CALGARY, CANADA

Arrived in Calgary just before Easter. And was it a great Easter. Lots of eating and more eating was involved, as well as the company of great friends. It's something different to experience Easter away from your comfort zone, what you know, away from family. But I didn't feel that. Easter may have been Canadian but it was still Easter.
While staying in Calgary I had the pleasure of travelling to Banff. And I thought Whistler was great. Dude Banff is definitely on the to do again list. There was a visit to a lake as well. I'll have to ask C for the correct pronounciation as apparently I keep pronouncing it wrong, Lake Minnewanka.

PHOTOS - Whistler

PHOTOS - Vancouver

View from Granville St bridge
Granville Island Market
View from hotel

VICTORIA, CANADA

Yesterday I took a BC ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island.  Victoria is actually the capital of British Columbia .. and it shows.  The grand old buildings, the british style of architecture.  I think Victoria is more british than the british.  They even have double decker buses, mind you they are white.

Also headed out to Butchart Gardens.  Gardens in early spring are wonderful.  Not everything is flowering but there is this feeling of new life everywhere.  Some of the bulbs were just sprouting but the hyacinths were in full bloom and boy could you smell them.  The scent was intoxicating.  And the colours!  The highlight was the sunken garden.  Photos to follow soon.

VANCOUVER, CANADA

Greetings from Vancouver. I arrived on Sunday after a journey across the pacific with AirNZ. Can I say if I could fly AirNZ everywhere I would. Qantas has a lot to learn from these guys. How's this for groundhog day .. I flew out April 5th at 12pm and arrived April 5th at 2pm.
First thing I noticed when I arrived in Vanc was the mountains. Wow! After arriving at the hotel and checking out the fantastic view from the window (sorry no photos today - forgot the cable in my room and can't be bothered backtracking to hotel) I set out to explore.

Granville Island was first on the agenda. As it was getting late in the afternoon and it had taken awhile to get to the city from the airport, I was on a tight schedule. No beer stops here, even though the Granville Island Brewing Company beckoned. But the public market was a must. From there it was a "short" stroll up Granville St to Vij's. Now I have heard alot about this place from people back home. So by the time I arrived I was famished. The queue (waiting time) was a wee bit long for my liking so I went next door to Rangoli, incidently owned by the same people and they rotate the same chefs through the kitchen. The food was delicious!! Definitely recommend. After the meal I decided to walk back to my hotel on Burrard St ... the long way. Along the way I came across a film production crew setting up a scene in the middle of Downtown. Apparently you can't walk anywhere in Vancouver without bumping into someone filming something. Got to see Freddie Prince Jr wearing a cape and lycra .. it was so funny.

Yesterday I went up to Whistler. Still lots of snow about but warm too. Also talk about an Aussie invasion. Every second person I heard speaking had an Aussie accent.

Today I went for a bike ride around Stanley Park. Loved it! Perfect spring weather. Now I am walking around Downtown, Yaletown, Chinatown, Gastown and Soma. And as the guidebooks say do not walk anywhere near East Hastings St. It's all true.

Time for another trip

It's time to dust off this blog, another trip is pending! Stay tuned for updates.

GERMANY/AUSTRIA

Just realised that I haven't written bout my last week in Europe. It went like this beer beer and more beer. There was also a trip to Salzburg, where I caught up with friends and did the Sound of Music tour. The hills were definitely alive with the sound of music .. Mozart. I also had the pleasure of enjoying a few of the beer halls in Munich. And I can finally say it rained. Second day in Salzburg it poured and my last day in Munich. But it didn't matter cause I had a fantastic time with my friends and didn't even notice it.
On the way home I enjoyed 7 hours in transit at KL airport. Oh joy. And when I arrived in Melbourne it was 7 degrees C, that scarf I bought definitely came in handy. And that's about it.

PHOTOS - Innsbruck, AUSTRIA

PHOTOS - Munich, GERMANY

PHOTOS - SCOTLAND