Here is a view of downtown Calgary in the background from Calgary
International Airport (YYC). Calgary had a pretty nice airport.
The Calgary Tower was built in the 1960s, and during the 1988 Winter
Olympic Games, the cauldren was placed on top of it. Our hotel,
the Marriott Downtown Calgary, was right next door.
The views from the Calgary Tower were awesome at night!
There was a glass floor too so one can look below at the street.
This was similiar to what I saw in Chicago at the Willits (Sears) Tower.
Here is the observation deck of the Calgary Tower.
On the way to Lake Louise, we saw a frozen lake that people were
walking on. It was so cool to walk on a lake, but it was slippery!
I am getting dressed for snowshoeing at Lake Louise. I got some
boots that are rated to -40'F!
This is a view from the gondola going up to the top of the Lake Louise
Ski Area.
I am pictured at the Lake Louise Ski Area with a view of the frozen
Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier behind me as I begin my snowshoe
expedition.
Here are some runs at Lake Louise.
The mountain scenery in the Banff-Lake Louise area is unlike anything
I've seen before!
This is the Fairmont Hotel at Lake Louise. They had some awesome
ice sculptures!
I was in Canada during the 2014 Winter Olympic games that were held in
Russia so they had lots of olympic theme ice sculptures.
Here is an ice castle that was built onto the frozen Lake Louise.
The Victoria Glacier can be seen in this picture above the frozen lake.
I am ready to try snowboarding for the first time at Norquay in Banff
in this picture.
I am about to go down the training hill....hope I don't break anything
:)
I was given the gold medal for best snowboarder that day at
Norquay. JK.
This is a picture of the town of Banff.
The Banff Upper Hot Springs were so cool! The water temperature
was 104'F, and it was freezing outside. The hot water felt great!
This is the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort. It was built in 1888.
Here is a harpist in the lobby of the Fairmont Hotel.
Apres Snowboarding.....Anirban Roy enjoying a Gibson's &
Diet. Gibsons is a Canadian Rye Whiskey.
The Fairmont Hotel was like the inside of castles that I saw in
Europe. Imagine this being a meade hall from the Middle
Ages. LOL.
I am trying to do my "kingly" pose as I sit in the chair that would
most likey be reserved for the British Sovereign. My Queen is no
where to be found :)
This is a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who is also the
Queen of Canada. Canada is a constitutional monarchy that
recognizes the British Sovereign as their head of state.
I am doing some scotch tasting here at the Fairmont.
I tasted the Glemorangie, Hennessey VSOP, and Alberta Springs whiskey.
This is Ft. Calgary. It was the original settlement that became
the City of Calgary.
They are making a traditional Canadian treat here....maple sugar candy
on snow. One waits 30 seconds or so after it is on the snow, and
then one scoops it up with the stick. It was great!
This is a photo of downtown Calgary taken from the grounds near Ft.
Calgary. There was plenty of snow on the ground.
We went to an indoor driving range too when we were in Calgary.
They have plenty of those since it is so cold in the winter.
This is Tim Hortons which is like a cross between a Starbucks and
Dunkin Donuts. I loved their donuts!
In Canada, one gets gas by the litre. It was weird. The
whole metric system thing just ticks me off. Why can't the rest
of the world adapt to the US standards of measures. I had to
change the settings in the car to get miles and 'F.
This was my "puddle jumper" from SFO to SMF. This propeller
aircraft took 20 minutes to get from San Francisco to Sacramento.
There was no direct flight from Sacramento to Calgary.
Fresh off my trip to
India, I decided to go to Calgary in Alberta, Canada for President's
Day weekend to experience some winter sports in the Banff area. I
heard how beautiful Banff was so my friend and I decided to check it
out. My flight took me from Sacramento to San Francisco first on
a EMB-120 propeller aircraft. The short flight only offered a
"water" beverage service. The flight was so early too. I
took at 5:20 AM. After arriving in San Francisco, I had a short
break before my flight to Calgary. United used a CRJ-700 aircraft
on this route which surprised me since I figured they could at least
have used a B-737 instead of the smaller regional jet aircraft.
After arriving in Calgary, I had to wait a little for my friend to
arrive. Calgary Airport was really nice, and they had lots of
friendly volunteers in "cowboy attire" walking around and seeing if
anyone needed any help.
After getting our
rental car at the airport, we departed for the Marriott hotel in
Downtown Calgary. The rental car was so cheap too for the whole
weekend. We actually made out great too because of the exchange
rate with the US Dollar. After arriving at the beautiful Marriott
hotel, we went to the Calgary Tower which next door to the hotel.
The Calgary Tower's observation deck was 525 meters above the
ground. I am not a big fan of the metric system, and I have no
clue what that is in feet. LOL. Calgary was pretty cold,
and I had to do some driving on snowy and icy roads.
The next morning, we
departed for Banff National Park. On the way, we stopped at a
frozen lake, and we were able to walk around on it. Then, we
continued to Lake Louise where we went snowshoeing. Afterwards,
we went to the frozen Lake Louise where people were ice skating and
playing hockey. We got great views of the Victoria Glacier.
Then, we went to Canmore where we were staying. It was a three
day weekend in Alberta also so the restaurants were packed, and we had
to settle for a local burger place that was actually really good.
We went to Norquay Ski
Resort on Sunday for lessons. I took snowboarding lessons, and
the conditions were great. There was light snow in the
morning. After the snowboarding, we had lunch in the town of
Banff before going to the Banff Upper Hot Springs. The Banff Hot
Springs were really nice. The water was around 104'F.
Afterwards, we hung out at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort. The
place looks like a chateau from Europe, and it was built in 1888.
We had dinner there at the Italian restaurant where I was able to try
veal Osso Bucco. The veal Osso Bucco is really good. The
marrow was so delicious.
On Monday, we toured
the Ft. Calgary attraction before going to an indoor driving
range. Afterwards, we had to head to the airport for our flight
back home. I had an awesome time in Banff, and I think I would
definately go back.