It was good enough, but we wouldn't return

It took us until noon to get it together yesterday! That's what happens when we stay out late. But it was worth it, and we had fun! Besides which, it's fairly chilly overnight and the sun doesn't really come up until after 8:00am and then it takes a few hours to warm up a bit. 

Of course we'll be warming up soon enough!

We fly to Thailand late Thursday night. Temperatures in Bangkok will be a consistent 32C (90F), so we should enjoy this "chilly" weather while we've got it. However, we're both looking forward to shorts and sandals!

We thought we had a clear blue sky when we got out, but there was an odd haze coming down from the mountains. Still, we decided to head over to the 26 story Kazakhstan Hotel to see if we could get a view.

Nice day for a walk downtown.

The kids were enjoying this polar bear.

The Kazakhstan Hotel.

Looks like it should be a clear blue sky, right?

The Kazakhstan Hotel was completed in 1977. Built to withstand a 9.0 earthquake. Currently the 8th tallest building in Kazakhstan.

On the 26th floor is the fancy Barfly Restaurant. We went up there for the view, but ended up with a reservation for Monday night!

It's a pretty nice place!

It's Ruth's birthday on Monday, and she deserves a treat. Also, if you're going to go to an expensive restaurant, best to do so in an inexpensive country!

There was a funny haze coming down from the mountains.

Tough to get decent pictures through the windows though.

We needed some lunch, and I had input "gluten free" into google maps to see what came up. Turns out there was fancy hamburger place that does gluten free buns as well. It got lots of stellar reviews, although some mentioned that it was pricey. We figured we'd go for a treat so we wandered over there. 

And yes, it was pricey! We ended up ordering just one cheeseburger and fries and a lemonade and sharing the whole thing. 

It was fine, but not worth the five stars considering the price.

With a shared glass of lemonade, the bill for the one order of fries and burger was 6,440 tenge ($19 CAD, $14 USD). Yikes. As I said, it was good enough, but we wouldn't return.

Looks like another sunny day. We're going to hike up to the cable car mountain here in town and hopefully meet up with Danielle and Ron at the top.

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Nice deal on this 22" Flat Top Griddle with Cover and Carry Bag.

And in Canada...

Deals on Toys and Games at Amazon.ca.