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Sicily Day 5

22 September 2015 / admin

Monday 21 September 2015

Much earlier in the year Sicily had suffered some enormous storms and as a result a section of the motorway A19 had suffered damage as the ground had suffered a landslide. Consequently many journeys are being delayed as the alternative is a long journey around the hills. We take a break (much needed) in Polizzi Generosa which these days has a major claim to fame as the birthplace of Domenico Dolce. On the way we can see the distorted motorway – and that will take some time to fix.

Our target today is Villa Romana del Casale which is almost in the centre of the island. Perhaps a brief recap the history of Sicily might be in order. The Phoenicians had the western end of the island, whilst the Greeks had the eastern side. The latter evenutally drove out the former. When the Romans were in dominant form they took the island from the Greeks but later the westward spread of the muslims saw a complete change in the island which was recaptured for Christianity by the Normans (although it took them 20 years). Subsequently the island was passed around various European countries by treaty and eventually Garibaldi landed at Marsala and this finally led to a formation of a single Italian state in the nineteenth century.

Sicily is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and holding the island was often key to being able to trade across the sea. During their time here the Romans were at their pomp and consequently there was a lot of money which the owner of this villa ploughed into the building – it was both an extensive but also extremely well decorated villa. Our guide has been excellent throughout but today I wander through the villa following the approved route taking the photographs which I fancy and from which a small selection has mare it to here. Given the mosaic work used throughout the edifice the entire property must have been owned by someone very wealthy – although there seems to be no certainty about that aspect. For more history go to this Wikipedia link.

The villa has been dated back to about the 4th Century AD; it was abandoned in about the 12th Century following a landslide. Excavations commenced in 1929 and finished in 1960.

Having had a look around the web there are some excellent photographs to be found on this site.

The most famous mosaics relate to the “Bikini Girls” – so not a sixties invention after all – and hunting scenes. My own pictures do not do the enterprise justice and I am quite disappointed that I have not managed to get the light levels right.

We have another lengthy drive across to the east of the island to a hotel near to Taormina. For lunch however we go to a restaurant in Piazza Armerina which is a relatively short drive. Another good meal.

In the afternoon we cross through a huge agricultural area and I can appreciate how the island was considered a valuable resource as it could easily provide food for armies. Later in the drive we can see Mount Etna in the distance as we pass the southern side of the volcano before reaching the motorway and then passing the eastern side of the volcano.

Our destination (Hotel Antares) is a large tourist hotel built on a hillside with its own private little cliffside railway to provide a route between the rooms and linking the public areas top and bottom! The town itself (at sea level) is reached by descending by yet another lift through the rocks and then a walk through a car park, under railway and roads on viaducts along to the front where we found a restaurant on the sea front and had a good meal. Most of our fellow travellers seemed to turn up in the restaurant as we were leaving. Also entertaining was a waiter attempting to chat up the girls at the table next to ours!

Sicily Day 4

21 September 2015 / admin

Sunday 20 September 2015

This morning we head north again driving across the island to reach Palermo which is the capital of the island.

Our first visit is to the Mirto Palace – there is a description here which betters my own photos which can be found here. Exquisite furnishing and decorations abound, the leather lined fumoir was probably an improvement on the current arrangements forcing people out of doors! Wonderful collections of china of which I suspect only representative samples are on display and needless to say some glorious chandeliers. We shall see other evidence of past wealth in Sicily on the remainder of the trip.

We move onto the Royal Palace and the stunning Palatine Chapel. The craftsmanship is simply stunning and my photos simply do not do the place justice. There is a Wikipedia article here. We also visited the apartments but photos were not permitted.

Next stop is the Cathedral and we manage to gain entry only to be advised that it is lunchtime and man in charge rather sharply instructs us all to leave – the only time I believe when we see evidence of Sicilian hostility – but he is entitled to his lunch hour and we to ours. Into town and we manage a rather large pizza! Some of the architecture is captured.

Back on the coach and a sleep whilst our driver heads a little south to Monreale and our third church of the day – well it is Sunday! The cathedral here is of Norman origin – and this is from the time when in 1072 the Normans had claimed the island – a war had commenced in 1061 and the island did not finally become Norman controlled until 1086 with the fall of Syracuse – 25 years against one battle in Hastings in 1066 to take control of England! Those muslims must have been far tougher! And the island returned to Christianity. Monreale became the seat of Christian power. It is less decorated than the places seen earlier in the day so was from that viewpoint not as fascinating. Photographs can be found here.

The day is far from over as we head along the northern edge of Sicily to Cefalu and book into another hotel. Our room has a rather unwelcome odour and a request for it to be resolved whilst we are at dinner is made.

Dinner is in the town centre in a dining room over looking the raging sea. Whilst we are in the restaurant (Kentia) a huge storm is taking place outside – thunder, lightning and strong winds and rain. Food is pretty good as well – although in common with the other places chosen by the tour operators we are on a set menu and our food does not quite measure up to the standards we see being delivered to other tables.

Luckily the weather abates slightly before we have to walk back up the hill to the coach; so we return to the hotel damp – but not wringing wet.

The odour has worsened and would prevent sleep so after the phone is put down on a complaint my wife goes to reception and returns after about 20 minutes and we have to move to another room in an annexe, which means crossing the road. So cases reloaded we head out and when we reach the road my wife cannot remember where to go – so at close to midnight we are lost in the middle of the road! Eventually she divines our destination and we get indoors and get ready for bed.

Just before we get into bed another vast downpour commences and the noise of the rain on the roof is almost deafening. Somehow we manage to sleep.

Sicily Day 3

20 September 2015 / admin

Saturday 19 September 2015

We head across the south west corner of the island today to reach Marsala which is a small attractive town on the western coastline.

Marsala joins a list of British influenced places producing fortified wines – Madeira, Jerez and Porto – to name but three others. Inevitably therefore a Marsala tasting at the Pelligrini facility has been included in our tour. The older wines are fortified in oak barrels for up to thirty years. Younger wines are not exported but are apparently all consumed within Italy (if not just Sicily). There are a number of wine houses around the town, although the one we visited remained family owned and was investing in new buildings and facilities – so the business must be doing well. Too sweet for me of course – but I do partake in the tasting!

Marsala is an attractive little town although we had little time to experience the sights as we wandered around. As in most places we ar dropped near the town gates and the coach then has to go away and return at the appointed time. This time the party were foregathered with only one exception – the tour guide!

Photographs can be found here.

We travelled a little way along the coast to look at the extensive salt drying basins. Historically the salt water was moved between th basins using windpower but the ancient windmills are abandoned as the water is now moved using diesel power. As the water moves it evaporates leaving the salt behind which then is piled in huge mounds awaiting removal – these days there are conveyor belts to help the salt movements so less dependent on man power.

We take a small boat out into the almost land locked harbour to visit the island of Isola San Pantaleo or Mozia and rather than walking the length of the island in the extreme heat we slowly progress around the island on the water to enable the Carthiginian works to be appreciated. The Whitaker foundation – from Joseph Whitaker – owns the museum which is in the centre of the island and was responsible for the initial investigation into the island. Much has now been pieced together of the Carthiginian history – including the clear evidence of fresh water availability on the island. A recurring feature is that Sicily was once blessed with far more fresh water than is now the case.

We move onto Erice – a hillside town a little to the north east of Trappani. Hilltop is more accurate – we have a fairly demanding stroll up the hill, admiring the views on the way to the western part of the island (including Trappani), eventually reaching the fort at the top of the hill which then also has commanding views over the north western tip of the island and towards Palermo. Photos for this can be found here.

We return to Marinella by a faster road and during this trip I am woken to see a train – but my camera is not to hand.

This evening we are taken to sample another aspect of Italy (and Sicily) with a meal at an “Agriturismo” restaurant. Nothing quite as simple as a farmhouse holiday – this is a serious restaurant cooking some excellent food – and majoring on olive oil which is the key item of produce. “Agriturismo” is extensive across Italy as a way of promoting farming and local produce. The anti-pasti was again memorable and only the local speciality of barbecued meats was not generally well received – although we had consumed so much of the earlier courses it did not matter greatly.

Time for bed.

Sicily Day 2

19 September 2015 / admin

Friday 18 September 2015

A longish day today as we head out of Ragusa and along the south coast of Sicily. So a lot of dozing on the coach. A brief stop for coffee and to stretch legs and then we head to Agrigento where, on the top of a hill is the “Valley of the Temples”, so called because the modern town looks down on the temples from above.

The temperature today is even higher and I am really feeling it for once. We look at the Temple of Hera which is the highest and then we slowly descend to the far more complete Temple of Concordia which shows a good example of the Greek approach to architecture and their need for almost perfect symmetry. At the far end is the temple of Hercules which like Hera suffered badly from earthquakes and time. Photos here.

Due to the heat we retreat to the cafe and treat ourselves to a granita whilst the more intrepid head to see the Temple of Zeus. Later of course I find I should not be consuming granita as they are largely sugar.

Lunch is at a countryside restaurant across the valley from the Temples and this includes one of the most memorable dishes consumed on the holiday – an excellent lemon risotto. Sadly the undercooked veal/beef for the main course rather ruined the effect.

Salvatore is back in the driver’s seat and we now head further along the coast to Marinella where the heat challenged choose to retire to our rather nice hotel room (for two nights) and the others head out to see some more ruins.

In the evening we wander down the steps at the back of the hotel and out on to the main street and on to the small harbour wall at the far end of which we sat to watch the sunset. As usual the wife had studied eating places on Trip Advisor and the recommended location was right in front of us, so was easy to find. A nice meal and we get to stay two nights!

Sicily Day 1

18 September 2015 / admin

Thursday 17 September 2015

We had in fact left Gatwick on the Wednesday evening but late as the British Airways plane had not arrived on time. Indeed we had the usual denial of any delays but the give away is when you are told that the gate information will not be provided until about 5 minutes prior to planned departure. So why not an apology alternating with the delay rather than complete denial. None of us are really that stupid any longer.

The stupid people are the baggage handlers who, because of the delay, must have decided to leave the luggage in the open whilst it is raining. We are not too badly affected we find on opening our cases – we identify the wet items and make use of the hair dryer to dry out the worst items.

Our tour guide for the week had met us at Catania airport and Salvatore took us down the motorway to Syracuse for our first night – which was much shorter than planned due to the delayed arrival and the time spent drying clothes on arrival.

The photos of Syracuse are to be found here.

The day is warm and sunny and first we go on a walking tour around the oldest part of the city before going to the Archealogical Park where some of the earliest Greek remains are to be found. The Greeks dug into the side of the hills to remove the stone needed for construction and left the ground above. However an earthquake later brought down the remaining supports; there is evidence of one support standing with walls of a farmhouse still visible.

This tour was chosen as it is packed and after our first Granita we head inland to Noto (photos here) which was destroyed by earthquake and rebuilt in baroque style in the eighteenth century. Lunch here provides a first real taste of the Sicilian palate before reboarding the coach and wending our way (via Modica – no stop) to the hillside town of Ragusa, where the old town is famous as housing the tv version of the hq of Inspector Montalbano and some of the surrounding streets seem familiar from the programmes.

We visit the old town (it was there first but due to an earthquake the buildings are a similar age to the new town) and there are photos to be found here.

Dinner in a local restaurant – this meal is included in the tour, as indeed was one each day – was also good local food as we have our first introduction to anti-pasto.

Canada, O Canada

25 May 2015 / admin

Friday 22 May 2015

Homeward bound we finally reach our front door lateish on Saturday afternoon, my thanks to Cerys Matthews (Radio 6; Sunday mornings), Johnnie Walker (Radio 2; Sunday afternoons) and Mike Brown (CHBN – the Friday Alternative, should be compulsory listening) for providing an aural disguise to the jet engines on the 747. No photographs on this section!

If I have not gushed enough about Canada on the individual blog posts then this is my last opportunity. Taken in the round we loved the trip itself (with diverse views on the sleeper accommodation on the Canadian between Toronto and Jasper); we thought it gave a wonderful representation of the country and speaking personally I would hope we can find an opportunity to visit the eastern part of the country that was missing on this trip. Oddly Victoria was outstanding as we were completely ignorant of the place and another trip covering just there and Vancouver might be planned – simply because we feel there must be more to see than just the highlights we hit.

Not a single meal which could be rated as poor over the entire holiday – and in general service was outstanding – usually friendly chats with waiting staff provoked by an initial enquiry about our accents and of course a shared history and interest. The good service rating does not extend to VIA Rail who should take up operating freight trains given their incompetence and complete absence of passenger service (and passenger needs are far higher than any mere customer).

It is impossible to single out a highlight – up the CN Tower, Rocky Mountaineer, Jasper, Victoria, Sulphur Mountain gondola in Banff, Vancouver – there are too many good bits.

We enjoyed it and had a great time. I think the sunshine helped – apparently we were somewhat lucky in this respect. If you can go then do so. Another great holiday.

Victoria, Vancouver Island

25 May 2015 / admin

Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 May 2015

We had initially wondered why this “excursion” existed at the end of our holiday as frankly we knew nothing about Victoria and given that we lose a large chunk of one day travelling we did wonder about the value of it. So coach travel to the ferry – Spirit of British Columbia – which operates in much the same way as the ferries to France being RORO. Then a further 40 minutes or so down the highway to Victoria.

First point of positivity – the hotel room here is a suite with an extra living room – so it is all very spacious. Second point of positivity – the sun is shining even brighter than in Vancouver. Travelling takes it toll and so we decide to take a rest this afternoon. We have a free day tomorrow and want to make the best use of day.

In the evening we head out for a meal at Matisse which is, according to Trip Advisor, the best restaurant in the city. Given the name it is hardly surprising that it is French and we have an excellent meal based around their tasting menu. I open with an excellent lobster soup, follow it with a stuffed crepe and then I have a rather nice piece of stuffed rabbit leg which had been deboned and sliced; this is the second time I have eaten rabbit on this holiday and I hope that is representative of the frequency it appears on Canadian menus. Jackie had a piece of char for main course and the original plan had been to eat half each and swap – but once she saw it she decided she was eating all of it! We have the wine flight and the total bill was about £120 in total – pretty good value for money anywhere.

On Thursday with the sun still shining we wander around the back of the hotel for a croissant and coffee as recommended by a member of the hotel cleaning staff (many thanks – a good croissant). We then did what we would do if we arrived here on a cruise ship – we took the open top bus tour ride. We always find these to be pretty good value in giving an insight into the place we have landed and also hitting the highlights in terms of sights to see. Which I have managed to catch in some of my photographs.

Once we have returned to the city centre we take some pictures of the Empress Hotel and then take a walk along the shoreline to Fisherman’s Wharf – it turns into a car park at one point and seems a little inconsistent, but it is great to watch the little ferries popping about around the inner harbour and the seaplanes coming and going. Number one seaplane airport in the world apparently. There is a colourful floating village plus the usual range of expensive yachts to admire.

Victoria is a lovely place; rainfall is about half of Vancouver and it enjoys a far less extreme climate change. No sign of the less fortunate and opportunities to sit in the sun and enjoy a drink. Something I have hardly mentioned is the existence of local breweries across Canada – there seems to be a real craft brewing background and there has been a wide selection of beers accompany meals. Around Victoria there are gardens and other attractions which our fellow travellers strike out to do. One common occupation for visitors such as ourselves is whale watching which we had planned to do. However our earlier bus trip had allowed us to see out to sea – with a huge fog bank hanging between the Canadian and American land masses. Those who do go out to sea admit on their return that the whales had not been visible and indeed the boats were cold and not entirely smooth. I am sure Jackie’s objections to water borne transport would have been heard.

We catch one of the little bobbing ferries back across the harbour. Interestingly they do not seem to have a particularly fixed timetable. The captain asks where we wish to go ($5 each per journey) and then sets off to the furthest point before heading back. Our stop is actually closed so he drops us off at an adjacent pier – which is alarming for my wife as she can see the water through the boarding.

