I won’t pass up an opportunity to talk about East Whyte.

For a lot of people Whyte Avenue is a hot spot of shopping and nightlife that runs between Gateway Boulevard and 107 Street, maybe to 109 Street. But if you head east, past Gateway Boulevard, you’ll find a whole other pocket of Old Strathcona.

With beer and live music pub Wunderbar, Flirt Cupcakes (their original location), The Paint Spot, The Traveling Tickle Trunk, Hardcore Bikes, and the new Red Pony Consignment offering specials, it’s worth printing off the PDF passport, or dialing it up on your cellphone. While you’re exploring the quieter side of Whyte, check out two of the best sushi houses in the city; Furusato and Maki Maki, enjoy a pint on the patio of The Empress, pick up some baked goodies at Empress Bakery, grab European foods and snacks at K&K Foodliner, eat Indian at Daawat and Narayannis, and check out Roots for healthy and organic items.

Speaking of Roots, the grocery store turned specialty store is about to move into the main floor of a spectacular new building at the corner of Whyte and 102 Street (which you can see pictured in this story), called Roots on Whyte. It may be my new favourite building.

Langano Skies will be re-opening soon, so you can enjoy the best Ethiopian food in Edmonton again.

Go on, cross the tracks, you know you want to.

Between downtown and Kingsway lies the North Edge Business district.

They’ve held a night market and a street festival before, but this year they combined the two into the “Heat Up The Ave” event. Unfortunately it was scheduled for that Saturday everything around Edmonton got rained out (June 18).

But it’s on tonight! And the blue sky above me as I write this bodes well for a good time in Queen Mary Park.

(Side note: I keep accidentally writing that as Queen Marky Park.)

There will be a jumpy castle, free food, basketball and soccer with the Edmonton Police, face painting and arts & crafts for the kids, and an evening farmers’ market.

Street parties are the new black.

Once you know the basics, you can get crazy with it.

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters’ Society (EBC…hey, what happened to the S?) is launching a series of cycling courses this month.

I see…they’re shaming me into riding my bike more…clever…

The courses range from getting to know your bike, actually learning to ride, riding with the family, commuting in the city, and CAN-BIKE 2 which is is a nationally certified cycluing training program. For the hardest core cyclists; CAN-BIKE 2 is 16-hours of bikes, bikes, bikes! The cheapest of the courses and presentations will cost you $20, and up to $100 for the big, bad CAN-BIKE 2. (Everything is cheaper if you have an EBC membership.)

Hey, the better you are on your bike, and the more you know the rules and best practices, the more you can know it’s the drivers who shouldn’t be on the road. To register for a course (or have EBC teach your group of riders) head to edmontonbikes.ca/ridingeducation.

Now get on your bikes and ride!

Summer is the time to get out and walk around Edmonton.

I’m all about the random walk. The kind where you end up seeing stuff you didn’t know was down the street, or in a nearby park, or in Edmonton at all. But I can enjoy a walk with purpose, or destination, as much as the next walker.

Have you checked out the Walkable Edmonton maps? They’re handy little maps that show you what to watch for, and check out, in a number of neighborhoods. Put together with neighborhoods groups and organization, they give you a good idea of where to go and what to look at.

There are a dozen maps, covering ground in more than 40 neighborhoods.

Speaking of walking…I’m not sure if I’m walking way more than shoes are made for, buying crappy shoes, or have weird feet that simply destroy shoes in a short period of time, but I find I’ve got to buy new shoes every year or two.

Am I doing something wrong? Am I a walking machine? Do I just need to buy more expensive shoes that can hold up to feet that don’t just sit on gas pedals and couches?

What are the best spots in Edmonton to get high-quality shoes that are going to stand up to me walking through all of those maps?

By Angela Ostafichuk

Friday. It’s the best day of the week, and the first one of a new month. I can’t believe it’s March already. I’ve made a nine month plan for myself to get it all together and then, hopefully, get back to Asia. But things always change… After looking at all the countries I haven’t been to, I have a lot to venture to.

I’ve bought a new pair of kicks for running, went back to blogging and am working to get eight hours of sleep. Little steps make me feel like I’m actually achieving things. I’ve also signed myself up for Deathswitch because last year’s trip to South America was a close call. I’m still trying to figure out the “Switch” though. Like, if I die, will it e-mail everyone on my friends list saying something like “Come to my funeral,” or “Ding-dong the witch is gone,”? I always trying to be prepared, but I never feel prepared enough when things do happen.

