Green Gables
Hello from the Canadian Rockies – Part 18 – Our Celebrity Breakfast At The Twin Gables B
Bed and breakfast travel is one of our favorite ways of discovering new places and the historic Twin Gables B & B is a real treat. It is a 4.5 star rated bed and breakfast, situated in the upmarket district of Mount Royal in Calgary, for about 25 minutes walk from the center, and restaurant on 4th Street takes only 10 minutes walk away. It was the perfect location for our Sneak Peek in Calgary and after a good sleep after our party at Il Giardino's yesterday evening, we enjoyed the comforts of our Mount Royal Suite, complete with its own sitting area, private bathroom, an en-suite jacuzzi, a fireplace and a laptop computer with high-speed Internet access.
Well, a good portion of the B & B experience is the experience and breakfasts boy, we were in for a treat. We were just ready to sit down for our morning meal in the historic room where the two other B & B guests came down the stairs: a good looking couple about our age was about to to join us for breakfast.
I thought the face of the young man looked familiar, but I could not quite place. My husband, on the other hand, recognized him immediately: Michael Damian, aka "Danny Roma Lotti" of the famous "The Young and The Restless" daytime TV show.
I did some research on our famous breakfast companions, and was rather surprised at their performance. Not only did Michael starred in the # 1-rated daytime drama (with an audience of over 100 million worldwide), he is also enjoying a great success in music and theater. He won the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which became the highest grossing revival in LA history. He then continued his success in New York, breaking box office records on Broadway. Michael has also released five albums and has 8 top 40 hits and earned a BMI Songwriting Award. Michael has recently moved into directing, writing and producing films and music videos.
Mike's wife Janeen (Formerly Janeen Best) is a celebrity in her own right: she is a former Solid Gold dancer, and her film credits include Basic Instinct, Bugsy, Earth Girls Are Easy, Footloose and many more. Her television credits include Solid Gold, the Academy Awards, American Music Awards, Grammy Awards, The Young and the Restless, Matlock, Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Johnny Carson, the Dukes of Hazard and much more. Yes, it finally dawned on me that we were indeed surrounded by stars.
Well, after I have this initial surprise, the breakfast was excellent, we started with a yogurt with fresh fruit, followed by beautiful homemade blueberry scones. The main course was a wonderful western omelet with green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The meal was lovely and we had a good conversation with our famous breakfast companions.
Mike and Janeen shared with us that they were in town to scout a location for their upcoming movie project and they stayed at the Twin Gables for a few days. They stated that they started a film production company called Riviera Films a few years ago, and that they have good cooperation enjoy writing, producing and directing films. Their latest project "Hot Tamale" has recently been completed and will be premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
For a moment it felt a bit strange, sharing the breakfast table with real celebrities, but Mike and Janeen were so natural and down-to-earth, it was like going stuck with a regular couple from next door. There was not even a hint of snobbery or arrogance here, and all four of us had a wonderful conversation.
For me it was very interesting because I have been making a transition to the creative / media field with my website, so it was very informative for me to listen to Mike and Janeen share their own stories of change from acting in the foreground in front of the camera to a better behind the camera directing and producing film projects, an area where they had to prove them all over again. We also shared many laughs and divorced, wish each other luck for our respective projects. Our meeting is to show that some of the stereotypes that we associate with celebrities often do not apply and that fame is not automatically inflated egos of people. It was a pleasure meeting Michael and Janeen, two successful, creative and down-to-earth people.
After breakfast I wanted to sit a bit with Deirdre and Henry Brost, the owners of Twin Gables, to learn more about the background of this historic house and how it came to this special bed and breakfast. Deirdre explained that in 1909 there was a large tree in Calgary and CP Rail owns all land in the neighborhood and decided to sell lots. U.S. American investors wanted the conversation Hills, founder CPR but could not allow that. He decided at the Mount Royal area, the name in line with making the most exclusive area in Calgary.
The house itself was built between 1910 and 1912 by a lawyer, a Mr. Milliken, who had come to Calgary from Toronto. The economic crisis after the 1929 stock market crash, he lost the house to the bank in 1931 and a degree of Wellington Walker, an entrepreneur also from Toronto, bought it in 1932 for $ 10,500. He was involved in the coal and cattle farm and owned several sign shops. In 1965, at age 91, he wanted the home of his caretaker, who in a boarding house after his death. After she died in 1972 remained a boarding house and slowly began to fall into disrepair.
