“I think I can see cats” I say to my fellow travelling companions who are all similarly spaced out from the flight that we have just taken from Sydney to Edmonton. We had endured a 15 hour airline flight only to board another flight and by the end of the day we would have been up for over 24 hours. Still, there’s nothing like a Canadian welcome to help you stay awake.
I decided that the best way to beat the already too long Sydney Winter weather was to head north like the geese (or was that south? Oh well I could never fly anyway). And heading North meant another visit to one of my favourite destinations, Canada. I had previously visited Montreal, Quebec and Vancouver but this time I was destined for Edmonton and Jasper. I think that you could play spot the tourist quite easily with us in Canada. The non Canadians are the ones looking the wrong way and driving on the wrong side of the road. They’re also the ones that are stopping with excitement when they see two deer frolicking on the roadside.
Yes on the way to Jasper deer on the roadside is a common occurrence (and sadly I didn’t have camera at the ready to capture them). We take the four hour drive from Edmonton to Jasper, the beautiful mountainside area just south west of Edmonton. Built within a national park they can only have a maximum of 10,000 residents living there and each one has to earn the right to reside there. Only people that work in Jasper can live in Jasper ensuring that there aren’t empty holiday houses there during the year. At the moment there are 4,500 residents and 39 restaurants which means that there is one restaurant per 116 residents!
Jasper is a pretty town and the buildings remind us of European towns. Little boutique shops sell a variety of things and seeing the temperature has lowered quite a few degrees, I am glad that I bought my coat!
We alight the bus and are chomping at the bit to go shopping but lunch calls and we head into Earls on the Rockies which has a first floor restaurant and patio area that faces right onto The Rockies and the township below. The menu is large and I have a little trouble deciding what to order but I go for an entree and a main regretting the fact that we don’t have time to try any of the desserts (the campfire s’mores were calling to me).
Leroy’s Crispy Dry Ribs coarse salt and cracked pepper $9.75
I tried these as I had read about them but the little pieces of crispy dry ribs were a little too dry for me. I know it says dry but I thought a fattier cut of pork rib would have been better to use for this to give them a balance between juicy and dry.
Grilled Chicken and Baked Brie Ciabatta $13.50
The grilled chicken and baked brie sandwich is delicious. The chicken breast grilled and thick and the baked brie, fig jam and slices of fresh apple giving it a sweet freshness. It comes with a load of chips and sauce.
Lois Lake Cedar Planked Salmon with Yogurt Dill Sauce fresh dill, yogurt, salt and pepper, brown basmati rice and seasonal vegetables $23.00
I was trying to be healthy so I ordered the salmon which is served with a yogurt dill sauce, kipfler potatoes and roasted carrots. The salmon was a little overcooked, I do like it only just cooked through or even slightly underdone but the potatoes and carrots were well cooked and seasoned. I wasn’t a huge fan of the yogurt sauce on the salmon, usually I do like yogurt sauces but I didn’t feel that this went well with it and the salmon would have benefited from just the fresh dill and lemon.
The Italia pizza $15
Los Cabos Chicken Tacos $11.00
Now by this stage I don’t really know my fellow travellers and journalists as we have just met so I’m not ballsy enough to ask them to try their food. But give me time… 
Champagne Berry and Spinach Salad with Grilled Chicken $15.75
Hunan Kung Pao $13
The view from the balcony at Earls Jasper
We are dying to have a wander around the gorgeous little town to see what they have to offer. We pass plenty of charming shops (backed by a stunning mountain backdrop) where we take a peek inside.
And what do we have here? Why cookie cutters!
I think I will definitely have to buy you Mr Moose!
And I know Mr NQN will love some chocolate elk, beaver, sheep and wolf “droppings”
Some gorgeous clothing (vintage and new) at Tea Leaf boutique
Oh hello there! A big horned sheep
Because I had managed to lose my voice the lovely Sam offered to be my interpreter as I wanted to visit a few places and do some shopping and people tend to look at your strangely if you whisper hoarse things to them. We walked into the Patricia Street deli which was voted the number 1 place to eat in Jasper according to Tripadvisor. Inside it doesn’t look like your typical Australian/Italian/European deli but there is one thing in common-a delicious smell. We watch as a queue of people who are eagerly queuing up for a bespoke sandwich of their choice.
They are known for their rotisserie chicken so I wanted to try a roll with this chicken but with whatever else they recommended. Jeanette who owns and runs the deli and along with her husband Glen asked me if there was anything on the menu list on the chalkboard above that I didn’t like and there wasn’t so they made me a fresh sandwich. I spied two trays of freshly baked chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies and ordered some for good measure (research luvvies, research!) and then spy some girl scout cookies and get excited. I know it mustn’t be exciting for Canadians or Americans but I recall seeing those on my favourite tv shows growing up and I always wondered what they were like so I buy those too for good measure.
Chicken sandwich $7.50
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