So - i love it here too much! On Sunday I went up to the hot springs, which are up the side of one of the mountains; i decided to walk up instead of taking the bus - it was quite a hike - its onlt 4km but its very uphill - good job I could relax in the hot springs when I arrived. The springs themselves are actually more like a spa pool now that has been built around them - the water in the pool though is filtered in from the natural hotsprings in the mountains - that originates in the Cave and Basin and was the reason why Banff national park was initially created. People use to flock there to go in the hot springs and draw from the 'curative properties'! That was how Alberta and British columbia generated the money to pay for the transcanada railway! Since then (1800's) the park ahs grown!In the spa you can hire a 'historic bathing suit' if you want to - but as they are maybe not the most flattering i wore my bikini! It was its first outing since i bought it - i felt super trendy in my 'Ripcurl bikini'!! Hahaha!I also thought how nice it will be to spend sometime on the beach when I get to Fiji!But right now I wouldn't trade places with anyone for anything! It is so mad - its cold up in the mountains; there is snow all around so its cold (fresh) but its 40 degrees in the springs so you do the reverse of your summer holiday - get in the water to heat up and sit on the side to cool down!! The sun was out too so it was a beautiful day - i even caught the sun and changed colour!!I was there around 4-6pmish so just in time to catch all the 'dudes' coming down from a day of skiing/boarding for a relax in the hot springs!
Today i have been out all day.I did a "Banff sights and Wildlife tour' this morning, then we got dropped off at the 'Old Spaghetti factory" for FREE lunch (backpackers favourite kind!!) - it was yum - loaf of bread with whipped butter, Drink (choice of tea, coffee, hot choc, coke, iced tea, lemonade or root beer), Soup (minestrone) or salad starter, then a choice of 8 different pasta dishes - i had Chorizo sausage cannelloni! It was all delicious! I met a girl from Scotland on the tour - she is called Karis - currently living in New York city on an internship - she is just visiting Banff. After lunch Karis and me went to the Cow shop - sells canadas famous ice cream in many flavours and also sells some funny, crazy merchandise!! As I continue to struggle with decisions I had to have a double scoop to try 2 flavours - 'Gooey Mooey' and 'Cowrispy crunch'.Yum - not quite Italian Gelato which remains the best ice cream I have ever tasted - but still very yum!!!This afternoon we went on a tour to Johnstones canyon which in the winter is an icewalk but the ice is melting at the moment - we still wore the ice shoes though - it was so stunning - the rock formations and waterfalls in the canyon are amazing and the sun was just pouring in - made for good photos!!. Then from there we went to Lake Louise - which is really beautiful but...still totally frozen and white; it doesn't melt into the emerald colour (as seen in many photographs) until at least June; still beautiful though - another awesome sight that does put you in your place. Unfortunately at the moment cant get to Moraine Lake at the as the road is closed and impassable due to the recent heavy snowfall. Still may get to go up there when mum and dad come though.
This morning I also got to see some elk - they are fairly placid animals but you are still advised not to go any more than 30 metres close to them!My head is full of many amazing things but still thinking lots about my family and friends and I love them all very much…