Lake Louise 7 May

Emerald Lake in summer

Canadian Mounty
Emerald Lake as we saw it still frozen

Natural Bridge
Views of and from Chateau Lake Louise

The scenery from Banff to Lake Louise was beautiful. It was trying to snow the whole way as we travelled through the national park. We stopped at glacier fed Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge. Emerald Lake was beautiful though still frozen.

We arrived at Lake Louise in a flurry of snow and were given a talk on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police by a mounty in full uniform. We the took a stroll around the lake before dinner. Lake Louise has some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. It started to snow so we spent the rest of the time before dinner exploring the extraordinary hotel. We ended up in the spa. From the spa we could see the snow falling quite heavily. This was a very special feeling to be warm and comfortable watching the snow falling.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, Walliser Stube, again featuring Swiss cuisine. I finished the meal with chocolate fondu.

Banff 6 May

1. Bow River view from hotel room

2.Inukshuk on bank of the Bow River

3 Bow River view from hotel room

4. Suphur Mountain

5. Bridge leading to Banff township near where the Bow and Spray Rivers join

6. Banff Cascade Mountain in background

7. Banff from Sulphur Mountain

8. Banff Springs Hotel

We had a leisurely morning exploring the hotel. You need to stay for several days to locate everything the hotel has to offer. We then travelled to Sulphur Mountain and went to the top in the gondola. Some of the range was in whiteout, however, we still had sensational views over Banff township. The afternoon was spent exploring the pretty little alpine town of Banff including the interesting Christmas shop.

After taking the local shuttle bus back to the hotel we had a lovely meal at the Waldhaus Restaurant situated on the edge of the Banff Springs Hotel golf course and the Spray River. The restaurant was in a lovely cottage like building and did remind us of the restaurants in Switzerland. They served traditional German and Swiss cuisine.

Kamloops to Banff on Rocky Mountaineer 5 May

1. Spiral tunnels at Kicking Horse Pass

2. Banff Station

3. View from train

4. View from train

5. Ron at Banff in front of Rocky Mountaineer

6. View from train

7. View from train

8.View from train

We really enjoyed day two on the Rocky Mountaineer. It is really a special experience. The scenery now became the picture postcard scenery we imagined with snow capped mountains and pine trees snow fed rivers with the glacial milkiness.We also passed some very clear mirror lakes reflecting the beautiful scenery. We travelled through Rogers Pass and and Kicking Horse Pass passing through the spiral tunnels to break the gradient for the train to safely pass through.

Service, food and comfort on the train was outstanding. The meals were beautifully presented and prepared from fresh local produce including the delicious blueberries, goosberries etc that are readily available in the spring season.

We transferred to Banff Springs Hotel and then walked into the township over the Spray River Bridge with Cascade Mountain in the background. We had dinner at a local pub in the main street, Banff Avenue. They served great pub food including elk and moose burgers and we were able to be part of Banff night light. We enjoyed the extended daylight as it gave us a chance to look around town. Most of the tourist stores also stayed open for extended hours.

Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver to Kamloops 4 May

1. cast of Two River Junction show

2. Views from the Rocky mountaineer between Vancouver and Kamloops

What a wonderful experience to travel on the Rocky Mountaineer. The staff spoilt us from the moment we stepped aboard. We travelled in Gold Class in a double deck carriage with the glass roof which gave you an air of spaciousness and openness and afforded incredible views.

We travelled through the Frazer Valley following the Thompson River. At this stage the scenery was not as spectacular as expected although it was still very beautiful. Much of the landscape at this stage was arid.

We ate and drank from the time we boarded the train. Lunch was a beautiful three course meal which featured fresh local produce such as salmon , beef and fresh berries such gooseberries.

At Kamloops we were greeted by locals on horseback. the locals are very proud of their town and very welcoming.

In the evening we attended the Two River Junction show a real music hall production with the hero Mounty and the villain, legendary train bandit, Billy Miner and of course saloon girls.

Vancouver 2 and 3 May.

Image 1 Vancouver Art Gallery

Image 2 Granville Island

Image 3 Gastown

Image 4 Stanley Park Totems

Image 5 views over Vancouver and Stanley Park North Shore Mountain as backdrop

Image 6 Views over Vancouver Queen Elizabeth Park and Bloedel Conservatory

Image 7 Fairmont Vancouver

2 May

We arrived in Vancouver around 7 pm after travelling for almost 25 hours and were transferred to our hotel, Farimont Vancouver. After settling in to our room we went for a walk to find something to eat. Our impression from our drive to the hotel and our walk was that Vancouver was a similar size city to Sydney and we were looking forward to exploring it the next day. Our hotel was situated in the heart of the city right near the art gallery.

3 May

We decided that the best way to see the city was a hop-0n-hop-off bus tour which stopped at Gastown and the historic steam clock, Canada Place, the entertainment district, English Bay Beach, Stanley Park including the aquarium, Robson shopping district, Chinatown and Granville Island. We stayed on the bus for a full circuit and then on the second circuit alighted at Granville Island and explored the markets which sold lots of fresh local produce, had many food halls and many shops where artisans and craftsmen and women sold their wares. It was a very busy and interesting place to visit. the Canadian people seem extremely polite and welcoming to visitors.

We the stopped at Stanley Gardens to look at the many beautiful blossom trees, tulips and rhododendrons that were in bloom. We saw our first two squirrels, but we were not tempted to try English Bay Beach as the weather was fairly cold and it was a fairly cloudy day.

In the evening we met the rest of our tour group and our tour guide, Dan for dinner at the h0tel.
We enjoyed a beautiful buffet meal and had a early night as we were leaving early in the morning to join the Rocky Mountaineer