Dominating the harbour is a bascule Johnson Street bridge built by the same engineer as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Originally there was another span for the trains but these ceased operation a few years ago. The bridge now limits the traffic flow and is in the process of being replaced. Somehow it seems unlikely the trains will return. We head to Johnson Street for lunch – “Il Terrazzo” which is but a few steps away and well signposted as it is slightly off the street itself. Another good meal is enjoyed before we wander back to the hotel for a rest before thinking about packing ahead of our return home – which is going to be a long journey tomorrow.

Vancouver

25 May 2015 / admin

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Good morning Vancouver. Our swift trip through the streets last night was followed by a retreat to bed and some sleep but this morning we have a tour of the main city area commencing with Stanley Park.

Pictures of the totem poles and other sights in Vancouver are together in this location.

Stanley Park was originally heavily wooded and the initial foreigners who landed culled the wood for use and so this is a modern replanting. The First Nation occupied this area during summer and at the heart of the area was a very large collection of shells going back over 6000 years of dumping of rubbish. At the end of the Park is the Lion’s Gate Bridge which leads to the West Vancouver “British Properties” built by the Guinness family in the 1930’s. The bridge is named after the “Lion’s Ears” twin peaks in the distance (see the photos). The Lion’s Gate name was then appropriated for the film company – Vancouver has a large and flourishing film industry; presumably the light attracts film makers in the same way as Hollywood.

Vancouver is, like Toronto, at heart a modern city – total recent history only reaching back about 150 years; but it has been a place which has found favour with a weather pattern not unlike the UK, more rain perhaps; although our stay is blessed with unbroken sunshine the local residents advise that this is unusual. We drive through one of the residential areas and past very expensive car showrooms – later on the streets we see evidence that ownership of very high end models seems very common. Queen Elizabeth park, named after HM The Queen Mother, from a Royal visit to open the Lion’s Gate Bridge is reached and is in glorious bloom. We do not have time to visit the local equivalent of the Eden Dome which stands in the park.

We pass through Chinatown which along with the one seen in Toronto does not seem so attractive as in London; we are told that it has “moved”; but my wife feels it looks down at heel. Our tour terminates close to the regenerated area of Gastown which no doubt was once run down and decrepit being close to the Docks and railways originally. However now full of small boutiques and pubs and antique shops it provides a more welcoming view of Vancouver, particularly in this warmth.

We dine at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which improves the budget position somewhat; clam chowder soup and a salad. Financially we have spent more than planned on this holiday; without doing anything silly. It is unfair to say Canada is expensive – but we have had to buy virtually all breakfasts whilst on many other holidays that would be within the price for accomodation. We knew this would be the case (no complaint on that front) but we had perhaps expected them to be a little less costly than has been the case. This morning we ate at Forage – which was on the list of possible dining locations and the lunch cost little more than breakfast!

Around the city we see evidence of older men sitting on corners and in motorised wheelchairs making requests for money and are several times approached by younger men for assistance, the latter all well spoken and polite; presumably the lack of a complete welfare state. As mentioned above there is evidence that there are some pretty rich people around and also this contingent of those with some form of difficulty. The range somehow seems wider than at home.

Later in the day we had decided to eat at Joe Fortes restaurant – I wanted some decent fish and it had the added benefit of being close at hand. The food delivered was excellent – a shrimp ceviche to start was rightly spicy and my cioppini was an amazing collection of fish (and shellfish). This went down well but the noise inflicted a headache on my wife (usually I am the one who finds the noise in many restaurants objectionable). Perhaps not the best choice. It has been a long holiday and we have been on the move now for some time.

Overall this post may seem to be a little harsh. We both thought Vancouver was a wonderful city and in the warm sunshine seems outwardly highly attractive and potentially worth another visit but I cannot deny some concern at the existence of apparent beggars.

Rocky Mountaineer

22 May 2015 / admin

Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May 2015

I have rolled these two days together for the photographs and thought I might as well do the same here in the blog. Wordpress seem keen for me to use a new format for writing the blog so I wait to see how long it takes to learn new software (or revert … why do people who improve things actually make them worse?).

Once at Banff station the train headed by a surprising total of three diesels, one in a scruffy CP livery, brings in the train from its overnight resting place. The operational arrangements are that the train working up from Vancouver uses the CP rails and splits at Kamloops on the outward journey overnight with a section going over CN rails to Jasper. We are using CP rails from Banff to Kamloops, our overnight stop but tomorrow we use CN rails after the two sections re-unite.

We board, knowing our total tour group has split; a number are in Red, which is discontinued after this season, Silver which is a relatively new introduction and a small group of us in Gold as we always said that if we did it we would do it in style. Gold has the benefit of hot food (so we only need light food if anything for dinner) and alcohol. Our group is sandwiched between Americans (in front) and a large and increasingly raucous group of Australians behind. Surrounded by colonials!

Once a very long freight train has passed us by we head out after it heading towards Kamloops. We follow much the same route as yesterday so the surroundings look familiar and our first stop isthe at Lake Louise station used in the film Dr Zhivago. It looks very different in the spring sunshine! The seating is more or less full and we are travelling in a brand new coach – only a week old we are told. There are lots of announcements over safety and other aspects and we have a team of six hosts (normally four) as two are new recruits on their first trip. Even so they are pretty busy. They swap around so the three on the upstairs team on this return journey were downstairs on the table waiting team on the outward trip; with a further three in the galley.

The front half of the coach are given first sitting today (second sitting tomorrow) and we descend the stairs to the lower level where a cooked breakfast is served – with about five choices. All good stuff and better eggs benedict than at the hotel in Banff. There is no hurry over service and second sitting is called down about two hours after us.

Outside Canada rolls gently past. This section is mainly single track and our progress is no doubt not enhanced by the freight train ahead, especially when another train has to be passed. Key to this section are the famous spiral tunnels where we loop around losing height. These were built to replace a very sharply graded bank which suffered numerous runaways and problems. Being inside the mountains they are harder to comprehend but we cover a cursive L shape as we descend. Inside we can see the lights of the coach ahead are at quite a sharp angle to our own coach.

On the first day we are clearly still in the real Rockies with mountains, snow capped above the tree lines, and for a while we follow the Kicking Horse river, so called because an early explorer was kicked so hard by his horse that his fellow explorers deemed he had died and he recovered to find that they had already dug his grave and were preparing to bury him (I believe he was the medical man in the party!). One other major site we pass is “Craigellachie” the place where the “Last Spike” was driven to link the CP line from east to west and also cementing Canada into a single nation as British Columbia had only agreed to join if a railway was completed within ten years (it was achieved in six). The name came from the Scottish financiers who sent the clan cry “Stand fast Craigellachie” to confirm that they money to pay for the line had been raised.

Our train’s progress is steady and gentle and we sometimes pass a freight going the other way. These can have locos at both front and rear and front and middle to ensure they can cope with the climbs. There are some sharpish curves as well but getting decent photographs proves difficult due to the internal reflections on the windows which tend to inhibit decent pictures.

Soon after 12 we descend again into the lower cabin and this time we have a wide choice of main meals to follow on from a tomato and basil soup. Rib of beef to follow – we are advised the menu tomorrow will be different so make your first choice here! Following the heavy lunch, I develop heavy eyelids and spend part of the afternoon snoozing (although it could also be something to do with the alcohol consumption too I suppose). For once the diabetic information did reach its destination and I enjoyed a large bowl of strawberries for dessert and fruit was distributed during the afternoon.

Early on the trip we are lucky to see a black bear and then a grizzly bear – the latter have only been spotted a couple of times in recent years; sadly getting a picture proved beyond my competence – I was more interested in seeing it! Other wildlife seems to be keen on avoiding us, although some eagles are seen and one even made it into a photograph.

Overnight is spent in Kamloops. Like other towns which have been based around railways it is not overly attractive and we do not venture out of the hotel. Nachos followed by biscuits and cheese and then to bed. We have another full day tomorrow.

Coaches return us to the “station” which is situated on a link line between CP and CN and the train has been completely reformed with the combination of the segment from Jasper. We now have the beenfit of a good view out of the front of our coach along the train allowing some better trains shots during the day. Getting the road coaches in the right order alongside the rail coaches is quite a good demonstration of getting organisation right – but it is done very well. As yesterday our main luggage goes by road to our destination and will be waiting in our hotel room in Vancouver for our arrival.

The scenery is more open today for much of the journey as we have descended out of the mountainous area. We pass the Painted Bluffs which is a very small national park near Kamloops, the Black Canyon (no photos sadly) and “Hells’ Gate” canyon which proved very difficult to navigate with only one steamship – the SS Scuzzy – managing to negotiate the river at this point in the lowest of water in early spring carrying construction kit for the railway. The original explorer found travelling through the area using the First Nationals paths and routes so difficult that he felt he had reached the “Gates of Hell”.

On second sitting today but the food is again of excellent quality and well presented. Salmon and scrambled egg at breakfast. The diabetic information has gone missing and I do not share the chocolate brownies which look lovely when they turn up for dessert at lunchtime.

For the Canadians it is a “long weekend” and I think this accounts for the paucity of crossing trains on the second day. We certainly make very good time reaching Vancouver by about 6pm.

Overall we are well looked after on this service and enjoy the friendly hosting, the comfortable seats and we can acknowledge that this is a well run business with some wonderful scenery to do. Very much part of a trip of a lifetime.

Banff

20 May 2015 / admin

Saturday 16 May 2015

In the itinerary this was a free day to do as we wished. The main possibilities offered by Richard, our tour guide, was to visit the Whyte Museum or to ride the Banff Gondola (a cable car in plain English). Jackie however had put her sleuthing hat on and found that on Saturday evenings only the Restaurant at the Banff Gondola have two special meals at 5 and 7pm. The fee for the ride is normally $40 each; special price including a three course meal was about $60 each. She booked the early sitting.

They sent through the email confirmation with pdf attachment. On careful reading we find the latter has to be printed to enable the barcodes to be scanned. Who takes a portable printer on holiday? Technology is not that good! And they cannot scan the barcodes on the ipad screen. Cue panic. Eventually however I managed to get the internet PC off reception to print the magic pieces of paper.

Instead of eating breakfast in our hotel we walked down the street about 6 hotels / hostels etc. Jackie had spotted restaurant in another hotel called “El Toro” and inside we found comparative peace and quiet – our hotel had a noisy dining room – plus much better prices and a huge breakfast. Jackie is now quite addicted to blueberry pancakes and I had a “combo” – scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms and a lot of potatoes I did not eat. Plus the inevitable fruit with your Canadian breakfast. And the waiting time is such that it was all freshly cooked. Not quite beating Jasper breakfasts but pretty good.

We visit the spa and spend 10 – 15 minutes in a 28 seater jacuzzi. 104 deg F – hot! We retire to our room, Jackie to sleep and I attend to photographs and so on.

Buses today are running to time so we are at the Gondola base station in plenty of time; as it is not busy we are granted immediate access and we are lifted into the sky to the top of Sulphur Mountain. The weather is unattractive but I walk most of the way to the old weather station but retreat when the snow joins the cold wind.

Photos of this excursion are not outstanding and can be found here.

At 5 we take our seats in the restaurant and although circular it does not revolve. We can look down on Banff and sometimes it is visible and sometimes it vanishes behind a combination of snow and low flying clouds. Yet another good meal of a huge salad, a piece of rib of beef and strawberries in my case and a wonderful chocolate concoction for Jackie certainly made the whole thing worthwhile.

A couple of observations about buses. Firstly know what your local stop looks like in a strange town, or you may have to walk back from getting off a stop too soon. In Banff they also have a wonderful concept – they allow travellers to strap their bike to the front of the bus (certainly at one point we had two on the front). Somehow I cannot see that catching on in Bracknell; nor on the front of SWT 455’s – but it is better than them being dragged into the passenger areas!