Hey all! I have just returned to Vancouver after a great trip in the Rockies - wow it was amazing. The Rockies exceeded all of my expectations and I would recommend this trip to anyone who is wondering where to go on their next holiday. For those that are not aware - I took a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer tour from Calgary to Vancouver. I wasn't really sure what to expect on this trip but having met one of Dot's friends, Grace, who worked for the Rocky Mountaineer, I had a fair idea that I may be the youngest person on this trip by at least 30 years! Day 1 - Calgary I flew from Vancouver to Calgary. The weather was clear so I had great views of the Rockies flying over to Calgary. Calgary, was...well brown and flat! I didn't find too much to do in Calgary and I guess unless you are there during Stampede this is the general concensus - I hope no one from Calgary reads this! Day 2 - Calgary to Banff I was picked up from hotel for an excursion up to Banff. I was the only passenger on the coach! This actually turned out to be positive. Mark my guide/driver lived in Banff and as I was the only passenger I could basically stop where I wanted - it was great. We visited the Calgary Olympic site - ah remember Eddie the Eagle! On to Banff to the sulphur springs and then I took the gondola up Sulphur Mountain - awesome views. Banff is a really nice town and I would definitely go back there and maybe do some skiing. Day 3 - Banff to Lake Louise Again I found that I was the only person on the coach from Banff on Day three. Mark my driver/guide for the half day is married to a Brit and got married in London, so we have a lot to talk about. The tour took me through Yoho National Park, past Castle Mountain, the Natural Bridge and Emerald Lake. The scenery was stunning. As I was the only person on the tour we were generally running ahead of time so Mark took me to the small town of Field, population 300 where the man in the general store possibly looked like he hadn't seen anyone for several years. Arrived at the Chateau at Lake Louise in time for lunch. Lake Louise is amazing (see the photos). I spent the afternoon walking around the Lake and getting wet feet from the melting snow. Day 4 - Lake Louise to Jasper So having had 2 days where I was the only person on the tour, day three I was number 33 and clearly the youngest person by at least 4 decades! Oh, apart from one chap who was also taking a year off but he was from Cardiff so that doesn't count and he suspiciously looked like Matt Lucas only with a smattering of hair (for not Brits Google a show called Little Britain). The highlight of the day was going to the Columbia Ice Fields. Day 5 - Jasper Tour A full coach load again, but I was pleased to see that there were a number of people within my age range. I spent the afternoon taking the Jasper Tramway and climbing up to the summit of the mountain (1.2k doesn't sound very far but believe when it is a vertical climb it is pretty hard work). Day 6 - Train from Jasper to Kamloops As we leave the Rockies I am still in awe of the scenery. Spotted 2 brown bears from the train which was very exciting. Again the trip is not busy; there were five of us in total. Two retired couples, one set from Ottawa and one from Sydney, the couple from Ottawa adopted me! The advantage of having a small group in the carriage is that we could move around from each side of the train depending on which side was best for the view. Arriving in Kamloops I discovered that there wasn't very much to it. I had signed for the "Two River Dinner" which turned out to be a musical about Billy Miner a guy who held up a train in Kamloops for $15 hmm least said the better! Day 7 - Train from Kamloops to Vancouver Probably not the most scenic part of the trip but I was pleased to pull into Vancouver and be back in the city! Well my adventures in Canada are nearly over, but not quite. Tomorrow I am off to Vancouver Island and then on Friday Dot and I are heading up to Kelowna to visit some wineries - life is hard hey! Hope you are all good and enjoy looking at my pictures of the Rockies - it was as they say in this land - awesome! Love Em