Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles across Canada



On the 1st october I took a trip up to Canada with my Mum. She has always wanted to see the Rocky Mountains and so this year she realised her dream and I was there to share it with her.

We had booked a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer Train from Banff to Vancouver and our journey began when we arrived in Calgary. We were collected from our hotel in Calgary and set off towards Lake Louise. On the way we stopped off to take a helicopter ride over the mountains which was fabulous. We then headed into Lake Louise and arrived at the beautiful Chateau Lake Louise hotel in falling snow.

When we woke the following day the lake and surrounding mountains were coated with beautiful white snow which made it look like a winter wonderland. If you have never seen Lake Louise then you should definately go as it is just breath taking.

We boarded our coach again heading towards Banff with another stop to take another helicopter tour which was equally impressive as the day before. Our day ended upon arrival at the Rimrock Resort in Banff where we spent the evening wandering through the town on the hunt for souveniers.

On Sunday our trip on the train began and we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer at Banff train station and took our seats in the Gold Leaf glass domed cabins. The views from our seats were amazing and you could see everywhere. To match the amazing scenery was the amazing food that we were served which added to the whole experience. The first day on the train was a very long one until we reached the town of Kamloops where we would spend the night.

Monday morning we reboarded the train for the final leg into Vancouver and saw the scenery change from heavily wooded to almost desert like and then more green as we approached Vancouver. The second part of our trip began when we arrived in Vancouver and checked into the historic Hotel Vancouver where we would spend three nights.

I now know why Vancouver has been voted the 4th best place in the world to live. It has everything you could ever need from mountains to ski on, sea and rivers to boat & Kayak on, beautiful parks to run and bike in and shops to spend till your wallet was empty!

We took the hop on hop off bus tour to get around the city and enjoyed a couple of fun packed days sightseeing. One of the highlights was the Granville Island Public Market, I could have easily spent all day in here as it was amazing. I wish all markets looked like that as it would make grocery shopping the highlight of my week!

Alas the end of our trip came around too quickly and before we knew it we were heading back home. The trip may be over but we have our memories and about 1000 photos between us to help us reminise our trip to the beautiful Rockies.






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