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CA3383

Calgary, Canada

Front garden.

Front garden.

Living room

Living room

One of the children's bedrooms with loft bed

One of the children's bedrooms with loft bed

View from back of house looking north west (city centre in the background)

View from back of house looking north west (city centre in the background)

Back view of our house

Back view of our house

Second children's bedroom

Second children's bedroom

Downstairs nook

Downstairs nook

8 Passenger van with 4 bike rack

8 Passenger van with 4 bike rack

Calgary zoo

Calgary zoo

Master bedroom

Master bedroom

Downstairs kitchen

Downstairs kitchen

front verandah

front verandah

View from back of house looking south west

View from back of house looking south west

Kitchen

Kitchen

Each child's bedroom has an associated bathroom

Each child's bedroom has an associated bathroom

Downstairs bedroom with queen bed

Downstairs bedroom with queen bed

Eating nook

Eating nook

front garden

front garden

Heritage Park Historical Village

Heritage Park Historical Village

Master bedroom ensuite and walk-in closet

Master bedroom ensuite and walk-in closet

Office

Office

Bronze

Member since

2011


Open for exchange
Exchange dates Duration
April 01, 2024 - April 26, 2024 4 weeks

We will be travelling for 4+ weeks and are looking for a place to stay in Italy for 2 weeks out of 4. Exchange partners will have access to our Calgary house for the full 4 weeks.

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House in Calgary, Canada

Our home is located on a quiet street in the south east Calgary suburb of McKenzie Lake. Our back yard backs onto Fish Creek Provincial Park and the Bow River. A bike/walking path runs right outside our back gate. We have a sunny east-facing verandah from which to enjoy a morning coffee and from the west-facing deck off our greatroom we have a panoramic view of the Bow River, Fish Creek Park, the city and the Rocky Mountains.

On the second floor of our house we have two single bedrooms, one with twin bunk beds, and a master bedroom. The master bedroom has a king sized bed, 4 piece ensuite bathroom and a walk-in closet. Each single bedroom has an adjacent bathroom. The main level consists of a mudroom/laundry, office/piano room, and greatroom (kitchen/dining room/living room).

Our basement is a walk-out basement with west facing, full-height windows. The basement has a bedroom with a double bed, a 3 piece bathroom, a kitchenette (sink, microwave, and eating counter), and an alcove that can be used for a second bedroom or a lounge area.

We have an automatic transmission, eight passenger, Toyota Sienna van with transportation box on the roof and a bike rack that carries 4 bikes, a manual transmission, four-door VW Rabbit (Golf) hatchback, and an automatic transmission, four-door Mazda 3 sedan. We also have a four person tent and a one person pup-tent and some camping equipment that can be used.

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Our Family

  • 2 Adults
  • 2 Children
  • 2 Exchanges made

Occupation

  • Engineer.
  • Retired

Our Home

  • House Type: House
  • Environment: In the suburbs
  • Bedrooms: 4
  • Bathrooms: 5
  • Sleeping Capacity: 8

References

In my house

  • Pets - Not allowed
  • Small children - Allowed

Exchange Types

  • Home exchange

Indoor

  • Free internet access
  • Computer available
  • Central heating
  • Fireplace
  • Washing machine
  • Dishwasher
  • Clothes dryer
  • Television

Outdoor

  • Garden
  • Balcony
  • Park / playground
  • Garage
  • Bicycles: 6

Facilities

  • No smoking
  • Use/Exchange of car

Our Destination Wish List

  • Open to any destination
  • Italy

Spoken Languages

  • English
  • Français

Our Neighbourhood

Calgary is a destination for outdoor activities, with a wealth of natural and historical sites in the surrounding area.

Hiking and Biking

Calgary features around 700 km of bike and pedestrian pathways connecting every part of the city. We have a total of 3 road bicycles and 2 mountain bicycles available for use.
The house is located on the eastern edge of Fish Creek Provincial Park, which extends across the city. From our doorstep, you can explore a network of pathways through the riverside valley to the forested slopes in the west. By bicycle, the trip across the park takes 1 hour each way. There are multiple rest stops through the park that can be used for picnicking.

