October 21, 2018

From Nelson we headed to our third destination of Revelstoke where we spent just one night.  We arrived in Revelstoke for lunch after another big drive taking in some beautiful scenery and a fun ferry ride across the lake.  

Revelstoke is a big ski town and like most ski towns they have some attraction on their ski mountains during the summer months – in Revelstoke this was the Pipe Mountain Coaster ride!  I got to join the kids on this super fun ride down the mountain in the beautiful countryside!  

After a lovely relaxing evening spent on the balcony of our hotel (Coast Hillcrest Hotel) overlooking the gorgeous mountains we then headed for off for our first day in the beautiful Rocky Mountains via the Yoho National Park.   One of the best tips we were given prior to doing our road trip was to download the Gypsy Guide App which has an amazing guided tour of all of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.  It works via GPS so it knows exactly where you are and gives you a fabulous commentary of everything you are seeing and the best places to stop!  

Highlights from our day in Yoho were a visit to beautiful Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls and seeing a train travel through the Sprial train tracks! Beautiful day on the road.

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September 26, 2018

Looking for a lovely day out while visiting Vancouver then a trip along the Sea to Sky Highway to the Sea to Sky Gondola at Squamish is just perfect.   The Sea to Sky Gondola is approximately an hours drive from Downtown Vancouver along one of the most scenic drives in British Columbia.

We visited on a beautiful sunny June day when the skies were clear making the views just perfect!  If you are feeling extra energetic and looking for a great hike you can head up the mountain on foot but we chose the easy option via the gondola!  

One up top there is plenty to do with shorter easy hikes, a lovely lunch in the cafe with the stunning views or a walk across the suspension bridge. 

We spent a good hour or so wandering and enjoying the sights before our trip back down the mountain.  It was then on to Whistler for another walk around the beautiful and bustling village, a delicious lunch, treats at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate shop and a trip to Lost Lake which looks oh so different in summer!

Another great day out in Canada!

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August 25, 2018

With so many fabulous places to visit on our doorstep here in Vancouver we headed out to Vancouver Island for another long weekend in June while my mum was visiting from Australia.  This time our destination was the seaside village of Torfino which is on the south western side of the island!  In summer it is a big surf town, while in winter it is where the storm watchers head to see the wild weather that batters this side of the island.

We stayed in a great little place called Duffin Cove Resort which was right at the far end of town as you drive through.  We had one of the cute waterfront villas that was super cute with a loft bedroom for the kids and a king bed and mini kitchen downstairs!  We were right on the water so the kids could play on the rocks while we sat on the deck and watched the sun set.  

We also did a bear watching tour which was loads of fun.  We jumped on a zodiac with just 8 others and were wicked up the inlet to see the bears coming out of the forest to feed on the rocks at the waters edge as the tide went out.  It is always so fabulous to learn more about these animals and the way they live.

We ate at some fabulous restaurants the favourite being The Wolf in the Fog.  We finished the weekend with a quick trip back through Victoria so we could show mum the capital of British Columbia.  We visited last year so we stopped at our favourite asian restaurant in Chinatown for a quick meal before doing a driving tour of this little city.

It was then back on the ferry homeward bound after a fun 3 days away.

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May 24, 2018

We have completed embraced the skiing life while living here in Canada and while I am still very much a basic green run skier (aka the easiest slope you can find!!) we have had the opportunity to visit and ski in Whistler on three different weekends over the winter.  We also were able to catch up with many Aussie visitors during our weekends in the snow which was loads of fun!  

The conditions have been completely different every weekend – from so much snow we didn’t know what to do with it to beautiful blue skies and icy slopes!  No matter what the conditions though being outside in the fresh air getting some exercise is just the best way to spend your days!

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February 9, 2018

After a fantastic few weeks tripping up the east coast of the US it was time to head back to Canada to visit the three big eastern cities of Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto.

After leaving Portland we headed north through the very rural and quite state of Maine and over the boarder into Quebec!  The drive was about 5 and a half hours and we were surprised at how quite the roads were in this part of the world.

We arrived in Quebec City ready to explore this beautiful part of very French Canada.  You would never really think you were in Canada on arrival.  All signage and all language spoken is French so it really did feel like we had dropped ourselves into Europe!  

Quebec City was just beautiful and after New York the second favourite place we visited on our trip.  We stayed at Les Hotels Jaro just outside the old town but in a great location that was in easy walking distance to everything.  We had three days visiting the city and during the entire time we walked everywhere.  The beautiful streets are narrow and quaint and a large portion of the town is car free.   Such a lovely place to visit and just wander around absorbing the history!  Here are my favourite shots from our Canadian adventure.

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Next stop was the city of Montreal – much bigger and busier than QC but still lots of old world charm.  We stayed at L Appartement Hotel and once again decided to do without the car and walk wherever we had to go.  Montreal is a lot more widespread than Quebec City so we did need to walk further to see everything but it meant we got to do lots of exploring.  

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Final stop on our Canadian leg was the big booming city of Toronto!  So busy with all that traffic on the very busy multi lane highways in and out of the city.  We stayed at the very flash Adelaide Hotel downtown which was a lucky find on expedia at a special price.  Again lots of walking around the city which included a trip up the amazing CN Tower to see the wonderful views over this incredible city.  A day trip to Niagara Falls to see the amazing waterfalls was a big highlight of our visit.

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