a canadian anniversary trip.

 

though i think costa rica was the right destination for us, a train trip was our first choice for our honeymoon last year. so we decided to celebrate our first anniversary on the rocky mountaineer traveling from vancouver, british columbia to banff, alberta. this was the perfect trip to complete the trio of travels during our first married year {our previous posts about costa rica & india adventures}. we decided to add a day in vancouver and a day in banff & lake louise to bookend our train trip. we documented this trip with video diaries {thanks to m.a.t.s for the flip!} and of course tons of pictures. the goal was for the video diaries to provide some context for the photos, but i'm pretty sure we failed at that. guess we need to take another trip to hone this craft! hope you enjoy! side note, i don't like my face or voice

video diary {click on icon at bottom right to expand to full screen}



photos {to view descriptions & bigger pictures, click play and then click on icon at bottom right of this slideshow to expand to full screen. if descriptions don't pop up automatically, click "show info" at top right corner of slideshow.}


a few additional things.... 
vancouver- i think i felt so comfortable walking around because it reminded me so much of seattle {gastown=belltown, granville island=pike place, harbour center tower=space needle, cloudy=cloudy}. on our next trip, we're making stops at stanley park, queen elizabeth park, & conquering the grouse grind!
rocky mountaineer- the 360 views alone make the gold leaf accommodations well worth the splurge {thanks mom & dad p!}. the first-class service, fantastic food and delicious beverages are the frosting on top.
banff- this ski town is a really cute little place that you could walk in its entirety in 30 minutes. if you're not skiing, it's the perfect place to stay while you visit lake louise or any of the nearby hiking trails.
lake louise- is gorgeous. hands down one of the most beautiful sights you'll ever see.
moraine lake- 15 minutes from lake louise and rivals her beauty. it's situated in the valley of the ten peaks and has a much better lookout point. it's overwhelming.
the weather- we didn't always have clear conditions. but aside from not deciding to ride the banff gondola and enjoying visibility at lake minnewanka on the last day, it didn't affect our trip too much. the mountains seemed more majestic with a little fog woven into the valleys and the train ride seemed more romantic with raindrops on the windows. even the overcast, drizzly drive from banff to calgary seemed a fitting signal to the way we felt about the end of the trip.