Banff - tastic!

After the Petrolium Show, Evan and I headed up to the Canadian Rockies for a nice weekend getaway.  In Calgary, you can see the mountains off in the distance and as you drive through scenic pastures, the mountains get more and more beautiful! 

While winding our way through the mountains, neither one of us could stop exclaiming our awe. Every five minutes, one of us would stop and point, "look!!!"

We spent our first day at Lake Louise which was a small little town and not much to do but eat, sit and marvel at the mountains all around.  With a loaf of French bread, some cheese and prosciutto, we were a happy couple!

Apparently, some pretty amazing chefs work their way up to Banff and Lake Louise. From several friends we heard we were about to have quite a gastronomic experience in the mountains. We were never disappointed and had some of the most fantastic food!  The Deer Creek Lodge on our first night had an amazing cheese and wild game meet plate. 

So many people recommended restaurants to us that it simply wasn't possible to eat at all of them. Of course we tried. On our last night we set out earlier than normal for dinner. Our first stop was a little hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant, Barpa Bills, to get a Doner; a Doner is similar to a gyro.....but somehow better. 

Our second stop was the Sage Bistro, a highly praised place in the nearby town of Canmore. This was by far our favorite. The upstairs was a tapas style restaurant with an excellent drink and food menu. We split 2 drinks and 3 plates and could have easily stayed through closing! 

Our last stop was an English bar back in Banff where we enjoyed a fish and chips plate. I didn't have to eat for a week after this night!

Stopping at some waterfalls near Banff on
our way to Lake Louise.

Lake Louise
A fine sediment is created as the glaciers slowly slide down the mountains.
This fine dust is what makes the water appear a vivid but milky light teal color. 

Lake Moraine
This smaller lake is 5km higher in elevation than Lake Louise but no less beautiful.
A forest fire has left a huge pile of trees at the beach, a fun playground to explore.

Evan and I decided to visit a tea house at the  end of  a "nice walk."
The "walk" turned out to be a  2.5 mile vertical hike that we were not prepared for...
me in my white coat and ballerina flats and Evan in his cowboy boots. 

We were stopped several times by fully equipped hikers asking us
"what the hell are you doing climbing in that?"

Call us what you want, but we made it to the tea house...
uphill, through the snow (and ice and mud), against the wind, in our ridiculous outfits!
The view was spectacular and completely worth the strenuous trek!

Not a bad romantic getaway!