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May 29, 2011 | 7:49 am

#34

tcook052

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http://www.thestar.com/travel/northa...n-destinations

Heather Mallick

When I’m down and troubled, I place myself in my mind’s eye on the grand terrace of the Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton, where I often stay. From there I look over the North Saskatchewan River Valley laid out before me like a tray and I am a happy woman.

I like a wide sky, and Edmonton, a much underrated city, has the widest skies in Canada.

Built in 1915, the Macdonald is my favourite of the great station hotels built by Canadian Pacific (since bought and renamed by the Fairmont chain). From the terrace, you can ask waiters for things—frankly, I worry about the people whose favourite Canadian place doesn’t serve drinks— and sit back to contemplate the sheer grandeur of the valley.

I always think of a famous line from The Great Gatsby, for the green starts at the bank this side of the river and runs uphill for part of a mile, jumping over roads and bumps and gullies, becoming more sculpted and civilized before reaching the hotel. On the other side of the river is more tidy bits, and beyond that, the land that made explorers gasp.

The river is a beautiful fast gash in between.

I love the sight of it. It always lifts my heart.

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