Sunday, 22 January 2012
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Calgary, Dog Sledding in Canmore and Lake Louise
Off on our next adventure we headed to our friends Gav and Julie in Calgary to spend the night beofre heading to the Rocky Mountains for the weekend. The boys took in a game of backyard hockey with Julie and Ian while we waited for Christine to arrive on the bus from Edmonton.
After a hearty breakfast we left Calgary and headed towards Canmore in the Rocky Mountains where we had booked a dog sledding adventure on Spray Lakes. It took a bit of finding but the drive was well worth it. The scenery was absolutely amazing and every view was a photo opportunity.
Our arrival in Canmore was so picturesque we wished we could have just sat down with a glass of wine and enjoyed it for longer. The view from our bedroom window was amazing.
So we quickly took it all in and headed for our dog sled. All rugged up we and he dogs were ready to go.
And off we all go....
It was awesome. Those little dogs sure know how to run! The wind started to whip across the lake and boy it was cold. Real snot freezing weather. Even though we were all rugged up it was freezing.
Back to our chalet and warmed up with a hot chocolate and a soak in the outdoor hot tub.
Next morning our plan was to head to Banff and Lake Louise. We decided to go to Lake Louise first, stop and have some lunch and then on to Banff. At Lake Louise we got to see the International Ice Carving Festival - amazing pieces of work!
What a gorgeous place. We could not believe the sheer size of the mountains.HUGE is an understatement. We just sat in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and admired the view. It was so relaxing. It also made us all miss home alot wishing our family and friends were here to enjoy the atmosphere with us. We spent so long relaxing that the only time we got to spend in Banff was a quick drive through the main drag and a bathroom stop so we could get back to Calgary to put Christine on the bus.
Funny story there too - Greg drove downtown Calgary on the wrong side of the road. Thinking we need to decorate the car with an Aussie flag and L plates to warn other drivers that we drive on the other side of the road normally and that our brains don't function quite yet to get used to driving on the opposite side.
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| Joey, Paddy, Julie and Ian in a hockey match. |
After a hearty breakfast we left Calgary and headed towards Canmore in the Rocky Mountains where we had booked a dog sledding adventure on Spray Lakes. It took a bit of finding but the drive was well worth it. The scenery was absolutely amazing and every view was a photo opportunity.
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| View from our Canmore hotel. |
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| View from the Master bedroom. |
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| Christine and Paddy ready to roll. |
It was awesome. Those little dogs sure know how to run! The wind started to whip across the lake and boy it was cold. Real snot freezing weather. Even though we were all rugged up it was freezing.
Back to our chalet and warmed up with a hot chocolate and a soak in the outdoor hot tub.
Next morning our plan was to head to Banff and Lake Louise. We decided to go to Lake Louise first, stop and have some lunch and then on to Banff. At Lake Louise we got to see the International Ice Carving Festival - amazing pieces of work!
What a gorgeous place. We could not believe the sheer size of the mountains.HUGE is an understatement. We just sat in the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and admired the view. It was so relaxing. It also made us all miss home alot wishing our family and friends were here to enjoy the atmosphere with us. We spent so long relaxing that the only time we got to spend in Banff was a quick drive through the main drag and a bathroom stop so we could get back to Calgary to put Christine on the bus.
Funny story there too - Greg drove downtown Calgary on the wrong side of the road. Thinking we need to decorate the car with an Aussie flag and L plates to warn other drivers that we drive on the other side of the road normally and that our brains don't function quite yet to get used to driving on the opposite side.
Friday, 13 January 2012
Anniversaries, Meeting other Exchangees and Hockey.
The first week of school was had with mixed emotions. Greg was overwhelmed with the new curriculum, new staff and being inside all of the time (although walking to work has given him time to think through the day - not sure how much thinking as it is only about 200m down a path). The boys embraced school really well. Paddy in Grade 1 English (unfortunately not able to do Kinder French as is only 3 days a week and I certainly wasn't keeping him at home :)), Joey into Grade 2 English with the option of going into Grade 3 at a later date (this will mean he needs to change schools). Me - I was sad to not have the family around. A few tears initally (probably because this was the first year I had everyone at school on my birthday) but I soon got over that and threw myself into doing some exercise and sorting out our travel adventures to be had. I also had some lovely pressies which made life bearable too.
Not a family to sit still for long we spent the weekend in Edmonton where we met other exchangees from Australia and had a meeting with the people in Canada who had made our exchange possible. Sitting in a classroom most of the day was a little antsy but we were lucky enough to witness a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony and the boys got to spend the day at the Telus World of Science in Edmonton. We were also given a gift of a a toy moose who we have called "Ruddy" (Kevin just didn't suit him) who from time to time will appear in our blog adventures.
It was also here we got to celebrate our 11 year wedding anniversary so Greg took all of us (including our adopted Christine) to an Oilers Game.
So Canadians are fanatical about their hockey and we too have been corrupted! Loving the biff and action. We have adopted the Edmonton Oilers as our team to cheer on. Unfortunately the Oilers got smashed by the Anaheim Ducks but we still had a great time.
The next day we spent at West Edmonton Mall enjoying Galaxyland - the indoor theme park within a shopping centre. Joey was able to Skype his friends which was great as he was feeling a bit home sick and we got to have a little shopping adventure too.
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| Snow flakes for my birthday |
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| Perfume and tea gifts |
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| Beautiful flowers from Frank and Elaine |
Not a family to sit still for long we spent the weekend in Edmonton where we met other exchangees from Australia and had a meeting with the people in Canada who had made our exchange possible. Sitting in a classroom most of the day was a little antsy but we were lucky enough to witness a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony and the boys got to spend the day at the Telus World of Science in Edmonton. We were also given a gift of a a toy moose who we have called "Ruddy" (Kevin just didn't suit him) who from time to time will appear in our blog adventures.
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| Introducing Ruddy - who was njoying an Oilers game here :) |
It was also here we got to celebrate our 11 year wedding anniversary so Greg took all of us (including our adopted Christine) to an Oilers Game.
So Canadians are fanatical about their hockey and we too have been corrupted! Loving the biff and action. We have adopted the Edmonton Oilers as our team to cheer on. Unfortunately the Oilers got smashed by the Anaheim Ducks but we still had a great time.
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| Go Oilers!!! |
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| Finally a save |
The next day we spent at West Edmonton Mall enjoying Galaxyland - the indoor theme park within a shopping centre. Joey was able to Skype his friends which was great as he was feeling a bit home sick and we got to have a little shopping adventure too.
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| Paddy enjoying the Dodgems. |
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| Joey flying the plane. |
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