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  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 22

    Day 22 - Last Day 😞

    October 7, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Well all good things must come to an end. Packed up for the journey home, checked out of the hotel, and walked down to our regular Banff cafe for breakfast. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and everything looked so beautiful. Felt really sad to be leaving 😞. We had plenty time to kill so we had a walk before setting off to Calgary airport.

    Easy journey, easy check-in, and uneventful flight home. We didn't fly till 8pm so we lost a night's sleep - neither of us slept on the plane so we were very tired by the time we landed at Heathrow and then put the clocks forward an hour.

    Canada you were truly amazing. We couldn't have asked for a better holiday, everything lived up to our expectations and we had a wonderful 3 weeks.    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 21

    Day 21 - Banff

    October 6, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Sadly this was our last day in Canada 😔. We spent the day at Lake Louise and it was nothing short of awe-inspiring. We drove to just outside the lake and used the park and ride. When we got to the lake the view was just magical. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, the lake was the most perfect green/blue colour, and the mountains looked stunning with the snow on the top. I can't even describe how beautiful it was 😍.

    We walked the length of the lake and sat admiring the view - I felt quite emotional ☺️. I can't take in everything we've seen and experienced, it's been so amazing and so wonderful.

    Got back to the hotel around 6pm and chilled in the hot pool with a glass of prosecco. Had dinner in our hotel again - the food is so good we couldn't see the point in trying to find somewhere else to eat - and we spent the evening looking back over the last 3 weeks. It's been the best holiday and we have both loved every minute❤️    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 20

    Day 20 - Banff

    October 5, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Woke up to beautiful sunshine ☀️ - we've been really lucky with the weather this week. Had our coffee and muffin at the cafe a few doors away from the hotel, sitting outside by the firepit, and got chatting to a couple of ladies from Ontario who were good company. Everyone's so friendly!

    Drove to the Banff gondola and went up Sulphur Mountain. Was expecting the views to be good but......wow.....they were unbelievably stunning. Clear blue sky, snow capped mountains all around, a 360° panorama of absolute beauty. It was breathtaking ☺️. Can't describe how good it was, I could have stayed there all day. Hopefully the pics do it justice.

    Had a conversation with a couple from Doncaster on their honeymoon who are travelling for 9 weeks. Thought we were pushing the boat out 😉. They've done Toronto and Niagara Falls, are now in Banff, then Vancouver, followed by Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, Dubai, Singapore, Sri Lanka....and probably other places I can't remember . We tried to work out how much it must be costing them and reckoned £40k at least😱.

    Once back in the town we finished our present shopping and then went back to the hotel and lay in the rooftop hot pool. I thought it was amazing in the dark yesterday, but it was even better in the daytime with the mountains all around. Enjoyed a nice glass of prosecco in the pool before chilling in the room reading.

    Lovely dinner in our hotel and bed. Yet another great day 😀    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 19

    Day 19 - Banff

    October 4, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Had a bit of a lie in, then ventured out to see Banff. The weather was lovely and sunny and there's a definite chill in the air, but we sat outside a cafe and had coffee and a muffin round a firepit. Banff is a really nice town, has a good vibe, although it might be different in the high seasons when it's rammed. Browsed the gift shops looking for presents to take home and then walked round the little farmer's market. Shared fab chips with pulled pork and ranch sauce from a stand run by a guy from Manchester 😀, sitting in the park by the river.

    We then walked along the Bow River Trail to the "Surprise Corner Viewpoint", which is so-called because you come to a corner and suddenly there's an amazing view over the river to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. It's the most enormous, castle-like hotel - very impressive, and I imagine very expensive. Banff is surrounded by mountains so the views are gorgeous everywhere 🏞️🗻⛰️.
    Ooh, and we saw an elk 🦌!!!

    Stopped for a sangria when we got back to town and then decided to have an early dinner, couldn't be bothered to go back to the hotel and get changed. It's been quite nice to be very casual since the cruise 😀. We found an Indian restaurant which had good reviews, and the food was excellent. Cheaper than most places we've eaten so far too.... always a bonus.