Other notable areas for walking within the city are Weaselhead Park, Nose Hill Park and Glenbow Ranch, located to the north. The Weaselhead is a wetland area home to birds and the occasional bear, while Nose Hill and Glenbow Ranch both offer stunning paths through the native prairie grasslands with views of Calgary and the surrounding area.

In the nearby mountains, there are hundreds of trails across Banff National Park, Kananskis Wilderness Area, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, and Waterton National Park. These trails are weather-dependent and may be open under both spring and winter hiking conditions.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Áísínaiʼpi (pronounced: é-sin-é-pi), or Writing-on-Stone. 3 hours south of our location, the site is a series of pictographs and glyphs carved into twisting hoodoo rocks by passing travellers over hundreds of years. An interpretive centre showcases the natural and human history of the area. The ancient hunting site Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump is located between Calgary and Áísínaiʼpi, with a trail and interpretive centre.

East, Dinosaur Provincial Park has several trails in the provincial Badlands. These areas of soft, striped sandstone are home to some of richest fossil fields world-wide. Though excavations in the Park aren’t common today, many of the fossils are exhibited in the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, 2 hours’ drive east of Calgary.

Downhill Skiing

2 hours from our location, Sunshine Village Ski Resort offers downhill skiing across 3 mountains until May 26th. The hill has a variety of terrain from beginner chairs to extreme difficulty skiing on mountain faces. Skiing at Sunshine Village offers panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains, including the peak of Mount Assiniboine (a pyramidal peak mountain known as the Matterhorn of the Rockies).

Other ski hills with 1-3 hours’ drive include Nakiska, Mount Norquay, and Lake Louise. These resorts vary closing dates depending on the year, but are often open into May. You can see past closing dates here:
https://www.snowseekers.ca/story/AB-BC-ski-resort-closing-dates

In the City
Calgary has a number of its own cultural attractions. The Calgary Zoo is a notable conservation zoo, with naturalized exhibits. In fall of 2023, the zoo is welcoming a new polar bear exhibit in addition to the recent penguin facility.

Downtown, the Chinatown area has several blocks of traditional Chinese shops and architecture that extend along the riverfront and north on Centre Street. Try the restaurants–there are some fabulous places at a good price. Dim Sum (a breakfast meal of several small plates) is particularly fun.

The Inglewood area east of downtown is a historic district for walking and shopping, bordered by the Fort Calgary historic site and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. The shops range from specialty foods like Silk Road Spice Merchant to army surplus to the Esker Foundation Art Gallery. The charming 20th century brick storefronts have been used as a backdrop for HBO’s Fargo and The Last of Us. Kensington, Bridgeland, and 17th Ave. also offer quirky shops and great food.

Performances and Shows

Calgary is also home to a number of arts organizations. The Arts Commons building downtown and the Jubilee Auditorium in the north host theatre, opera, orchestra concerts, and other shows. For low culture, the Palace Theatre, Ironwood Stage and Grill, Palomino Bar, King Eddy, and The Blues Can are some live music venues. Calgary has an active folk/country music scene throughout the year.

The King Eddy pub is a part of the Studio Bell National Music Centre. Studio Bell is a music museum, a concert venue, a radio broadcast centre, and a recording studio, all housed in a contemporary building that integrates the King Eddy’s original housing with the new museum space.

In April, the Calgary Stampede fairgrounds host the Aggie Days festival. Targeted at children, the festival explores Alberta’s agricultural sector with exhibits and shows. These include horsemanship demonstrations and sheepdog trials.

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Occupation

  • Engineer.
  • Retired

Children

  • Girl - Age: 23
  • Girl - Age: 25

Pets

  • We do not have pets.

References

This member has completed 2 home exchanges. Those referenced below may contain feedback/impression from its exchange partners: