Wandering Banff

Hi all,

Not too much to report today, other than that fact we had our first rainy day in a month of travel. It's a bit of a shame as the weather was mid 20s and beautiful in the days before we got to Banff, and it looks like two days after we leave they'll have nice weather again. Never mind, the bonus was that most of the footpath crowds from yesterday were nowhere to be seen so we got to walk leisurely around the town not weaving in and out of groups of people.

We got a coffee and sat at an undercover patio before walking up and down the main street souvenir shopping. On the way, we saw a building that Pa had his photo taken outside of, which is only one of two photos I have of him over here. Our first dance song from our wedding ('Everything' by Michael Buble) came on in one of the shops which was a weird coincidence. After lots of trying on and lots of whinging by me that neither the USA or Canada seem to cater to small women (S in adult was massive on me and L in kids too small) Rob got a nice T shirt and I bought a jumper that is too big. I've decided it'll either be like an Oodie or I'll shrink it a bit in the wash. It's nice anyway!

We continued on and crossed the bridge here that was built in 1923, then walked through the garden of the Banff National Park Administration building. Then we continued on the Bow River path where we had a laugh at a squirrel and a bird agitating each other. The squirrel ended up running to the top of a really tall tree as a result. We ended up at Bow Falls, a series of rapids in the river that were impressive.

On the way back we ate a beaver tail (a friend flat bread type snack that looks like a beaver tail). We had ours with cinnamon and sugar. Then we had a rest in the room before setting off for an early dinner. Thanks to a recommendation from Rhiannon and Adam, we realised that some restaurants here have 50% off their food between 4.30pm - 5.30pm, which is a great deal considering how expensive everything is here. Rob and I went to Lupo, an Italian restaurant, and shared an entree, each had a pizza and an alcoholic drink and it was only $60 Australian including a tip. We had a nice view into the street too.

We were meant to go up the gondola this morning but changed it to this afternoon and then this evening due to the clouds, but they didn't lift so we have changed it to tomorrow. The third time we changed it we had to drive to the terminal and do it in person. We don't hold high hopes for tomorrow as the forecast is similar, but we wouldn't have seen a thing today so it's worth a shot.

Tonight we are having a night in ahead of our final day in Banff.

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox