Calgary & Banff, Alberta - May 2006

I finally made it out west! Prior to this the furtherst west I'd been was Windsor, Ontario. Needless to say, being the only "east coast gal" on the trip, I was pretty excited to finally see the Rocky Mountains and to visit Banff, which was a dream I've had since I was little. (As a sidenote - isn't it wonderful to do the things you've always dreamed of doing? It is so terrific to actually say, someday I want to do that and then to finally do it instead of always saying "someday"). The purpose of this trip was pleasure and more pleasure. I'd organized a mini-reunion with some of my Canadian friends that I had spent most of my time with while living in Scotland. The girls that were able to make it to the reuinion were (from west - east): Shannon (BC), Tiffany (Alberta), Kiki & Maria (Saskatchewan), and me (temporairly from Ontario, but previously from PEI).

DAY 1

I arrived in Calgary via WestJet late on a Thursday evening in the middle of plenty of rain. I was greeted at the airport by Tiffany and Shannon and we all headed back to Tiff's place for a bit of catching up. It wasn't long before we went to bed though because we were pretty tired. Kiki and Maria were going to arrive the next evening, so we decided to head to Banff during the day.

DAY 2

Banff. The view of being surrounded by mountain tops is nothing short of amazing. At least, that is what I would probably have thought if the weather had been a wee bit more cooperative! Unfortunately, most of the time when I was in Alberta it was raining and foggy, so I didn't get to see as much of those pretty Rockies as I would have liked. However, I did see enough to know that they are truly picturesque.

We started the day at the Banff Springs Hotel which was truly breathtaking. It amazes me to think of all the events those walls have witnessed. From there we spent a relaxing hour or two at the Hot Springs, further up the mountain. It was a bit surreal to have your lower body be immersed in extremely warm water while receiving cooling raindrops on your face. Once we'd dragged ourselves away from there we spent some time wandering around town and checking out the tacky tourist shops (it's too bad that Banff is spoiled by this!).

That night we finally managed to track down Kiki and Maria and we all went out to supper. It was really great to all be together again and to catch up. Dinner also included the added entertainment of a waitress that always seemed to pop up out of no where and scare Shannon by her close proximity. It was highly amusing.

Day 3

Banff - The Sequel. This time I went up to Banff with Shannon, Maria, & Kiki (Tiff had a training course to attend). We started off the day in the best way - we took a gondola ride almost to the top of Sulphur Mountain. This was definitely the highlight of my trip - the views were spectacular. The mountain was still covered in snow and everything was very peaceful. It was great because there was hardly any other people up there because of the weather (which was extremely foggy). I hiked up the trail the rest of the way to the top by myself. It was nice to hear the sound of snow crunching under your feet and there is something incredibly satisfying about reaching the top of a mountain (even if we did take a gondola most of the way). Next time I'll hike it . . . as long as the weather cooperates!

On the way down, disaster struck! I accidentally deleted ALL of my pictures from the trip up till that point. I was so upset! The poor girls that had to deal with me for the next couple of hours . . . I was not a happy camper.

That night we went out to this pub (Tiff, can you remind me what it's called?) and watched the Oilers play a terrific game of playoff hockey. Then the band started - they were fantastic. I really enjoyed them.From there we went to what can only be described as a dirty club for some serious dancing. Without going into details, let's just say that my eyes have been scarred for life and the inside joke consisting of a pick up line that some icky guy attempted on me ("Where's your friends? HONK! - guess what he honked?) was coined. Ah, memories. It wasn't all scuz though - Shannon scored a date with a man named Lincoln that night. Lucky her! How come I got stuck with the honker?!?!?! It must have been her dancing ability (see photo!)

Day 4

Lilac Festival. We wandered around the Lilac Festival which was conveniantly scheduled during our visit and everyone picked up some great pieces. We took a break in a pub named after James Joyce. This seemed quite fitting since we'd all fequented Finnegan's Wake in Scotland which is a novel that James Joyce wrote. Tiffany tried to hide from us behind her beer, but we eventually found her again.

Day 5

Cupcakes. Okay - this might seem like a weird thing to remember from that day, but you haven't tried these cupcakes! They're heavenly. I think the store was called Crave and they were sooooo good. My favorite was the one that tasted like Reese's Peanut Butter cups. Mmmmm. Nothing beats peanut butter and chocolate. Except maybe peanut butter and caramilk. Hmmmm. I will need to sleep on that one.

This was also leaving day for everyone. We took some last pictures and gave plenty of hugs and then we all departed once more. Next time, we'll have to go some where warm! I did manage to score one last picture of Calgary from the plane . . .

If you'd like to see ALL the pictures I took (post gondola ride, that is) please click here and view the slideshow.