, and in line with the modular equipment station set up of the kitchen, there are now 2 present booths. The cashier will now also act as a presenter for small orders that are ready immediately. For larger orders cars will proceed to the following window to pick their items up. The car behind can then pull out around them, and not get stuck in the drive-thru. The next initiative in development is “dial & deliver drive-thru” where customer place an order before arriving, and park in a special order delivery bay, and their order is delivered upon arrival! What will they think of next!

The final part of the week, was a worldwide reception on Thursday night back at the convention centre... with special guest Rod Stewart. He put on a 90 minute show including his most well known songs. A great way to finish the week in Orlando. Now New York here I come!