Let’s see how much Edmonton I can get into one Friday.

5:30 AM – Treadmill

I’m going to die…Must keep running… 15 minutes in and I’m already sweaty and tired. Wimp. I’m starting to train for a marathon, half-marathon, 10K, 5K …OK I just want to be able to run longer then five minutes. And it’s easy to be ambitious first thing in the morning. Perhaps I’ll cross a finish line sometime before my 30s. I’ve already run about 4 KM but my timing is slow. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I crank Lady Gaga up on my I-Pod and keep running.

9:00 AM – Planet Organic

Food, I love you. If I had a million dollars I would spend it here. Most days, my one-item shopping expedition turns into a 20-item trip. The first thing I do, being a slight foodie, is hit the grocery stores when I travel. Or, when in Asia, the 7-11s. Firecrackers next to the booze is a common sight to see, and that’s always entertaining.

12 :30 PM – Divine

I spot a taxicab yellow, 80s-style, jumper in the window. It’s little, so it’s mine! Colour is back in for spring/summer 2011 and it always cheers me up to wear something other then black. I love looking at blogs such as The Satorialist and reading magazines like Fruits. They always remind me of the crazy street style that I’ve always felt inspired by. It’s a little hard to pull off in Edmonton winters, but seeing people’s reactions is always worth the effort.

1:00 PM – Aveda

I modeled for them last summer and, along with an extreme makeover, got some serious loot and a gift card. My hair is trashed from the water systems in South America so most of it is gone, but it grows quick and I’m not too worried. Aveda’s great and moderately priced. I refuse to pay more then $50 for a haircut, and fortunately the gift card makes today free for my mom and I.

2:45 PM – Lee House

I tuck into a delicious meal at Lee House, my favorite Korean restaurant in the city. Years ago, I lived in Korea and was fascinated by the food delivery service there. For $3.50 I got food delivered to my door (a full meal) and then I would just leave my dishes outside and they would pick it up again. I. Never. Did. Dishes. It was the best deal in the world until, by some romantic twist of fate, the delivery guy fell for me. I shouldn’t have given him a popsicle that one time. I soon had him knocking on my door every day, bringing me stuffed animals. I couldn’t speak Korean, and he couldn’t speak English, so it was pretty awkward. I soon stopped ordering meals and went back to cooking Costco taquitos in my toaster-oven. They always tasted like the socks I dried in the tiny appliance.

3:43 PM – Dream Tea

Not drinking alcohol can make it awkward when people say “Let’s go for drinks,” and I order a Shirley Temple. So I usually go for a bubble tea instead. Most people are pretty wonderful about this, so my 10-stamp card fills up fast. I still don’t see the difference between drinking wine and fruit juice, after all, both of them have that fruity aftertaste, but perhaps that’s just me. It probably would seem a bit weird to order an apple juice with a steak.

6:45 PM – Lion’s Breath Flow Class

I’m going to die…Must… keep… going. It’s Lance’s class, and I’ve invited a bunch of my friends to come. And many of them came, it usually never works that way! Everyone around me is also trying to hang on, but the energy is strong. The class is packed tonight and it’s awesome to see people taking care of their health.

8:15 PM – Lion’s Breath Acro

I’m going to die… I’m flipped upside down, into scorpion, off my partner’s back, who is in downward dog. He, in turn, is facing another guy in downward dog, and on their backs is another person balanced in downward dog. On the other side is the other female in class, who is doing a scorpion as well. The instructor takes a picture of this craziness, and we all slide out of the mountain of bodies to see how we looked. It looks great! I can’t think of a better way to end the week then playing circus performer. Lion’s Breath is starting to offer classes until 1:30 A.M. I’m going to see if I can do six hours of back-to-back classes and then stumble home with the bar crowd.

By the end of Friday I can barley walk into the shower. Perhaps I’ve overdone it, as I did walk back and forth across the river before yoga… or I’m just out of shape. But I’m sure it will all feel good in the morning.

Thank you Edmonton for providing me with such an entertaining, action-packed day, Angela.

For more of Angela’s Edmonton adventures (and some of her world-wide fun) check out her earlier posts or follow her on Twitter.