The house's previous owners, Marge and Tsak Rogers, local artists who produce highly sought after paintings and they started the renovation of the house from top to bottom in 1976. In 25 years, they gutted it and renovated all three floors. Henry & Deirdre bought the house about 4 years ago after she already owns a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of Calgary. Deirdre wanted to move to the center of town where the demand for tourist accommodation all year round be. It was a big step for both of them, and taxes in the city proper had a significant increase in costs, but Deirdre loves the location. She said that this is the house that they always dreamed of owning.
Henry & Deirdre's story of how they opened their B & B is quite amazing in itself: They took possession on a Saturday and their friends helped them move. On Sunday, they unpacked their three-bedroom house, on Monday the B & B inspector came and Monday they were open for business. Certainly enough that on Monday they had their first guests.
She filled me in on a whole litany of renovation adventures: they added bathrooms to two of the three rooms. A big surprise hit them when they discover that they rewire the whole house, but Henry, himself an expert electrician rewired the house by leaving the walls intact and the historical background wires and installing the floors above. They extra plugs, extra phone lines and high-speed Internet access is installed throughout the house.
Another adventure befell them when their sewer pipe collapsed, they had some guests in the house when the clay pipe leading from the house and broke a rather unpleasant substances began a back-up the house. They had a crew to get into a back hoe and many thousands of dollars later, they were not only a new sewer pipe, but also a new driveway and parking.
They also had the chimney again, and while they were they had to remove a family of squirrels. The chimney of the mortar had deteriorated and they had the joints between the stones again to do. From 2004 to 2005 the house was completely repainted and the holes behind eavestroughs were identified were 72 packets of silicon increased to fill cracks. Then they hand washed, and painted the house. And all this was planned, while the B & B was hosting a wide range of guests. Both Deirdre and Henry say that owning an old moneypit a house is like, but they both love the house. Henry, always with a smile on his face, did almost all renovations and says he enjoyed them all. They even redid the whole garden, not surprising given that Deirdre is an avid gardener.
Deirdre runs the bed and breakfast full time and Henry helps her as much as he can, since he works full time as an electrician. Deirdre said she had to teach him not to snatch pieces of bacon from her B & B guests on his way to work. With a boyish smile Henry says he's face to the rules of the house in the interim, and no longer grabs learned tasty snacks from the breakfast guests.
With all the renovations, and Deirdre Henry tried the outstanding architectural features of the house to keep. The dining room has not changed, the wallpaper, furniture and hand-molded cornices are original to the house. The room also features a built-in mahogany china system. To this day, Twin Gables has a functional "call girl" system with bells on the household help call on every floor.
The parlor features a walled wallpaper with scenes of Hyde Park in London. Deirdre believes that the wallpaper dating from the first or second owner. The first owner, Mr. Milliken was friends with the Prince of Wales, who is said to be already on the Twin Gables.
The living room and lounge with lamps with an original copy of the original Edison light bulbs. Certainly not the brightest light, but real history. The previous owners had the house designated as a provincial registered "Historical resource" in 1984 because of the historic home of the arts and crafts style.
Twin Gables's overseas guests come from England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany and the Netherlands. Of course they have a lot of Ontario, British Colombia and travelers from the United States. Off-season they get a lot of "urban romantics 'That the locals Calgary, just trying to get away for a weekend of pampering and romance. They also see their fair share of business travelers, especially during the week. Many of the passengers were teachers, doctors and lawyers, but they have even hosted NASA rocket scientists.
They have an overall very positive experience in their beds Breakfast and they hardly ever "guests from hell". The only thing that bugs them is when the guests do not come down in time for breakfast or if they do not show up on all. Freshly made breakfast do not taste so great half hour later and Deirdre is working hard to ensure that her food tastes just fine. She commented that she has really found her niche in life and strives to provide the best possible service. "I am here to serve," she says, and Henry agreed, nodding his characteristic smile.
All rooms are equipped with private bathroom, telephone, and individual laptops with high speed access. Each room has a refrigerator and a coffee maker, and our suite had a wonderful Jacuzzi tub with a great views of the skyline of Calgary.
Deirdre and Henry's commitment to delivering a great B & B experience definitely shows.
For the entire article including photos please visit
http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/calgary_twin_gables.htm
About the Author
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of Travel and Transitions (
http://www.travelandtransitions.com
), a popular web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new section featuring FREE ebooks about travel.
What are some characteristics of Anne of Anne of Green Gables?
What do you think her personality and why?
She is dreamy and imaginative, and the chance of accidents. She briefly thought that the tendency to interfere with the world around her. She is also someone who learns by trial and mostly error. She has a strong fiery temperament, but also a friendly character and a good heart.
Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, Canada
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