Fun Flaneur Finds In Mission YYC: Crosses, Chairs & Cookie
It was Sunday afternoon and we wanted to go for a walk so we decided to head to Calgary’s Mission neighbourhood to see what was new. (Full disclosure: We both had a craving for a Mamma Cathy’s doughnut available at Mercato on 4th St. SW aka Mission’s main street.) Parking on the edge of the ‘hood, we walked somewhat aimlessly to see what we could find on our way to our doughnut destination.
Mission 101
Mission, one of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods, was founded in the late 19th century as the Notre Dame de la Paix Catholic mission and originally incorporated as the Village of Rouleauville in 1899. It is home to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Canadian Northern Railway Station (now Nat Christie Centre, home of the Alberta Ballet) and the Sacred Heart Convent. As the Convent was close to where we parked, we checked out its labyrinth and garden next to the Elbow River – one of Calgary’s hidden gems.
Sacred Heart Convent, William Stanley Bates (original structure built in 1882 demolished, existing structures date from 1893 and 1924)
We have passed by the convent many times and never notice the Christ figure in the window looking down on the street.
Stations of the Cross 101
Once at the garden, we noticed several intriguing wooden structures which, upon a closer look turned out to be an outdoor “Stations of the Cross” – a 14-step Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus Christ’s last day on Earth as man.
They start with Jesus being condemned to death, then accepting the cross, falling for the first time, meeting his mother etc. – finishing with Jesus being laid in the tomb and covered with incense. In this case all there was on each “station” was a number in Roman Numerals carved into each wooden cross.
Link: Stations of the Cross Explained
What was unique about these 5-foot tall crosses was they were made completely out of wood, with a very subtle carved wood artwork in the middle. Neither of us recall seeing them before, but the plaque indicated they have been there since 2010. It was a fun flaneur find.
Lesson learned: Going to a place you’ve been before can sometimes still hold previously unseen surprises.
Sidewalk & Trail Walking
We then wandered over to 4th Street SW, a pedestrian-oriented main street that separates Mission from its sister neighbourhood Cliff Bungalow. The street is a diverse restaurant/cafe row with dozens of places to eat in, sit on a patio or take out. Our first destination was Mercato hoping they weren’t sold out of doughnuts. Lucky for us there were three left. I was tempted to buy all three, but resisted.
With doughnuts in hand, we wandered further south on 4th Street to check out the City’s improvements to a small island in the Elbow River between Mission and the Roxboro neighbourhoods - an island I had never explored. Crossing over the Mission Bridge (built in 1915) we saw the strange-looking new stairs that looked like the carcass of dinosaur leading down to the island. Once o
n the island, an easy-to-follow, circular dirt pathway took us through thick bush that included four unique places to sit. An enjoyable 20-minute walk and fun flaneur find.
Paris In Calgary
Heading back, we passed by the La Boulangerie Bakery Cafe - a wee bit of Paris in Calgary. We couldn’t not stop for a coffee and pastry and sit on the patio to do some people watching like they do in Paris. We are glad we did – the coffee was good and the Date Walnut Cookie and Nutella Kouign Amann were decadents.
Another fun flaneur find. And a doubly delicious sweet day!
Last Word
Two hours later, on the way back to the car, we wandered by a “tiny, tucked away off the street” Marlow Tea Garden right in the middle of 4th Street. Note to self: remember this for the next mission to Mission. And with the fourth round of COVID packing a big punch, this was a reminder that if we have to stay put in our cities, there are still lots of fun places to explore every day.
