Leaving paradise behind.

Yesterday was our last day in high altitude paradise, yes it was the end of our time in Banff. The place is stunning, everywhere you look, you see natural beauty. Every animal, tree, mountain and glacier was truly spectacular. But not just that, the main street was flawless in every way, the buildings had an old colonial feel, the streets were clean and decorative, the scenery truly monumental in every direction and an endless amount of gift shops (its primarily a tourist town for either the scenery or snow depending on the time of year). But like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll hold out on my descriptions until I post more photos tomorrow.

So back to what we did yesterday. After our triumphant mountain hike, which literally almost killed Lauren, we rather willingly decided to take the morning off, then decided to book a short tour in which all the work was done for us. That tour happened to be to the rather famous lake louise and lesser known - but arguably more beautiful - moraine lake. First up was moraine lake, turquoise blue water surrounded by a massive natural rock pile and of course big mountains with glaciers overhanging. We will post photos to properly showcase the area. After a quick stroll, we headed to Lake Louise to visit the lake itself and the Fairmont chateau. Again photos can only do justice to how grand the chateau was and the turquoise water of the lake.

That brings us to today, funnily enough the lady on the tour bus informed us that the New York Rangers were in town and holding training sessions open to the public. So naturally, anything hockey, we awoke nice and early to secure some good viewing points around the tiny rink. It was awesome to see the various training techniques employed throughout the session, but unfortunately an infamous signature from any player was not accomplished.

After watching the rangers practice, we left the lovely town of Banff to head towards Calgary, which is plainly described as a 'working city'. But I think that's a bit of an understatement, yes it is a launching pad for anyone visiting the rockies due to its close proximity (1.5 hours drive) but there is more than meets the eye when looking closely at this small city. Surprisingly, and a telling sign, was that the first thing that came to mind was that the main strip drew a somewhat striking resemblance to Rose street in Edinburgh Scotland, which is a massive compliment if I don't say.

We are heading back in tomorrow for a better look and explore so we will upload some photos to show you some of the things I was just describing to you.

So until then, hope everyone's well and we will talk soon.
Kristian & Lauren.