Hi All,

We're in Chicago now enjoying the comfort of our good friends the Auketts home in Park Ridge. They are attempting to fatten us up after we arrived as shadows of our former selves! We're certainly not complaining! Here is what we've been doing since our last entry.

Saturday 2nd May - Jasper to Lake Louise

We woke up to clear blue skies and hot sunshine which couldn't have been better for driving the Icefields Parkway down to Lake Louise. The 230km is reported to be one of the best in the world and we have to agree with that. We stopped a lot of times to take in views, take pictures of the stunning snowy mountains as well as a couple of waterfalls which were flowing fast what with all the melting snow around. Highlights were the Columbia icefield, Athabasca falls and the Crowsfoot glacier but the whole journey was amazing as we were surrounded on both sides by huge mountains and lush green forest. When we arrived in Lake Louise we checked in to our hostel then drove up to see the lake. Having dreamed of seeing the picture postcard blue lake we were slightly disappointed to find the lake completely frozen but the view was still gorgeous. That night we went for another drive at sunset to see if we could see some Bears at dusk but drew a blank this time. We did see a porcupine though! Intrepid explorers hey?

Sunday 3rd May - Lake Louise

Treated ourselves to a nice lie in before heading to Lake Louise again. This time we walked around the edge of the lake for about 2km to see the lake from different angles and to see the frozen waterfall at the far end of the lake. We then checked out the shops in the impressive Chateau Lake Louise before heading back to the hostel for some lunch. Didn't do much else that day other than watch some TV and read our new books. Its a hard life.

Monday 4th May - Lake Louise to Banff

We decided to take the more scenic Bow Valley Parkway to Banff on the recommendation of a French family we met en route in Clearwater. The drive was excellent and we didn't rush it in the hope that a bear might walk out in front of the car or be on the side of the road. Alas we saw no bears again but the views were great, especially that of Castle Mountain. After checking in we ventured in to the cute alpine town of Banff where we treated ourselves and shared a pizza in the Elk and Oarsman pub. We did some window shopping then did some emailing in the library before picking up some groceries and heading to the hostel for the night.

Tuesday 5th May - Banff

Another nice lie in as we had our 4 share room to ourselves then we drove to Vermilion lakes to take in some views. We then headed back in to town for a special treat for me! After locating a pub showing English soccer we sat down to watch United vs. Arsenal in the CL semi final. Liz left to do some shopping and emailing at half time whilst I enjoyed the glory of watching the victory in its entirety, bring on Barca! After this we drove to see the Banff hot springs had a sneaky look around the exclusive Banff Springs Hotel. Sadly way beyond our budget but nice to pretend at least.

Wednesday 6th May - Banff to Calgary

Got up early as we had to deliver the car by 11am. Drive to Calgary was fast and easy the problems started only when we arrived! Having been told the drop off was downtown we naturally followed signs to the down town area. It quickly became apparent that this was not the case though so after getting a bit lost and confused we pulled over to ask someone. A lovely old couple helped us out and suggested we should head north east as the Calgary system has the same road names for NE, NW, SE and SW...very confusing! After a quick call to the rental company to confirm this we headed in that direction following what turned out to be 100% accurate directions from the old man. We arrived with a matter of minutes to spare before 11 to be greeted by a very rude and unhelpful woman, just what we needed after getting lost and stressed. From there we had to don our backpacks and walk a few blocks to the train station to get a train back in to town. After a small detour back to the rental place to pick up something we forgot in the car we eventually got to our hostel... Once settled we wandered to the city centre where I have to admit we were a little disappointed by what we found (other than the stsetsons and cowboy boots we had fun trying on). No real character or charm with lots of building work going on. The one good thing though was Tim Hortons (thanks for the tip Mell), a coffee shop which sells cakes and buns very cheaply. I decided it was about time I tried a Canadian tradition, the cinnamon roll while Liz chomped on yet another Mars bar (now that we've found the one country in the world that produces Mars bars in a peanut free environment!!) After spending some time in the library on the internet we headed back to the hostel.

