Hey, look at that - I kept my promise!
So, back to Prague (which, quite frankly is where I wish I was now... here is rainy and gross!)...
We spent a lot of time walking around - it's the best way to see things in Prague! The promenade along the river is really beautiful and it offers a great view of the Charles Bridge - one of the most famous spots in Prague. It connects the 2 sides of the city, and was built way back when by King/Emperor (can't remember which) Charles - it's got huge ornate statues all along it, and brass pictorials which are good luck if you rub them - so we did. I rubbed a doggy.
We indulged in some real culture by visiting the Art Gallery - loads of amazing work, including Klimt, Picasso (his famed self portrait), and loads of other 'edgy' contemporary work... including a photographic series that involved the slaughter or a lamb, which no-one found particularly tasteful... but that's art, right?
Helen and I did the compulsary shop - we were on the hunt for a farberge egg necklace! Mine is blue and gold, and they are all really beautiful! Prague is also famous work it's glass works - so we bought Tenille a pair of handmade glass earrings for her birthday.
Prague has a lot to offer, but everyone says it's even better when you get out of the city. There's a church made of bones (but not in a creepy way) that is a day trip away, which is definately something I'd like to see when I go back there.
So, after yet another late EasyJet flight, we got back to London at some unforgiving hour of the morning - thankfully, I didn't have to get up to go to work the next day, unlike the others... but it wasn't long til I was up and attem again - this time flying into Valencia, for what will long be one of the best things I have ever done - 6 weeks of watching Team New Zealand racing in the America's Cup.
I actually don't feel I can do those 6 weeks justice by writing off the bat, so I'm going to sit down and go back through all my photos, and post again later...
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
How long does an ice cream break take?
Hmmm, so apparently when I go for ice cream, I don't come back...
Today is August 21st, so I have a lot of catching up to do! Let's start, then, where we left off - my arrival in the UK.
My flightS (yes, plural, 4 to be exact) were long, tedious and I would highly recommend that if you need to get to London, don't take the route I took.
Vancouver-Seattle-New York-Iceland-London does not an easy trip make... by the time I got to Heathrow I was incredibly happy to see my loving Ma and Pa!
They had been travelling around Ireland, so met me in London for a 4 days whirlwind tour of the relatives in Cornwall!
Cornwall was beautiful, as always, and my Aunty Bet is still kickin' it at the grand old age of 80something!
We did the customary trip to Land's End (the most western point of England) and The Lizard (the most southern point of England) as well as a few gorgeous beaches (Kynance Cove) and fishing villages (Cadgwidth).
Cornwall has a lot to offer - gorgeous scenery, friendly locals, a damn good pasty and cornish clotted cream!
It was good to see Mum and Dad again too, though it really wasn't long enough to catch up properly! And I think I spent most of my time trying not to fall asleep - I was still dealing with the nightmare trip of getting to England!
After Cornwall, we headed back to London, and I said goodbye to Mum and Dad as they headed for the States and I went to doss on my best friend's couch (thanks Helen!)... but like they say, there's no rest for the wicked... so after 2 days of London, I was heading out again - this time to Prague for a long weekend, with Helen, Darrell and Raj!
Prague is an awesome city - fabulous architecture and soooo much history! It's so hard to even try and explain what the city has to offer! They are big on farberge eggs, and it's really cheap there - food and drink costs next to nothing!
The night we arrived (after our EasyJet flight was unsurprisingly late) the staff at Hostel Elf gave us a warm, and somewhat inebriated welcome (we discovered later that it was their annual staff party, so they were all on it!). Hostel Elf is pretty cool - free breakfast (and lunch if you 'borrow' a baguette or two), a liquor license (cheap litre bottles of beer!! cost the equivalent of about 65 nz cents!) and pretty central to the old town square!
The train tracks that ran right past the beer garden were interesting, and loud to say the least....
The weather was phenomenaly hot - it was great! But a lot of walking in the heat takes it's toll and most nights we were all completely whacked from the day! We did an amazing walking tour - it's free (by donation if you think it's worth it). The guy who took us spoke great English and was just so passionate about his city and his knowledge of the history of Prague was amazing! It's a city (and the whole country) with a very turbulent past!
We also went to the Catherderal - an amazing gothic building. From the outside it looks so dark and oppressive, but inside is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen! Built in the 12th century and still standing today. We were all in awe of the amazing stonework and stained glass windows.
that's only about half of what we saw in Prague - but my time on the internet is about to run out, so I will have to continue this tomorrow... I promise (I'm not going for icecream this time, it's too youcky outside!)
Today is August 21st, so I have a lot of catching up to do! Let's start, then, where we left off - my arrival in the UK.
My flightS (yes, plural, 4 to be exact) were long, tedious and I would highly recommend that if you need to get to London, don't take the route I took.
Vancouver-Seattle-New York-Iceland-London does not an easy trip make... by the time I got to Heathrow I was incredibly happy to see my loving Ma and Pa!
They had been travelling around Ireland, so met me in London for a 4 days whirlwind tour of the relatives in Cornwall!
Cornwall was beautiful, as always, and my Aunty Bet is still kickin' it at the grand old age of 80something!
We did the customary trip to Land's End (the most western point of England) and The Lizard (the most southern point of England) as well as a few gorgeous beaches (Kynance Cove) and fishing villages (Cadgwidth).
Cornwall has a lot to offer - gorgeous scenery, friendly locals, a damn good pasty and cornish clotted cream!
It was good to see Mum and Dad again too, though it really wasn't long enough to catch up properly! And I think I spent most of my time trying not to fall asleep - I was still dealing with the nightmare trip of getting to England!
After Cornwall, we headed back to London, and I said goodbye to Mum and Dad as they headed for the States and I went to doss on my best friend's couch (thanks Helen!)... but like they say, there's no rest for the wicked... so after 2 days of London, I was heading out again - this time to Prague for a long weekend, with Helen, Darrell and Raj!
Prague is an awesome city - fabulous architecture and soooo much history! It's so hard to even try and explain what the city has to offer! They are big on farberge eggs, and it's really cheap there - food and drink costs next to nothing!
The night we arrived (after our EasyJet flight was unsurprisingly late) the staff at Hostel Elf gave us a warm, and somewhat inebriated welcome (we discovered later that it was their annual staff party, so they were all on it!). Hostel Elf is pretty cool - free breakfast (and lunch if you 'borrow' a baguette or two), a liquor license (cheap litre bottles of beer!! cost the equivalent of about 65 nz cents!) and pretty central to the old town square!
The train tracks that ran right past the beer garden were interesting, and loud to say the least....
The weather was phenomenaly hot - it was great! But a lot of walking in the heat takes it's toll and most nights we were all completely whacked from the day! We did an amazing walking tour - it's free (by donation if you think it's worth it). The guy who took us spoke great English and was just so passionate about his city and his knowledge of the history of Prague was amazing! It's a city (and the whole country) with a very turbulent past!
We also went to the Catherderal - an amazing gothic building. From the outside it looks so dark and oppressive, but inside is one of the most amazing structures I have ever seen! Built in the 12th century and still standing today. We were all in awe of the amazing stonework and stained glass windows.
that's only about half of what we saw in Prague - but my time on the internet is about to run out, so I will have to continue this tomorrow... I promise (I'm not going for icecream this time, it's too youcky outside!)
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
hmmm... a wee bit later than i had hoped
i should be fired from writing my own blog.
if i had any money, i might even consider paying someone else to do it.
today is june 10. last time i wrote was april 10.
i've got a lot of catching up to do.
i may have to write this in blocks, cos i think i'm going to develop RSI / OOS if i type it all at once.
LEAVING BANFF (april 18th)
So, leaving banff wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i miss everyone terribly, but a lot of them i know i'll be seeing again in the next year or so (which is totally awesome).
my last day at the rimrock was also the same day as our long overdue staff party. we went bowling, which was actually quite hilarious because i happen to be the worst bowler in the world. we played all these odd bowling games - and at one stage, i managed to bowl the ball into Tyler's lane... and get him a spare. so may be that makes me a good bowler... just not in my own lane.