    We were back at the hotel by 8pm so I went up to the roof to the hot pool and lay in there for half an hour. It felt so amazing being outside in the cold air, and in a wonderful hot bubbly pool. My idea of bliss!!!! Mark didn't fancy the pool tonight so I just chilled on my own and enjoyed the relaxation, contemplating the holiday and what a fantastic experience it's been. I feel so lucky ☺️.    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 18

    Day 18 - Jasper to Banff

    October 3, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    On the road again for the final time 😔. The road between Jasper and Banff is the Icefields Parkway and it is stunning the entire way (288km). I'd done my research last night and written down places to stop off on the way so we had several breaks, all of which were fab. There are also loads of viewing points along the route so my camera was constantly on. I can't stop myself taking pics - even leaning out of the car window every few minutes 🤣.

    First stop was Athabasca Falls, which were amazing. Not so much high but the power of the water was unbelievable, and so clear. We then drove on and stopped off at the roadside viewpoint for Waterfowl Lakes - can't believe how blue/green the glacial lakes are, and all surrounded by stunning mountains.
    Peyto Lake was our next stop, which was a short uphill walk from the carpark and then suddenly the most fantastic view. Truly breathtaking! A coachload of orientals beat us to the viewpoint and completely monopolised the area for ages - no spacial awareness whatsoever!! Mark was not impressed 😡🤣 - but we eventually got to take some photos.

    We had planned to do the Icefields Skywalk, a suspended platform with a glass bottomed section. It looks amazing on the internet but luckily we drove past it and it was decidedly underwhelming from what we could see. It was just suddenly there at the roadside. Glad we didn't spend the money, think we've seen far better views for free.

    Arrived in Banff about 4.30pm and found our hotel (Moose Hotel and Suites). It's really nice, two queen beds again! There are two rooftop hot pools with fabulous views of the mountains surrounding the town so I think we'll be using those in the next few days. There's also a seating area with a firepit 🔥. Living the life!!! Went to the hotel's Italian restaurant and sat at the bar with a lovely glass of wine and chatted to the Scottish barman, then had a meal.

    Great day.....again!!!    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 17

    Day 17 - Jasper

    October 2, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    Found a little bakery to get our breakfast and some sandwiches and set off for Maligne Lake, about 30k from Jasper. On the pics it looks a beautiful green but unfortunately that's only if the sun is shining. It was a little bit overcast so didn't get the colour but it was still lovely. Passed great scenery on the way, including Medicine Lake which apparently fills up every spring when water runs down from the mountains, and then disappears during autumn and winter. There wasn't much water left in it today.

    Saw some sort of goats by the roadside....think they were mountain goats but not entirely sure 🐐. We then came across a moose 🦌 but there was a coach and a few cars hogging the photo opportunity and then the rangers turned up and moved them on, so we didn't get a photo sadly. Amazing mountains to look at though, really striking.

    Had a walk round one of the trails once we were at the lake, which took us on a muddy path through woods and we saw nobody the whole time! We did question whether we were lost at one point 😀. Our walking boots have been a godsend, in fact we're giving ourselves a pat on the back because we packed all the right clothes for this holiday.

    Stopped off at Maligne Canyon on the way back to the hotel, which was really impressive. Another walk and more photos (obviously).

    Had an hour's chill in the hotel room and went to an Italian for dinner (run by orientals 😄). Collapsed into the best bed of the holiday so far.....so comfortable 🛌.    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 16

    Day 16 - Sun Peaks to Jasper

    October 1, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    Glorious sunny day so we decided to have a walk around Sun Peaks before setting off to Jasper. It's a small, purpose built ski resort with alpine type hotels and buildings, so very pretty. We grabbed some breakfast from a cafe and sat outside at the foot of the slopes in the sun - my kind of start to the day!! I had the best yoghurt pot with granola, fruit compote and honey 😋. The hotels are literally at the bottom of the slopes but all the ski lifts are closed for maintenance in preparation for the ski season in a few weeks.

    Another 450km drive today and we'd been warned that there are not many petrol stations so to make sure to fill up in advance. We asked a lady where the nearest petrol station was and she said "at the bottom of the hill", which we assumed was about 500 yards 🤔.
    32km later we reached the bottom of the hill.....wondered why she asked if we had enough fuel to get there 😀.

