Day 260: Lake Louise - Banff
Friday, April 29, 2011
Monday April 25th
Happy ANZAC Day! It's important for me to celebrate ANZAC Day with Mark being in the Army (and shortly to be deployed again), so after breakfast we sat in the hostel room and watched a Youtube clip that contained the Last Post etc. I'd spent ages the night before trying to find the 'perfect' clip that incorporated everything that normally went into an ANZAC Day tribute, and we actually ended up watching a clip from the AFL ANZAC Day match! Tim Tams and Aussie Flag tattoos contribued to our Aussie pride as well.
Our destination today was Banff, which was only 57km away and took less than 45 minutes to arrive at. As normal, the first order of business was to secure accommodation. We had looked on the internet the night before and compiled a 'top 3' list. We had realised that it pays not to book accommodation in advance. For example, booking a room for 4 through Travelocity might cost $99, but then the site charges $25 for the extra 2 people + tax, which makes the total expensive. If we turned up at the hotel instead, they would normally give us a cheaper price than advertised online, and waive the additional guests fee.
Working for the government, Luke has a '3 quotes' policy, so we looked at a few hotels to compare prices and facilities. We ended up staying at the Best Western again - about a five minute walk from the centre of Banff, and with free breakfast.
We headed out for a walk, in the direction of Tim Horton's - for which we had excitedly been told had recently opened in Banff. 'Tim's' is an institution in Canada, known for it's cheap coffee and donuts, and it's round the clock hours. Even more exciting for Amanda and I was the discovery of a 'Cold Stone Creamery' - a rip-off of Cold Rock Ice-Creamery in Australia. It was too early for lunch but not for a snack, so Amanda and I enjoyed ice-cream - mine being mint chocolate ice-cream with brownie pieces and chocolate chips - yum!
The others decided to walk back to the hotel, but I was keen to explore the town - we'd only just arrived! I spent about two hours walking the streets of Banff and checking out the stores. It was amazing - bigger than Whistler, and more set out as a town, rather than the hidden enclaves which made up Whistler. I could definitely have done a season here!
Back at the hotel, the boys headed down to the hot tubs whilst Amanda and I stayed in, playing on the internet. As we'd skipped lunch in favour of ice-cream, we were hungry early, so we headed into town at 6pm. It was pouring and cold, so we headed straight for the Old Spaghetti Factory as it was the closest restaurant to us. They have an amazing deal where for $12.95 you get a main (sorry, 'entree' in Canada - very confusing!) and salad or soup, dessert, and unlimited bread. Amanda, Luke and I all ordered lasagna, which consisted mainly of cheese - way to much cheese for one person to ever consume. Luke even wrote a comment on the comment card telling them to ease up on the cheese!
We were considering watching a movie at the cinema in town but decided to pay for an in-room movie instead. What a waste of $11.99 - it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, seemingly dragging on for ever!
Happy ANZAC Day! It's important for me to celebrate ANZAC Day with Mark being in the Army (and shortly to be deployed again), so after breakfast we sat in the hostel room and watched a Youtube clip that contained the Last Post etc. I'd spent ages the night before trying to find the 'perfect' clip that incorporated everything that normally went into an ANZAC Day tribute, and we actually ended up watching a clip from the AFL ANZAC Day match! Tim Tams and Aussie Flag tattoos contribued to our Aussie pride as well.
Our destination today was Banff, which was only 57km away and took less than 45 minutes to arrive at. As normal, the first order of business was to secure accommodation. We had looked on the internet the night before and compiled a 'top 3' list. We had realised that it pays not to book accommodation in advance. For example, booking a room for 4 through Travelocity might cost $99, but then the site charges $25 for the extra 2 people + tax, which makes the total expensive. If we turned up at the hotel instead, they would normally give us a cheaper price than advertised online, and waive the additional guests fee.
Working for the government, Luke has a '3 quotes' policy, so we looked at a few hotels to compare prices and facilities. We ended up staying at the Best Western again - about a five minute walk from the centre of Banff, and with free breakfast.
We headed out for a walk, in the direction of Tim Horton's - for which we had excitedly been told had recently opened in Banff. 'Tim's' is an institution in Canada, known for it's cheap coffee and donuts, and it's round the clock hours. Even more exciting for Amanda and I was the discovery of a 'Cold Stone Creamery' - a rip-off of Cold Rock Ice-Creamery in Australia. It was too early for lunch but not for a snack, so Amanda and I enjoyed ice-cream - mine being mint chocolate ice-cream with brownie pieces and chocolate chips - yum!
The others decided to walk back to the hotel, but I was keen to explore the town - we'd only just arrived! I spent about two hours walking the streets of Banff and checking out the stores. It was amazing - bigger than Whistler, and more set out as a town, rather than the hidden enclaves which made up Whistler. I could definitely have done a season here!
Back at the hotel, the boys headed down to the hot tubs whilst Amanda and I stayed in, playing on the internet. As we'd skipped lunch in favour of ice-cream, we were hungry early, so we headed into town at 6pm. It was pouring and cold, so we headed straight for the Old Spaghetti Factory as it was the closest restaurant to us. They have an amazing deal where for $12.95 you get a main (sorry, 'entree' in Canada - very confusing!) and salad or soup, dessert, and unlimited bread. Amanda, Luke and I all ordered lasagna, which consisted mainly of cheese - way to much cheese for one person to ever consume. Luke even wrote a comment on the comment card telling them to ease up on the cheese!
We were considering watching a movie at the cinema in town but decided to pay for an in-room movie instead. What a waste of $11.99 - it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, seemingly dragging on for ever!
Post a Comment