Thursday 7th May - Calgary

Today we went for a walk along the river, trying to ignore the cold rain that had rolled in over night. We walked on Princes Island before heading towards the Kensington area of the city. This was a nice little area with lots of salons, coffee shops and boutiquey shops. After 3 months my hair had got to quite a length again (a mullet - by Liz hehe) so when we came across a decent looking salon for men only with mini TVs showing sport and free internet use it was an easy decision to head in and get a trim. Liz made good use of the free internet whilst waiting so everyone was happy. From there we went to the Eau Claire indoor market where we ate our lunch and checked out the stalls/shops. There was a shop selling imported English goods which was tempting but not at the prices they wanted! It was also ironic that the Mars bars in there were not suitable for Liz whilst the ones made in Canada are... Later we headed back in to the city, had another Tim Hortons before heading back to the hostel where we managed to sell our National Parks pass on to a nice Aussie couple who were heading that way to work.

Friday 8th May - Calgary to Park Ridge (Chicago)

We caught the train and bus to the airport where we discovered we had to pay to check in our one piece of luggage each! Outrageous! Especially after we discovered that those with cabin sized wheelie bags were having them stored under the plane anyway once they got to the doorway of the plane!! Anyway, the flight was pretty good on the smallest plane of our trip (and lives) so far and we were picked up by Tony junior. Tony senior did steaks on the grill and Carla produced her famous twice baked jacket potatoes so we felt right at home immediately.

Saturday 9th May - Park Ridge

Liz cashed in some 'me time' to enjoy a nice lie in and hot bath whilst I went to breakfast at the Pancake House. The rest of the day was spent making and decorating black and white cupcakes (Liz's new profession?), catching up, internetting and watching TV in the comfort of the house before our friends the Halls (Randy, Sue and Pat) came round for dinner. We caught up with them, filling them in on all our trip details and had a lovely evening in.

Sunday 10th May - Park Ridge

Today we were treated to brunch at the Park Ridge country club with the Auketts and Carla's parents Roy and Evelyn. To make it better it was also Mothers Day so the Sunday buffet was even more extravagant than normal. To get in though we had to dress up which involved me borrowing trousers, shows, jacket and tie from Tony snr which was fun. The buffet consisted of three large rooms, one for soups, salad and cold meat and fish, the second full of breakfast items such as Eggs benedict, a waffle station, omelette station as well as roast meats and accompanying items. The final room was dedicated to desserts! Having lost a fair bit of weight we tucked in, trying to pace ourselves along the way. Liz filled up on omelette, waffles and French toast whilst I decided to eat all three meals of the day in one! We left suitably stuffed and vegged for a few hours before heading out again. This time we were invited to the Parentis (a family friend of the Auketts and the family of one of the kids I coached football to when living here 9 years ago). Here we ate yet more and chatted away until heading home for a well deserved rest from eating!

Monday 11th - Park Ridge

Today was a planning day. We checked out flights, cars and accommodation for the rest of the trip and discovered that the east coast of the US is VERY expensive, espcially coming into summer time. We therefore decided to just do the eastern Canadian part and then head straight down to Florida for some fun in the sun. That night we watched the Chicago Blackhawk's ice hockey game on TV before hitting the sack.

Tuesday 12th May - Park Ridge

We booked our flight to Toronto and some accommodation then went for a walk to uptown Park Ridge for a wander around. The weather was nice, quite hot in the sun so we grabbed an ice cream each in Oberweis before heading back via the few shops in the quaint town centre. Later we went for dinner with Carla and Tony jnr at Leona's in Des Plaines where we ate and tried to answer the trivia questions that Tony jnr was firing at us from the cards on the tables. We did pretty well considering our brains had been on holiday for 6 months!

So that brings you up to date. We were supposed to go watch the Chicago cubs tonight and spend some time with our friend JT but the weather had other ideas so I sit here typing instead as the severe thunderstorms predicted start up.

Hope all is well in the UK (and Australia) feel free to let us know on our message board, or you can send a private message using the email function.

Love

Phil and Liz

Or PhilipA'n'drew and Elizabethan(n) as we discovered whilst studying our plane tickets on the way to Chicago.