    Driving is easy as the roads are pretty quiet and there's so much lovely scenery to look at - mountains, lakes, trees with all the autumn colours. Not like British motorways!!! We pulled off the road for a break and I could see on Google maps that there was a little lake nearby (Eleanor Lake, in a place called Blue River) so we headed there. WOW!!! It was the most beautiful, tranquil place. We sat on a bench and ate our sandwiches, just soaking up the peace and the stunning view.

    The clocks went forward an hour when we entered Alberta so we didn't get to the hotel in Jasper till after 7pm. Went straight for dinner and had an early night. Had the best night's sleep of the holiday 💤.    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 15

    Day 15 - Whistler to Sun Peaks

    September 30, 2023 in Canada ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Sadly left Whistler today, it looked so beautiful in the gorgeous sunshine. Had a long journey to Sun Peaks (about 355km - halfway to Jasper) but we took it slowly and stopped off whenever we saw a nice view. Had a walk at Seton Lake for half an hour, which was really pretty, and then pulled in at Lillooet for petrol and lunch. Bit of a one horse town in the region where the majority of the population is First Nation (indigenous North Americans). The scenery was quite barren in contrast to the lovely wooded mountains on the way out of Whistler. However, once past Kamloops it became much prettier again with the woods and snow capped mountains. The mountains here are densely covered with conifers everywhere you look - never seen so many trees.
    Just before we reached Sun Peaks we hit a brief rain storm and saw the best rainbow ever 🌈. More photos of course!
    Our hotel tonight is really nice, in a small purpose built ski resort. Our room has two queen beds so......sorry Mark....we're sleeping separately 😋. Big beds all to ourselves, what's not to like?We also got a complimentary bottle of bubbly for our birthdays. Had a quick dinner and then chilled in one of the three outdoor hot tubs. Loving life 😄    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 14

    Day 14 - Whistler

    September 29, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Lovely sunny day so we decided to do a long walk to some of the lakes around Whistler. Grabbed some breakfast from the supermarket across the road then set off from the hotel and followed the Valley Trail. The scenery was stunning - I literally can't stop taking photos. The trail went through woods and we first came to Lost Lake which was quite small but so pretty. We sat for a bit and enjoyed the sun, then carried on to Green Lake - so called probably because it's so 'green' 😉. Apparently the lakes that are green are that colour because glacial water carries sediment, which reflects the light and gives it the blue/green colour. Whatever the scientific explanation, it's beautiful.
    We'd taken sandwiches with us so had our little picnic by the lake - everywhere is so peaceful, it's amazing.
    By the time we got back to the hotel we'd walked about 10k and were aching a bit so we sat in the hotel hot tub. We got talking to a Russian guy who lives in Singapore but is working in Vancouver for 3 months; we were then joined by two young Swiss girls who are midwives travelling around Canada in a camper van. They abandoned it for a night in a hotel due to a mouse 🐭 finding its way into the van and freaking them out😄.
    Went to an Italian restaurant for dinner which was yet another very expensive meal, but very nice.
    Had a great day 💚    Read more

  • TravelerSue & Mark - Canada 2023
    Day 13

    Day 13 - Whistler

    September 28, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Woke up to hear rain outside and looked outside to a very dismal day😦. I had a cold and felt very bunged up so got a bit more sleep and then we drove out to Creekside Village to a diner I'd read about, "Dusty's". Took ages to find it as it was tucked behind a hotel at the base of the gondola.
    Whistler was apparently built in a bid for the Winter Olympics in 1968; although they didn't win the bid then, the Olympics were held here in 2010. It's a very cute village and nearly everyone here is from other countries; loads of young people doing the summer or winter season as it's such a big ski and mountain bike resort. We spoke to an English lad the other day who told us it's a "fake" town - know what he means but it's also really nice. It's quiet right now as it's between seasons, so it's great for us. Can imagine it's heaving in the summer and the winter.
    Didn't do much today because of the weather but went out for dinner to a Mongolian BBQ restaurant. So good!!! You basically get a bowl and choose all your own veg, noodles, spices, meats, sauces (and there's a huge choice), then you give it to the guys at the grill and they stir-fry it all for you. Tasted amazing but was expensive 🤔. Eating out is not cheap here.    Read more

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