WHISTLER
Whistler is the ultimate snow resot in BC - it's about 2 hours from Vancouver and the mountains are MASSIVE! Every year they host the 2 week Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival. Lizzy was heading home to Aussie for a holiday and I was due to be leaving Banff at that time, so we decided to have one last hurrah together in Whistler. We booked ourselves a hotel room at the Crystal Lodge (which is super nice! 4 star i think) and got lift passes etc, ready for 5 fantastic days!
lizzy and i left amongst much flip-flapping and running late! i didn't have time to get upset about saying goodbye - i hugged friends i happened to pass in the hallway, but there was no time for a sentimental exchange of words. After some crazy australian driving by lizzy, we made it to clagary airport about 20minutes before our flight left. i have never actually had to run to make a plane before, and quite frankly, i never want to do it again!
the flight to vancouver was uneventful, but unfortunately the perimeter bus (takes you straight up to whistler) was running over 1.5hours late - and then traffic was horrendous. Because Whistler is the site for the 2010 winter olympics, they are doing a huge amount of roadworks on the sea to sky highway, the only access road to Whistler. Currently it's only 1 lane each way, but by the time the olympics roll round, it'll be 6 lanes all up. So it was a slow trip up - we finally arrived about 10pm (and that's after putting our clocks back an hour having flown back in time).
apart from our rather long haul to get to Whistler, everything else went amazingly well! We had a super 5 days of snowboarding (and we still didn't see the whole mountain!), partying, watching the pros (OMG!) and just 'chillaxin'!
Whistler has 2 hills - Whislter Mountain (the older of the 2) and Whistler Blackcomb. Combined they make for awesome terrain, no matter what you're into! They're spectacularly large - after all the riding we did, we still had over half of each mountain to go!
Whistler has a great apres ski atmosphere - the chairlifts are literally a 2 minute walk from the main village - so when you're done for the day, you pop down to your favourite drinking hole, prop your snowboard up outside and voila - you're ready for action! the weather was beautiful too - true spring, meaning you could sit outside in the sun and enjoy the weather! I had a few afternoons where i had a few too many margaritas, but those stories will remain between me and lizzy!
watching the pros was awesome. some of them are only 16 or so, but are amazing riders! lizzy and i spent hours ogling at the superpipe competition - riders getting 20foot of air or so - it's jawdropping!
i managed to do one stupid thing while i was in whistler. having successfully completed a season in banff with no major mishaps... i managed to fracture my foot on my second to last day of riding. what's worse is that it wasn't even a snowboarding accident. we were having a pillowfight in our hotel room, and i managed to fall, hit my foot on the headboard, and crash - i have a fractured 5th metatarsal (just below my little toe). it's pretty much healed now, though it still hurts if i'm on my feet heaps, or walking on uneven ground. so kids, when your mum tells you not to jump on the bed, i'd do as she says!
VANCOUVER ISLAND
I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, with Ashlee and Matt, friends from Banff. It was gettting very spring-ish, with a bit of sun and things getting warmer. We walked all around the waterfront (so good to have the ocean again!) and saw all the old buildings (Victoria is quite English - their parliament building is famous for it's architecture). We also went whale watching, but it would be my luck that we didn't actually see any whales... we did see lots of seals, a sea elephant and a river otter... but no orcas :(
MONTREAL
I had a couple of days back in Vancouver catching up with friends I had met when I first got to Canada and then I headed out for my 'east coast tour' - first stop Montreal.
Montreal is a beautiful and unique city. Most Montrealers are biligual, speaking both French and English - so it's amazing when you walk into a shop and one person asks a question in French and the other answers in English. I really wanted to practise my French, but unfortunately, as soon as anyone realises you're not a native speaker, they'll switch straight into English.
I was staying right in the heart of old Montreal, where there is stunning architecture and a lot of history. The beautiful thing is, that as the city has expanded, it's just wrapped itself around the older parts, leaving them intact, rather than replacing them. The city flows from history into modernity in an amazing way.
I met up with my crazy little Frenchman friend, Etienne, who was another Rimrocker from Banff. He showed me all around the town and then took me out to experience the (somewhat famous) Montreal nightlife. Ets, his brother Phillipe and his best friend Jon took me to Foufounes Electroniques (direct translation = the electric buttocks) for a night og Molson Dry (cheap beer) and lots of dancing! The French-Canadians really like to boogie, and I had an awesome time with the boys, despite the fact the Ets is the only one who speaks any english, and even then it's a little funny at times.
I had another good night out with some hostelers (btw: if you are ever in Montreal, stay at Alternative Backpackers - it's cheaper than the YHA and it's right in the middle of Vieux (old) Montreal... and super friendly people too!). Anja, John and Peter, a few drinks and an awesome club we just happened to stumble on. We also went up to this huge park, called Mont Royal, that everyone hangs out at during the weekends. It was beautifully hot and sunny (I'm talking about 25 degrees or so) and they had a massive group of tumtum players (big african drums), so we sat in the sun and listened to the beat - a most awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
TORONTO
Toronto was pretty cool, but it's definately not my favourite Canadian city. It has none of the charm of Vancouver, and none of the culture of Montreal. It was great to visit and I'm glad I'm did, but to be honest, I found it quite generic and city-like.
I did do the main attractions though - the CN tower (it's pretty high!), Kensington Market and Chinatown (probably the best things about Toronto), the Bata Shoe Museum and Niagra Falls.
Niagra falls was an experience, but a lot spoilt the place for me. The Falls themselves are phenomenal, but the surrounding area is tacky, garish and so LasVegasy that it almost ruined the falls. I did the Maiden of the Mist boatride (pretty much a mandatory part of a visit to Niagra) - in which I got kinda wet. It's as close as you can get to the falls, and it's pretty close! You have a little plastic poncho, and by the time you get back, your hair is dripping like you just got out of the shower! That was awesome, and so are the falls at night, lit up by huge spotlights. The rest of Niagra is easily forgotten - too many neon lights and loud noises... by the time we left (it was nearly a 10 hour tour) I was happy to be leaving.
Apart from seeing the falls, you get to do a few other things on the tour. My favourite was visiting Inniskillin Vineyard - where they make the best ice wine in Canada. Icewine i super sweet, because they leave the grapes on the vine for much, much longer, until the vines freeze and then they have super high sugar levels... YUM! We got to do a tasting, and I bought Mum and Dad a bottle, which I hoped to share with them when I got to England, but alas, it didn't happen. I hope they enjoy it though!
From Toronto I was meant to go to New York, but I was kind of over the big city thing and decided to head back to Vancouver for 5 days before I flew out to the UK. Yes, I know it seems a bit ridiculous to head to the opposite side of Canada again, but I can't resist Vancouver - I fell in love with it the first day I was there!
So that gets me up to about 3 weeks ago... when I got to England. Next on the agenda is London, Cornwall, Prague and then Spain, where I am now. But first, I am going to have an ice cream break.
XXX Pip
if i had any money, i might even consider paying someone else to do it.
today is june 10. last time i wrote was april 10.
i've got a lot of catching up to do.
i may have to write this in blocks, cos i think i'm going to develop RSI / OOS if i type it all at once.
LEAVING BANFF (april 18th)
So, leaving banff wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i miss everyone terribly, but a lot of them i know i'll be seeing again in the next year or so (which is totally awesome).
my last day at the rimrock was also the same day as our long overdue staff party. we went bowling, which was actually quite hilarious because i happen to be the worst bowler in the world. we played all these odd bowling games - and at one stage, i managed to bowl the ball into Tyler's lane... and get him a spare. so may be that makes me a good bowler... just not in my own lane.
WHISTLER
Whistler is the ultimate snow resot in BC - it's about 2 hours from Vancouver and the mountains are MASSIVE! Every year they host the 2 week Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival. Lizzy was heading home to Aussie for a holiday and I was due to be leaving Banff at that time, so we decided to have one last hurrah together in Whistler. We booked ourselves a hotel room at the Crystal Lodge (which is super nice! 4 star i think) and got lift passes etc, ready for 5 fantastic days!
lizzy and i left amongst much flip-flapping and running late! i didn't have time to get upset about saying goodbye - i hugged friends i happened to pass in the hallway, but there was no time for a sentimental exchange of words. After some crazy australian driving by lizzy, we made it to clagary airport about 20minutes before our flight left. i have never actually had to run to make a plane before, and quite frankly, i never want to do it again!
the flight to vancouver was uneventful, but unfortunately the perimeter bus (takes you straight up to whistler) was running over 1.5hours late - and then traffic was horrendous. Because Whistler is the site for the 2010 winter olympics, they are doing a huge amount of roadworks on the sea to sky highway, the only access road to Whistler. Currently it's only 1 lane each way, but by the time the olympics roll round, it'll be 6 lanes all up. So it was a slow trip up - we finally arrived about 10pm (and that's after putting our clocks back an hour having flown back in time).
apart from our rather long haul to get to Whistler, everything else went amazingly well! We had a super 5 days of snowboarding (and we still didn't see the whole mountain!), partying, watching the pros (OMG!) and just 'chillaxin'!
Whistler has 2 hills - Whislter Mountain (the older of the 2) and Whistler Blackcomb. Combined they make for awesome terrain, no matter what you're into! They're spectacularly large - after all the riding we did, we still had over half of each mountain to go!
Whistler has a great apres ski atmosphere - the chairlifts are literally a 2 minute walk from the main village - so when you're done for the day, you pop down to your favourite drinking hole, prop your snowboard up outside and voila - you're ready for action! the weather was beautiful too - true spring, meaning you could sit outside in the sun and enjoy the weather! I had a few afternoons where i had a few too many margaritas, but those stories will remain between me and lizzy!
watching the pros was awesome. some of them are only 16 or so, but are amazing riders! lizzy and i spent hours ogling at the superpipe competition - riders getting 20foot of air or so - it's jawdropping!
i managed to do one stupid thing while i was in whistler. having successfully completed a season in banff with no major mishaps... i managed to fracture my foot on my second to last day of riding. what's worse is that it wasn't even a snowboarding accident. we were having a pillowfight in our hotel room, and i managed to fall, hit my foot on the headboard, and crash - i have a fractured 5th metatarsal (just below my little toe). it's pretty much healed now, though it still hurts if i'm on my feet heaps, or walking on uneven ground. so kids, when your mum tells you not to jump on the bed, i'd do as she says!
VANCOUVER ISLAND
I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, with Ashlee and Matt, friends from Banff. It was gettting very spring-ish, with a bit of sun and things getting warmer. We walked all around the waterfront (so good to have the ocean again!) and saw all the old buildings (Victoria is quite English - their parliament building is famous for it's architecture). We also went whale watching, but it would be my luck that we didn't actually see any whales... we did see lots of seals, a sea elephant and a river otter... but no orcas :(
MONTREAL
I had a couple of days back in Vancouver catching up with friends I had met when I first got to Canada and then I headed out for my 'east coast tour' - first stop Montreal.
Montreal is a beautiful and unique city. Most Montrealers are biligual, speaking both French and English - so it's amazing when you walk into a shop and one person asks a question in French and the other answers in English. I really wanted to practise my French, but unfortunately, as soon as anyone realises you're not a native speaker, they'll switch straight into English.
I was staying right in the heart of old Montreal, where there is stunning architecture and a lot of history. The beautiful thing is, that as the city has expanded, it's just wrapped itself around the older parts, leaving them intact, rather than replacing them. The city flows from history into modernity in an amazing way.
I met up with my crazy little Frenchman friend, Etienne, who was another Rimrocker from Banff. He showed me all around the town and then took me out to experience the (somewhat famous) Montreal nightlife. Ets, his brother Phillipe and his best friend Jon took me to Foufounes Electroniques (direct translation = the electric buttocks) for a night og Molson Dry (cheap beer) and lots of dancing! The French-Canadians really like to boogie, and I had an awesome time with the boys, despite the fact the Ets is the only one who speaks any english, and even then it's a little funny at times.
I had another good night out with some hostelers (btw: if you are ever in Montreal, stay at Alternative Backpackers - it's cheaper than the YHA and it's right in the middle of Vieux (old) Montreal... and super friendly people too!). Anja, John and Peter, a few drinks and an awesome club we just happened to stumble on. We also went up to this huge park, called Mont Royal, that everyone hangs out at during the weekends. It was beautifully hot and sunny (I'm talking about 25 degrees or so) and they had a massive group of tumtum players (big african drums), so we sat in the sun and listened to the beat - a most awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
TORONTO
Toronto was pretty cool, but it's definately not my favourite Canadian city. It has none of the charm of Vancouver, and none of the culture of Montreal. It was great to visit and I'm glad I'm did, but to be honest, I found it quite generic and city-like.
I did do the main attractions though - the CN tower (it's pretty high!), Kensington Market and Chinatown (probably the best things about Toronto), the Bata Shoe Museum and Niagra Falls.
Niagra falls was an experience, but a lot spoilt the place for me. The Falls themselves are phenomenal, but the surrounding area is tacky, garish and so LasVegasy that it almost ruined the falls. I did the Maiden of the Mist boatride (pretty much a mandatory part of a visit to Niagra) - in which I got kinda wet. It's as close as you can get to the falls, and it's pretty close! You have a little plastic poncho, and by the time you get back, your hair is dripping like you just got out of the shower! That was awesome, and so are the falls at night, lit up by huge spotlights. The rest of Niagra is easily forgotten - too many neon lights and loud noises... by the time we left (it was nearly a 10 hour tour) I was happy to be leaving.
Apart from seeing the falls, you get to do a few other things on the tour. My favourite was visiting Inniskillin Vineyard - where they make the best ice wine in Canada. Icewine i super sweet, because they leave the grapes on the vine for much, much longer, until the vines freeze and then they have super high sugar levels... YUM! We got to do a tasting, and I bought Mum and Dad a bottle, which I hoped to share with them when I got to England, but alas, it didn't happen. I hope they enjoy it though!
From Toronto I was meant to go to New York, but I was kind of over the big city thing and decided to head back to Vancouver for 5 days before I flew out to the UK. Yes, I know it seems a bit ridiculous to head to the opposite side of Canada again, but I can't resist Vancouver - I fell in love with it the first day I was there!
So that gets me up to about 3 weeks ago... when I got to England. Next on the agenda is London, Cornwall, Prague and then Spain, where I am now. But first, I am going to have an ice cream break.
XXX Pip
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
sorry.
sorry. i'm bad at being organised. i'm bad at remembering to write my blog. it's been so long that I even forgot my password to get into it. sorry.
It's only a week til I leave Banff and I've done nothing about packing. I'm starting to get a wee bit concerned because I seem to have twice as much stuff as when I arrived. I have accumulated lots of free things. and now I have to leave them behind. that makes me sad.
but that's not what this post is about. this post is about some of the cool things I've done in the last month! Spring is coming and the snow is starting to melt (it's only dropped below 0 once in the last 3 weeks)...
this post is about Heather's mum Liz. She came out to visit Heather for a week from the UK... she's lovely! Heather and I finally went on our Johnston Canyon walk - JC is a massive canyon about 20 minutes out of town that has formed because of the river that runs through but also because of the ground water that freezes every winter, cracking the rock. It's a bit of a walk up to the upper falls, but well worth it! The waterfalls are all completely frozen, amazing to look at. The air out there is so fresh and pure... it was a warm enough day, but the air was really crisp!
this post is about my most awesome road trip to Jasper. Jasper is about 3 hours north, and the drive on highway 93A is reknowned for being the most beautiful drive in Canada - and it is, for sure! My friend Mark and I had the same days of work so made a impulse decision that we should rent a car and drive to Jasper for the night. I've put all my photos up on Flickr, cos words just can't even describe how amazing it is!
The drive takes you along the Icefields Parkway - right through the centre of the Rockies, and past the Athabasca Glacier... it's phenomenal, driving along with these massive snow covered mountains right next to you... and the Athabasca Glacier makes you realise just how small and insignificant we are on this Earth when it comes to the big picture...
Jasper is quaint little town - it's in the Jasper National Park, the same way that Banff is in the middle of Banff National Park. The permanent population is only about 3000, but during summer (which is their high season) when all the seasonal workers are around and all the hotels are full, the population is about 40000 ... quite a difference! Everywhere in town there is stunning views of the mountains! The train runs though Jasper on the same line that runs through Banff - The Rocky Mountaineer is incredibly popular in summer as a way to see all of the rockies in not so much time.
Mark and I didn't actually do all that much in Jasper - mostly we went for the drive. We wandered around town for a few hours and had lunch. Back at the hostel I lay around in the massive lounge and read my book (marky had to have little nap - bless). And then the most random thing happened... I was starting to make dinner and I turned around in the kitchen, and hwo was standing in the reception area but Marko and Cam - my friends from Panorama... it was soo good to see them again... so we had a good night of monopoly and catching up (I won)... they're also coming to whistler for the Telus Festival, so I'll see them there too!
If you're ever in this part of Canada, you've got to do the Icefields drive - it's breathtaking!
I got to drive too - so I'm now a master at driving on the wrong side of the road...
I'm sure I have other things to write about... but I have to go meet a friend for coffee...
Miss you all
xxx
It's only a week til I leave Banff and I've done nothing about packing. I'm starting to get a wee bit concerned because I seem to have twice as much stuff as when I arrived. I have accumulated lots of free things. and now I have to leave them behind. that makes me sad.
but that's not what this post is about. this post is about some of the cool things I've done in the last month! Spring is coming and the snow is starting to melt (it's only dropped below 0 once in the last 3 weeks)...
this post is about Heather's mum Liz. She came out to visit Heather for a week from the UK... she's lovely! Heather and I finally went on our Johnston Canyon walk - JC is a massive canyon about 20 minutes out of town that has formed because of the river that runs through but also because of the ground water that freezes every winter, cracking the rock. It's a bit of a walk up to the upper falls, but well worth it! The waterfalls are all completely frozen, amazing to look at. The air out there is so fresh and pure... it was a warm enough day, but the air was really crisp!
this post is about my most awesome road trip to Jasper. Jasper is about 3 hours north, and the drive on highway 93A is reknowned for being the most beautiful drive in Canada - and it is, for sure! My friend Mark and I had the same days of work so made a impulse decision that we should rent a car and drive to Jasper for the night. I've put all my photos up on Flickr, cos words just can't even describe how amazing it is!
The drive takes you along the Icefields Parkway - right through the centre of the Rockies, and past the Athabasca Glacier... it's phenomenal, driving along with these massive snow covered mountains right next to you... and the Athabasca Glacier makes you realise just how small and insignificant we are on this Earth when it comes to the big picture...
Jasper is quaint little town - it's in the Jasper National Park, the same way that Banff is in the middle of Banff National Park. The permanent population is only about 3000, but during summer (which is their high season) when all the seasonal workers are around and all the hotels are full, the population is about 40000 ... quite a difference! Everywhere in town there is stunning views of the mountains! The train runs though Jasper on the same line that runs through Banff - The Rocky Mountaineer is incredibly popular in summer as a way to see all of the rockies in not so much time.
Mark and I didn't actually do all that much in Jasper - mostly we went for the drive. We wandered around town for a few hours and had lunch. Back at the hostel I lay around in the massive lounge and read my book (marky had to have little nap - bless). And then the most random thing happened... I was starting to make dinner and I turned around in the kitchen, and hwo was standing in the reception area but Marko and Cam - my friends from Panorama... it was soo good to see them again... so we had a good night of monopoly and catching up (I won)... they're also coming to whistler for the Telus Festival, so I'll see them there too!
If you're ever in this part of Canada, you've got to do the Icefields drive - it's breathtaking!
I got to drive too - so I'm now a master at driving on the wrong side of the road...
I'm sure I have other things to write about... but I have to go meet a friend for coffee...
Miss you all
xxx
Friday, March 16, 2007
Adventures and Misadventures
This time I have lots to say! ( well, I always have lots to say, but sometimes it's not very exciting...) I've just gotten back from a road trip to Panorama Mountain Resort, where my friends Cam and Marko work. It was an awesome trip, full of adventures, as well as a number of misadventures!
Cam is a friend from back in NZ, and Marko is an awesome Aussie who I met in Vancouver... and proving once again what a small world it is, they both happened to be working at the same resort, and in the same department... and now they're best friends... (my work here is done...)\
My trip started of somewhat disasterously... I left Banff on my Greyhound around about 7.45pm on Sunday night... it's about a 2hour trip down to Invermere, the closest town to Pano Resort. I get to Invermere and my phone finally gets reception - and I then discover a message from Marko saying that he and Cam are stuck in Banff because they've closed the roads (they were on their way back from a road trip up north)... so, ironically, I'm stuck in Invermere with no where to stay and they're in Banff, with the same problem...
Thank Goodness for the Best Western... the visa wasn't so happy, but at least I had a bed for the night...
I finally managed to get up to Pano on the staff bus (the boys were somewhere on the highway, waiting for the roads to open, and sleeping in the car)... and managed to get in an afternoon on the hill before checking into my hotel room... the boys eventually made it back to Panorama, 2 hours late for work and quite tired... but the troopers that they are - they invited me up to the restaurant they work at (yay for Mile High Pizza) where they plied me with apologies and free Pizza. After they finished, we had a few beers at the pub and made a plan for the next day... the snow at pano has been pretty average (as it has been at a lot of the hills; spring is coming), so the boys thought it would be worth a road trip in Norry (their crappy Ford truck) to Kicking Horse (22cm fresh powder overnight, 90cm in the last 7 days!!).
We were up bright and early on Tuesday to get on the road... Kicking Horse is just under 2 hours away from Pano, so I get to see a bit of the Canadian countryside... The conditions at KH were beautiful - clear skies and lots of fresh snow! Even better, I got to ride for free because Pano staff get reciprocal passes (and I look enough like Kate (Cam and Marko's workmate) to use her staff pass).
The boys really poushed my riding, which was awesome - my first run for the day was down Bowl Over (a double black for anyone who knows trail conditions)... (photographic evidence on Flickr!). The powder was amazing - a foot deep and lots of fresh tracks. I did have a slight incident on the cat track which resulted in a blood nose and bruising on my eye socket, but that couldn't keep the smile of my face! Kicking Horse is reknowned for it's long runs - the longest being 10kms (that's a long way to ride!) but it is the best hill I've been to, bar none! It was an awesome day, and the bruises are totally worth it!
The drive back was pretty cool too - the sun was out, and daylight savings has just started, so it was light the whole way home... and the boys let me drive (what were they thinking!?) cos they both wanted to have ninja naps... so I can know drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, and know how do drive a standard (manual) when it's on the opposite side from what I'm used to...
The day was complete with a hearty dinner (cooked by me of course...), some beers and a few hours in the spa pool. What I would call a perfect day!
Unfortunately the next day I had to get back on the bus and come back to Banff... I wasn't really ready to come back, but at least the drive back through the Kootenay National Park was pretty enough to distract me! I'm hoping to get down there again before I leave Banff (only 5 weeks to go - scary!), or otherwise the boys and I are hoping to head north to Jasper for a few days... either way, it'll be heaps of fun!
That's about my news for now... work is the same, getting busier everyday, and the snow is melting :( ... I've started planning my trip East... and I'm heading to Whistler (west, just north of Vancouver) just after I leave here: for the Telus World Ski and Snowboarding Festival... can't wait!
xxx Pip xxx
Cam is a friend from back in NZ, and Marko is an awesome Aussie who I met in Vancouver... and proving once again what a small world it is, they both happened to be working at the same resort, and in the same department... and now they're best friends... (my work here is done...)\
My trip started of somewhat disasterously... I left Banff on my Greyhound around about 7.45pm on Sunday night... it's about a 2hour trip down to Invermere, the closest town to Pano Resort. I get to Invermere and my phone finally gets reception - and I then discover a message from Marko saying that he and Cam are stuck in Banff because they've closed the roads (they were on their way back from a road trip up north)... so, ironically, I'm stuck in Invermere with no where to stay and they're in Banff, with the same problem...
Thank Goodness for the Best Western... the visa wasn't so happy, but at least I had a bed for the night...
I finally managed to get up to Pano on the staff bus (the boys were somewhere on the highway, waiting for the roads to open, and sleeping in the car)... and managed to get in an afternoon on the hill before checking into my hotel room... the boys eventually made it back to Panorama, 2 hours late for work and quite tired... but the troopers that they are - they invited me up to the restaurant they work at (yay for Mile High Pizza) where they plied me with apologies and free Pizza. After they finished, we had a few beers at the pub and made a plan for the next day... the snow at pano has been pretty average (as it has been at a lot of the hills; spring is coming), so the boys thought it would be worth a road trip in Norry (their crappy Ford truck) to Kicking Horse (22cm fresh powder overnight, 90cm in the last 7 days!!).
We were up bright and early on Tuesday to get on the road... Kicking Horse is just under 2 hours away from Pano, so I get to see a bit of the Canadian countryside... The conditions at KH were beautiful - clear skies and lots of fresh snow! Even better, I got to ride for free because Pano staff get reciprocal passes (and I look enough like Kate (Cam and Marko's workmate) to use her staff pass).
The boys really poushed my riding, which was awesome - my first run for the day was down Bowl Over (a double black for anyone who knows trail conditions)... (photographic evidence on Flickr!). The powder was amazing - a foot deep and lots of fresh tracks. I did have a slight incident on the cat track which resulted in a blood nose and bruising on my eye socket, but that couldn't keep the smile of my face! Kicking Horse is reknowned for it's long runs - the longest being 10kms (that's a long way to ride!) but it is the best hill I've been to, bar none! It was an awesome day, and the bruises are totally worth it!
The drive back was pretty cool too - the sun was out, and daylight savings has just started, so it was light the whole way home... and the boys let me drive (what were they thinking!?) cos they both wanted to have ninja naps... so I can know drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, and know how do drive a standard (manual) when it's on the opposite side from what I'm used to...
The day was complete with a hearty dinner (cooked by me of course...), some beers and a few hours in the spa pool. What I would call a perfect day!
Unfortunately the next day I had to get back on the bus and come back to Banff... I wasn't really ready to come back, but at least the drive back through the Kootenay National Park was pretty enough to distract me! I'm hoping to get down there again before I leave Banff (only 5 weeks to go - scary!), or otherwise the boys and I are hoping to head north to Jasper for a few days... either way, it'll be heaps of fun!
That's about my news for now... work is the same, getting busier everyday, and the snow is melting :( ... I've started planning my trip East... and I'm heading to Whistler (west, just north of Vancouver) just after I leave here: for the Telus World Ski and Snowboarding Festival... can't wait!
xxx Pip xxx
Friday, March 9, 2007
i'm getting worse...
hmmm, so it seems I am getting worse at writing my blog. just call me a slacker. sorry.
and the funny thing is (well, I don't actually think it's all that funny....) is that I haven't written in nearly a month, but I can't remember what's been happening!
I'll recap the bits I do remember:
I was lucky enough to stay up Sunshine Village (on the hill) with the new boyfriend Will the other week. He was living up there for a couple of weeks until they moved into their new apartment (another story). It was great - it snowed copiously and I had 2 absolutely awesome days of riding! The other great thing was that it cost me next to nothing... you get signed in as a guest to the staff accom area, it's $30 and that gives you a place to stay and 2 days lift pass! Being that a lift pass is usually $70 odd for a day, I was a pretty happy camper.
I was riding with Will (who has the patience of a saint when it comes to coaching me on my techinique!) and Mark, the crazy canadian I work with...
After an exhausting 1st day, Will and I left Mark to head down the ski out to catch the bus back to Banff... but it didn't end so good for him - he took a bad bail and broke his collarbone (really badly too - the xrays make me shudder...). Poor boy, he was all by himself and had to be ski patrolled out, and taken straight to the hospital, where he had surgery... and now has a permenent memento of that day - 2 steel plates, 8 screws and a massive scar! That's his season over, but he's on the mend and seems cheerful enough now (especially since I gave him a NZ flag and a pineapple lump!)
In other happenings, Heather, Will and Kyle moved into their new apartment (I pretty much live there...I'm like a permenant guest)... it's still looking a bit bare, but the have the essentials - a bed each, a couch, a TV and an XBox! Moving in was a mission, but lots of fun. Kyle's old flat was in Canmore, a town about 20 minutes from Banff, so we 'borrowed' a bus from his work (he's a bus driver) and took it to Canmore to load all his stuff into. It worked really well - buses can carry a lot of stuff you know! They've now been in the apartment (good old 105) for nearly 10 days, and it's definately already home!
Heather's friend Claire (scottish as shortbread!) visited for a few days so it was nice to have some other girly company... we spent an awesome day up at Louise, even though the snow is starting to disappear (i'm hoping it's just the Chinook blowing through, and not the start of Spring just yet)... it's been realy warm lately - up to plus 10 aty one stage! And my friend Kirstin from Calgary is visiting next weekend, so I'm really excited about that! It'll be awesome to catch up with her, and show her what a local I've become!
I've been working quite a bit lately (cos of Mark's accident, he hasn't been able to work, leaving us short staffed...) but I've got Sun - Weds off this week and I'm heading down to Panorama Mountain Resort to visit some friends and check out another mountain... I'm really looking forward to it - I've booked myself into the hotel and have already got my lift pass... it'll be great to get away from Banff (as much as I love it here) and see Cam and Marko... can't wait! It's coasting me a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it!
That's about all the excitement I've had in the last 3 and a bit weeks... I've gotta go and buy a board bag now, so I can get all my gear safely to Panorama... and also cos it's only 6 weeks until I'm due to leave Banff... which I am fast deciding I don't really want to do... I have so many good friends here and am having the time of my life... but the UK and Spain are calling, so it's a bittersweet thought!
Miss you all lots,
Love,
Pip xxx
and the funny thing is (well, I don't actually think it's all that funny....) is that I haven't written in nearly a month, but I can't remember what's been happening!
I'll recap the bits I do remember:
I was lucky enough to stay up Sunshine Village (on the hill) with the new boyfriend Will the other week. He was living up there for a couple of weeks until they moved into their new apartment (another story). It was great - it snowed copiously and I had 2 absolutely awesome days of riding! The other great thing was that it cost me next to nothing... you get signed in as a guest to the staff accom area, it's $30 and that gives you a place to stay and 2 days lift pass! Being that a lift pass is usually $70 odd for a day, I was a pretty happy camper.
I was riding with Will (who has the patience of a saint when it comes to coaching me on my techinique!) and Mark, the crazy canadian I work with...
After an exhausting 1st day, Will and I left Mark to head down the ski out to catch the bus back to Banff... but it didn't end so good for him - he took a bad bail and broke his collarbone (really badly too - the xrays make me shudder...). Poor boy, he was all by himself and had to be ski patrolled out, and taken straight to the hospital, where he had surgery... and now has a permenent memento of that day - 2 steel plates, 8 screws and a massive scar! That's his season over, but he's on the mend and seems cheerful enough now (especially since I gave him a NZ flag and a pineapple lump!)
In other happenings, Heather, Will and Kyle moved into their new apartment (I pretty much live there...I'm like a permenant guest)... it's still looking a bit bare, but the have the essentials - a bed each, a couch, a TV and an XBox! Moving in was a mission, but lots of fun. Kyle's old flat was in Canmore, a town about 20 minutes from Banff, so we 'borrowed' a bus from his work (he's a bus driver) and took it to Canmore to load all his stuff into. It worked really well - buses can carry a lot of stuff you know! They've now been in the apartment (good old 105) for nearly 10 days, and it's definately already home!
Heather's friend Claire (scottish as shortbread!) visited for a few days so it was nice to have some other girly company... we spent an awesome day up at Louise, even though the snow is starting to disappear (i'm hoping it's just the Chinook blowing through, and not the start of Spring just yet)... it's been realy warm lately - up to plus 10 aty one stage! And my friend Kirstin from Calgary is visiting next weekend, so I'm really excited about that! It'll be awesome to catch up with her, and show her what a local I've become!
I've been working quite a bit lately (cos of Mark's accident, he hasn't been able to work, leaving us short staffed...) but I've got Sun - Weds off this week and I'm heading down to Panorama Mountain Resort to visit some friends and check out another mountain... I'm really looking forward to it - I've booked myself into the hotel and have already got my lift pass... it'll be great to get away from Banff (as much as I love it here) and see Cam and Marko... can't wait! It's coasting me a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it!
That's about all the excitement I've had in the last 3 and a bit weeks... I've gotta go and buy a board bag now, so I can get all my gear safely to Panorama... and also cos it's only 6 weeks until I'm due to leave Banff... which I am fast deciding I don't really want to do... I have so many good friends here and am having the time of my life... but the UK and Spain are calling, so it's a bittersweet thought!
Miss you all lots,
Love,
Pip xxx
Saturday, February 17, 2007
slacker...
Okay, so it seems I'm getting slacker and slacker at writing, but that's not really the case! I've been quite busy lately... picking up extra shifts, and being ill (it takes up a lot of time you know?!)
So the last 2 weeks or so I have managed to catch some nasty virus that has been going around - and when you live in Staff Accommodation, you can pretty much guarantee that you're going to get sick! So I was down with a flu thingy, and then it got to my tonsils, which made them unhappy. The antibootics I'm on has made them slightly happier, but I'm taking it easy until i know I'm 100% okay!
Apart from that, lots else has been going on! My friends Heather and Will have finally found a flat (which is a huge achievement here - accommodation is like hens teeth...). They move in on March 1st, and it's a nice big place, so I now have a place to stay in town if living at the Rimrock gets to me - living and working in the same place seems convenient, but I can go days at a time without even making it outside... it can start to drive you a little mad.
I never made it up to Sunshine the other week (due to being ill... grrr) so I'm going out riding with Will this Tuesday - I can't wait - it's been faaaaar too long since I was up the hill (like nearly 3 weeks!) and we've had a big dumping of fresh snow in the last 7 days, so it should be good powder riding! Although it's been incredibly mild today (like +3 or so) so everything is going slushy already... hopefully it's cold enough up at the hill to keep the snow fresh!
On Monday I hit my 2 month mark working at the Rimrock, which means it's only 2 months to go until my time in Banff is up - it's going so fast, and I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not really going to want to leave at the end of it all! The last week has involved a lot of the original 'crew' from the Samesun Hostel heading home - have said goodbye to Seth, Kaz, Hannah and (rumour has it...) Chook... it won't be the same without them! But as people leave, new people arrive - we've had 2 newbies start at work... Kathleen and Marc - both Canadians (Ontario and Ottawa respectively) and they're awesome people. Marc is the craziest guy I've ever met - it's hard to work with him though, cos I'm constantly in tears from laughing!
And I've done it - I finally joined the gym - after 2 months of being an inactive sloth, I have jumped on the treadmill (both literally and metophorically!) and joined the Rimrock gym... it needed to be done (as my jeans from home are no longer in use... they are sitting at the bottom of my drawer, waiting for me...). Once again, due to the illness, I haven't been as much as I like, but we're trying to get a Primrose squash round-robin going... although I'm pretty sure Taki is going to beat us all cos she actually knows how to play. Oh well, it's always good to be humiliated!
The Primrose crew is very multi-cultural... but we have been discovering, that although we all speak english... none of us seem to be able to communicate...
A prime example is Steve and I. He's Canadian, I'm Kiwi... but apparently hedges and hidges are 2 different things... I'm not sure how we got on to the topic (we talk about some random things sometimes) but I said something about a hedge (you know, the planty, shrubby thing that grow between your house and your neighbours...) but apparently I say hidge.... and now he just loves to try and mimic my accent. Ever (aka EvAH) is another word that everyone (not just the canadians) likes to take the piss for!
And my name is a whole different story... when I say Pip, people hear Perp... if they don't get it after 2 tries, I just let them call me Perp.... not to mention what my name apparently means in French, which I'm not even going to repeat.... but all the French-Canadians I meet always laugh and ask if I know what it means... YES, I do, and I don't really need to be reminded!
well, my time on the internet is running up a big bill, so I had best go - new photos up on Flickr too, and I'll try not to be such a slacker in writing - promise an update soon!
xxx Pip / Perp
So the last 2 weeks or so I have managed to catch some nasty virus that has been going around - and when you live in Staff Accommodation, you can pretty much guarantee that you're going to get sick! So I was down with a flu thingy, and then it got to my tonsils, which made them unhappy. The antibootics I'm on has made them slightly happier, but I'm taking it easy until i know I'm 100% okay!
Apart from that, lots else has been going on! My friends Heather and Will have finally found a flat (which is a huge achievement here - accommodation is like hens teeth...). They move in on March 1st, and it's a nice big place, so I now have a place to stay in town if living at the Rimrock gets to me - living and working in the same place seems convenient, but I can go days at a time without even making it outside... it can start to drive you a little mad.
I never made it up to Sunshine the other week (due to being ill... grrr) so I'm going out riding with Will this Tuesday - I can't wait - it's been faaaaar too long since I was up the hill (like nearly 3 weeks!) and we've had a big dumping of fresh snow in the last 7 days, so it should be good powder riding! Although it's been incredibly mild today (like +3 or so) so everything is going slushy already... hopefully it's cold enough up at the hill to keep the snow fresh!
On Monday I hit my 2 month mark working at the Rimrock, which means it's only 2 months to go until my time in Banff is up - it's going so fast, and I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not really going to want to leave at the end of it all! The last week has involved a lot of the original 'crew' from the Samesun Hostel heading home - have said goodbye to Seth, Kaz, Hannah and (rumour has it...) Chook... it won't be the same without them! But as people leave, new people arrive - we've had 2 newbies start at work... Kathleen and Marc - both Canadians (Ontario and Ottawa respectively) and they're awesome people. Marc is the craziest guy I've ever met - it's hard to work with him though, cos I'm constantly in tears from laughing!
And I've done it - I finally joined the gym - after 2 months of being an inactive sloth, I have jumped on the treadmill (both literally and metophorically!) and joined the Rimrock gym... it needed to be done (as my jeans from home are no longer in use... they are sitting at the bottom of my drawer, waiting for me...). Once again, due to the illness, I haven't been as much as I like, but we're trying to get a Primrose squash round-robin going... although I'm pretty sure Taki is going to beat us all cos she actually knows how to play. Oh well, it's always good to be humiliated!
The Primrose crew is very multi-cultural... but we have been discovering, that although we all speak english... none of us seem to be able to communicate...
A prime example is Steve and I. He's Canadian, I'm Kiwi... but apparently hedges and hidges are 2 different things... I'm not sure how we got on to the topic (we talk about some random things sometimes) but I said something about a hedge (you know, the planty, shrubby thing that grow between your house and your neighbours...) but apparently I say hidge.... and now he just loves to try and mimic my accent. Ever (aka EvAH) is another word that everyone (not just the canadians) likes to take the piss for!
And my name is a whole different story... when I say Pip, people hear Perp... if they don't get it after 2 tries, I just let them call me Perp.... not to mention what my name apparently means in French, which I'm not even going to repeat.... but all the French-Canadians I meet always laugh and ask if I know what it means... YES, I do, and I don't really need to be reminded!
well, my time on the internet is running up a big bill, so I had best go - new photos up on Flickr too, and I'll try not to be such a slacker in writing - promise an update soon!
xxx Pip / Perp
Monday, February 5, 2007
wow-wow-wee-wow
wow-wow-wee-wow, it's been a while!
Time here is flying - and i'm not entirely sure where it's disappearing to! It's February, and it's unseasonably warm in Banff - today we're on a happy high of plus 5, which is bizzare - it's like summer outside!
After my last post saying work has calmed down, I take it back. The hotel is still relatively quiet, but I've been picking up shifts left, right and centre - I now work for 4 of 5 departments within food and beverage in the hotel! I worked in Eden as a hostess on Saturday night - it's our super fancy 5diamond french restaurant (one of only 10 five diamond restaurants in Alberta)... so the tips from that will hopefully keep me afloat for a little bit!
While I'm on shop talk - we've finally hired 2 new hostesses (well, one hostess and one host) for the primrose - which means I should get my "weekends" back! They're both crazy canadians and good fun!
The hill has been pretty icy lately (due to no new snow) so I haven't been up for about a week and a half... my snowboard is feeling a bit neglected. But my friend Will has hooked me up with a 1/2 price lift ticket for SUnshine (one of the other hills here), so I'm heading up there on Thursday... and it's meant to snow for the next 3 days, so hopefully I'll have some fresh powder to play in!
Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday (which means pretty much nothing to me...) so I went to the pub for the obligitory 1/2 hour to watch a game I can't say I'll ever really get in to. I'm battling a cold at the moment, so it was my excuse for a quick escape!
I hope all of you back home have a happy Waitangi Day - I'm working a split shift so will have no time to celebrate... and being that there are only 2 kiwis in the hotel (and only about 6 in the whole of Banff) I don't think we'll be living up to the Aussie's standards - they all get pretty crazy on Australia Day!
I'll post again soon - when I've done something exciting worth telling you about!
Also have loaded a whole bunch of new photos onto my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48847309@N00/) so check them out!
Time here is flying - and i'm not entirely sure where it's disappearing to! It's February, and it's unseasonably warm in Banff - today we're on a happy high of plus 5, which is bizzare - it's like summer outside!
After my last post saying work has calmed down, I take it back. The hotel is still relatively quiet, but I've been picking up shifts left, right and centre - I now work for 4 of 5 departments within food and beverage in the hotel! I worked in Eden as a hostess on Saturday night - it's our super fancy 5diamond french restaurant (one of only 10 five diamond restaurants in Alberta)... so the tips from that will hopefully keep me afloat for a little bit!
While I'm on shop talk - we've finally hired 2 new hostesses (well, one hostess and one host) for the primrose - which means I should get my "weekends" back! They're both crazy canadians and good fun!
The hill has been pretty icy lately (due to no new snow) so I haven't been up for about a week and a half... my snowboard is feeling a bit neglected. But my friend Will has hooked me up with a 1/2 price lift ticket for SUnshine (one of the other hills here), so I'm heading up there on Thursday... and it's meant to snow for the next 3 days, so hopefully I'll have some fresh powder to play in!
Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday (which means pretty much nothing to me...) so I went to the pub for the obligitory 1/2 hour to watch a game I can't say I'll ever really get in to. I'm battling a cold at the moment, so it was my excuse for a quick escape!
I hope all of you back home have a happy Waitangi Day - I'm working a split shift so will have no time to celebrate... and being that there are only 2 kiwis in the hotel (and only about 6 in the whole of Banff) I don't think we'll be living up to the Aussie's standards - they all get pretty crazy on Australia Day!
I'll post again soon - when I've done something exciting worth telling you about!
Also have loaded a whole bunch of new photos onto my flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/48847309@N00/) so check them out!
Friday, January 19, 2007
A whole lotta SNOW!!
So, since I last posted, not much has changed... my life revolves around working, sleeping and snowboarding.
Work has calmed down a lot lately. So much in fact that sometimes it seems like time is standing still. The other morning we served a total of 17 guests for breakfast (and we're open from 7am - 11am)... needless to say, I was quite happy to finally get out of there!
The most exciting thing I've done in the last 2 weeks is buy my season pass for Lake Louise. Okay, so I know that I said I was gonna buy a pass for Sunshine - but everyone I know who rides or skis is up at LL, so I decided it was worth a little bit more $$ to be able to have a 'snowboarding social network'. So I said goodbye to $800, but hello all the snow I can handle! Nevermind the fact I look like an Ewok in my photo... if me being an Ewok gets me up the hill, then so be it! I stacked out and wacked my head the other day, so my next purchase will be a helmet, to protect my precious grey matter! Heading up the mountain again on Monday... can't wait - hopefully it'll snow between now and then!
Compared to last week, it's gotten a lot warmer - we were sitting up around minus 20, and now we're back to a tropical minus 8 or so! Talking of tropical, my latest hairbrained scheme is to get myself to Mexico. Heather and I have decided that at some stage we may need a break from all this coldness and snow... so where else would you go but Mexico? And plus, when else am I ever going to get the chance to go there? So we're looking at a week sometime towards the end of April... which is just before I start my roadtrip (including trains and planes) out East to get to New York. Arrrrriiiibbbaaa!
On the Domestic front, my roomate moved out and another one moved in. Her name is Taki and she's a gorgeous girl from Japan who will be working with me in Primrose - she's such a sweetie - she's gonna fit right in to the Primrose team.
That's all for now - I have to drag myself to Safeways to buy some bread and other exciting daily neccessities...
Take Care Now
xxx
Work has calmed down a lot lately. So much in fact that sometimes it seems like time is standing still. The other morning we served a total of 17 guests for breakfast (and we're open from 7am - 11am)... needless to say, I was quite happy to finally get out of there!
The most exciting thing I've done in the last 2 weeks is buy my season pass for Lake Louise. Okay, so I know that I said I was gonna buy a pass for Sunshine - but everyone I know who rides or skis is up at LL, so I decided it was worth a little bit more $$ to be able to have a 'snowboarding social network'. So I said goodbye to $800, but hello all the snow I can handle! Nevermind the fact I look like an Ewok in my photo... if me being an Ewok gets me up the hill, then so be it! I stacked out and wacked my head the other day, so my next purchase will be a helmet, to protect my precious grey matter! Heading up the mountain again on Monday... can't wait - hopefully it'll snow between now and then!
Compared to last week, it's gotten a lot warmer - we were sitting up around minus 20, and now we're back to a tropical minus 8 or so! Talking of tropical, my latest hairbrained scheme is to get myself to Mexico. Heather and I have decided that at some stage we may need a break from all this coldness and snow... so where else would you go but Mexico? And plus, when else am I ever going to get the chance to go there? So we're looking at a week sometime towards the end of April... which is just before I start my roadtrip (including trains and planes) out East to get to New York. Arrrrriiiibbbaaa!
On the Domestic front, my roomate moved out and another one moved in. Her name is Taki and she's a gorgeous girl from Japan who will be working with me in Primrose - she's such a sweetie - she's gonna fit right in to the Primrose team.
That's all for now - I have to drag myself to Safeways to buy some bread and other exciting daily neccessities...
Take Care Now
xxx
Monday, January 8, 2007
Sleeping on the Bus!
(Author's Note: okay - so when I wrote this I was a wee bit tired and forgot to actually post it... this goes in between "Where Do I Start?" and "My Canadian Wishlist"... oops)
Sleeping on the bus is awesome... especially when you wake up, you're at Lake Louise - one of the sweetest mountains in these parts!
So, I have a new snowboard and it's totally my brand new baby and I would kill/die for it! It's a Salomon Radiant with Salomon Antidote bindings, and I'm riding with Salomon Virgil boots (do you sense a theme?) ... and the design is awseome - green swirls and stuff - goes perfectly with my jacket and pants (all by fluke too - wicked!!)
So I spent the day up at Lake Louise - the perfect way to spend my first day off in about 15days (since I started at the Rimrock!)... was meant to be meeting Debs (a kiwi chickee I know who works at the Chateau up there) but her phone maggoted out, so I didn't see her... but Bon Jovi kept me company on my iPod and I had one of the best days of my life! I came off the hill totally wind-burnt, but with such a big grin that my face muscles were actually starting to hurt! It was so mean, I can't even explain - it's so good to be riding my own board again - rental gear is like driving a Fiat Yugo when you're used to driving a 9-11!
From now on, I'm pretty sure I'll be at the mountain any and every chance I get - I'm gonna get myself a season pass for Sunshine Village (not sure where the cash for that is coming from yet, but I'll sort it!) and then just go day by day at LakeLou... it's going to be such a sweet season, you all must be GREEN WITH ENVY!!! (probably not, but you should be!!)
Sleeping on the bus is awesome... especially when you wake up, you're at Lake Louise - one of the sweetest mountains in these parts!
So, I have a new snowboard and it's totally my brand new baby and I would kill/die for it! It's a Salomon Radiant with Salomon Antidote bindings, and I'm riding with Salomon Virgil boots (do you sense a theme?) ... and the design is awseome - green swirls and stuff - goes perfectly with my jacket and pants (all by fluke too - wicked!!)
So I spent the day up at Lake Louise - the perfect way to spend my first day off in about 15days (since I started at the Rimrock!)... was meant to be meeting Debs (a kiwi chickee I know who works at the Chateau up there) but her phone maggoted out, so I didn't see her... but Bon Jovi kept me company on my iPod and I had one of the best days of my life! I came off the hill totally wind-burnt, but with such a big grin that my face muscles were actually starting to hurt! It was so mean, I can't even explain - it's so good to be riding my own board again - rental gear is like driving a Fiat Yugo when you're used to driving a 9-11!
From now on, I'm pretty sure I'll be at the mountain any and every chance I get - I'm gonna get myself a season pass for Sunshine Village (not sure where the cash for that is coming from yet, but I'll sort it!) and then just go day by day at LakeLou... it's going to be such a sweet season, you all must be GREEN WITH ENVY!!! (probably not, but you should be!!)
