Where do I start? This weekend was spent in one of the most stunning places on earth: The Rocky Mountains. The mountains, snow, lakes… it was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.
Our West Trek tour guide, Lee, was simply the best. He has the best music, best jokes, best dances, best games… you get it! The nine hours that we sat on the bus felt like two. Our first stop was Lake Louise which was simply mind blowing. Steam came from the clear lake water and everything covered in pure white snow. As West Trek called this tour, it was a “Winter Wonderland.”
We were blessed with blue, sunny skies on our whole trip, but don’t let that fool you. It was negative 20-something degrees and let me tell you, it was cold. From what I know, all the girls in my room put about 5 layers of clothes on and probably looked like marshmallows the whole weekend.
We spent the rest of the day in one of the 10 most visited places in North America: Banff. It was such a cute ski resort town with little coffee shops that most of us ran into the moment we arrived! Then, we were left to explore the beautiful scenery Banff has to offer. I went to the Surprise Corner where you can see an incredible view of Banff Springs Hotel which looks exactly like Hogwarts in Harry Potter with the backdrop of snow-covered Sulphur Mountain and Bow Falls. Others went to walk around Bow Lake which is a frozen lake right in the middle of town.
Night time means party time (though some have been doing that 24/7 and never made it out of their hotel room, but I won’t name names:))!
The local pub was where battles of intense foosball games were played and Lee’s infamous flash mob of Backstreet Boy’s “I want it that way” was performed with absolute passion by everyone. After, we went to Aurora, the coolest club in town and where everyone let loose and danced the night away.
I’m not sure if everyone was feeling that great the next day, but riding the Banff Gondola up to the highest point on Sulphur Mountain sure woke us up. Man, this was truly incredible. You are surrounded by many peaks of the Rockies and they seem endless. This was definitely the highlight and a must see if you ever go to Banff.
After freezing our butts off, we went to the Banff Hot Springs to warm up in 39 degrees of natural sulphuric hot water. In fact, that was quite soothing to our hangovers from the night before.
The last night ended off with singing and telling ghost stories (They scared me so bad!) around the campfire. We also made delicious S’mores, which is a North American treat consisting of roasted marshmallows, a piece of chocolate and graham crackers to make a sandwich. If you’ve never tried one, you are missing out!
Overall, we travelled 2,200 Kilometres this weekend, and for that, we have to thank our wonderful and brave bus driver Vincent. The 17 of INTERNeX-ers who went will agree that West Trek definitely made this one of the most exciting and beautiful weekend. Without a doubt, it is one we will never forget.
Check out the rest of the photos on Flickr HERE!
Cheers,
Queenie
INTERNeX International Exchange
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Vancouver BC -V6A 2R5-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
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Email: pr@internexcanada.com
e heart of Europe! One of our most interesting destinations for the Au Pair program is Germany in the middle of Europe. You heard about German soccer and beer? Find out for yourself what it’s all about!
ime. This was my first time using Greyhound and it was an interesting experience.
INTERNeX Canada 