My Canadian Wishlist!
Okay, so I've decided that a good way to tackle Canada in general is by having a wishlist of things to do and see... and I'm proud to say, that although I only wrote my wishlist at work yesterday morning, I've already achieved one thing!
It was a dead slow morning on Breakfast, so the wishlist was a constructive use of both my time and attention (hell, if I have to be up at 7am on a Sunday, then it had better benefit me!!) ... so far my wishlist is small and achievable, but I plan to change that byu creating grandeous goals that I know I'll never get around to...
But back to the Wishlist... so far it has:
* Go to a hockey game
* Go iceskating outside
* Go dogsledding
* Learn park (for those of you who are not snow-compatible, that means tricks - jumps, rails etc etc)
* make a snowman
* make a snowangel
etc etc etc etc
So, what was my grand achievement? I went ice skating... in the outside world! Here at the Rimrock we have a grassy area out the front of the hotel, which they have covered with water to turn into an iceskating rink... YAY! So Louise, Steve and I headed down there yesterday for a quick spot of skating. Let's just say Louise kicks ass (jumping and turning and showing off! skills!), I'm okay (I didn't fall down) and Steve... well, he's not really into the iceskating scene... he tended to spend a wee bit of time on his rear end... but it was all good fun! I'll post some photos soon (and maybe even a video of Louise being pro!)...
And in other news... Sonia (my roomie) leaves soon, which makes me sad... I'm sitting in her office at the moment, while she tries to rescue some of her team from the south elevator, which is stuck on the 3rd floor - they claim to be running out of oxygen, but I'm sure it'll be all good. Sonia (as always) is hard at work, eating turn down chocolates, stealing things from Lost and Found and generally abusing her seat of authority - ahaha, I love it! She also has a blog about the brilliant world of Banff (and the inner workings of the Rimrock) , but I can't link to it, because certain people (you know who you are) are sneakily intent on finding her web journal... and it's great fun not letting him find it... so - it's out there in the ether of cyber space somewhere - I DARE you to find it boy!
okay, incoherent babbling leads me to believe that it may be time for food... and then bed, cos I'm up early to go out to Lake Louise tomorrow!
It was a dead slow morning on Breakfast, so the wishlist was a constructive use of both my time and attention (hell, if I have to be up at 7am on a Sunday, then it had better benefit me!!) ... so far my wishlist is small and achievable, but I plan to change that byu creating grandeous goals that I know I'll never get around to...
But back to the Wishlist... so far it has:
* Go to a hockey game
* Go iceskating outside
* Go dogsledding
* Learn park (for those of you who are not snow-compatible, that means tricks - jumps, rails etc etc)
* make a snowman
* make a snowangel
etc etc etc etc
So, what was my grand achievement? I went ice skating... in the outside world! Here at the Rimrock we have a grassy area out the front of the hotel, which they have covered with water to turn into an iceskating rink... YAY! So Louise, Steve and I headed down there yesterday for a quick spot of skating. Let's just say Louise kicks ass (jumping and turning and showing off! skills!), I'm okay (I didn't fall down) and Steve... well, he's not really into the iceskating scene... he tended to spend a wee bit of time on his rear end... but it was all good fun! I'll post some photos soon (and maybe even a video of Louise being pro!)...
And in other news... Sonia (my roomie) leaves soon, which makes me sad... I'm sitting in her office at the moment, while she tries to rescue some of her team from the south elevator, which is stuck on the 3rd floor - they claim to be running out of oxygen, but I'm sure it'll be all good. Sonia (as always) is hard at work, eating turn down chocolates, stealing things from Lost and Found and generally abusing her seat of authority - ahaha, I love it! She also has a blog about the brilliant world of Banff (and the inner workings of the Rimrock) , but I can't link to it, because certain people (you know who you are) are sneakily intent on finding her web journal... and it's great fun not letting him find it... so - it's out there in the ether of cyber space somewhere - I DARE you to find it boy!
okay, incoherent babbling leads me to believe that it may be time for food... and then bed, cos I'm up early to go out to Lake Louise tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Where do I start!?!?!
Okay, so it seems like forever since I posted (apologies indeed!)
I have been a busy wee thing since I wrote (hence the not getting near a computer!)! The job came through successfully - I was offered the position 2 hours after the interview, so moved up to the Rimrock Resort on Dec 19th ... where I've been working ever since (literally, today is my first day off since I first started!)
I'm working as a Hostess at the Primrose Dining Room... basically it's like maitre'd-ing... I greet guests and then seat them, control the floor plan, do all the cashing out and general stuff like that. It's been totally mad over the Christmas break, but it's starting to slow down now, so I'm sure I'll be glad of all the hours I've worked when my first paycheck comes through on Friday!
So the last 2 weeks have been mostly work... Christmas and New Year have kind of come and gone without a fuss - I had to work both, although I did spend Christmas Eve in the pub with all my friends - doing a split shift on too much 'holiday cheer' and no sleep isn't particularly advisable!
Hmmm, what else?!? I bought a new snowboard today (finally!) and it's super uber wicked cool! I will take a photo of it and post it ASAP so you can all see my new baby! I'm heading up to Lake Louise tomorrow (bout 45 mins from here) to go riding with another Kiwi chickee I know, Deb, who works over there... should be good!
It's been snowing lots lately, and the temperture dropped for a bit - we're averaging about -7 or so during the day and -15 or so at night - not too bad really! It's a really dry cold, so I'm always thirsty! Banff sits about 3800ft above sea level, but the Rimrock is another 400ft higher, so it's always dry at work - it's not good for the throat... I always get a croaky voice in the morning, which is not so good when you're greeting guests at a 5star hotel!
My roomate Sonya is pretty choice - she's Aussie and she's abondoning me - she's just been offered a job at the Banff Centre, which is a school/performing arts centre... at least she'll still be in town! All the people I work with are pretty cool - most of them are Aussie (our staff is 60% Australian!) and there's lots of (crazy) French-Canadians! They're great fun and make work a good time for all!
And....ta da... I finally have some photos! enjoy them...
p.s - scroll down to see them. haven't worked out how and where to put them yet... keep an eye out - i'll be starting a photo albumn soon...
xx
I have been a busy wee thing since I wrote (hence the not getting near a computer!)! The job came through successfully - I was offered the position 2 hours after the interview, so moved up to the Rimrock Resort on Dec 19th ... where I've been working ever since (literally, today is my first day off since I first started!)
I'm working as a Hostess at the Primrose Dining Room... basically it's like maitre'd-ing... I greet guests and then seat them, control the floor plan, do all the cashing out and general stuff like that. It's been totally mad over the Christmas break, but it's starting to slow down now, so I'm sure I'll be glad of all the hours I've worked when my first paycheck comes through on Friday!
So the last 2 weeks have been mostly work... Christmas and New Year have kind of come and gone without a fuss - I had to work both, although I did spend Christmas Eve in the pub with all my friends - doing a split shift on too much 'holiday cheer' and no sleep isn't particularly advisable!
Hmmm, what else?!? I bought a new snowboard today (finally!) and it's super uber wicked cool! I will take a photo of it and post it ASAP so you can all see my new baby! I'm heading up to Lake Louise tomorrow (bout 45 mins from here) to go riding with another Kiwi chickee I know, Deb, who works over there... should be good!
It's been snowing lots lately, and the temperture dropped for a bit - we're averaging about -7 or so during the day and -15 or so at night - not too bad really! It's a really dry cold, so I'm always thirsty! Banff sits about 3800ft above sea level, but the Rimrock is another 400ft higher, so it's always dry at work - it's not good for the throat... I always get a croaky voice in the morning, which is not so good when you're greeting guests at a 5star hotel!
My roomate Sonya is pretty choice - she's Aussie and she's abondoning me - she's just been offered a job at the Banff Centre, which is a school/performing arts centre... at least she'll still be in town! All the people I work with are pretty cool - most of them are Aussie (our staff is 60% Australian!) and there's lots of (crazy) French-Canadians! They're great fun and make work a good time for all!
And....ta da... I finally have some photos! enjoy them...
p.s - scroll down to see them. haven't worked out how and where to put them yet... keep an eye out - i'll be starting a photo albumn soon...
xx
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