Italy seems to be a topic at the moment and we have been to this country three times with National Coaches, the first time was to Rome, Florence and Pisa staying in Montecatini. Then last year it was Allasio with visits to Santa Margherita, Portofino and San Remo, I would imagine that a lot of these places would have been damaged during WW2 but their rebuilding seems to have been done a lot more sympathetically than ours.
Jasper is one of my favourite places in the world. A little touristy without being too touristy, unlike Banff in my opinion which is really touristy. Great place for wildlife if you like that sort of thing, Elk roam the town, you could see a wolf if you are lucky enough and bears are a possibility. There is a horse trekking ranch in the town and highly recommend it, it's a great way to see the countryside. Lots of waterfalls etc. and the skywalk as CT has mentioned. The Columbia ice field is an hours drive away (towards Banff) and well worth a visit. You can get a snow bus up on to the ice field itself and it is truly spectacular. And then when you get to Banff, Lake Louise and the Chateau as CT said are again truly spectacular.
I can vouch for this. I drove from Pisa to Florence last year and - you know how here if a lane is closed on the motorway for works you'll get advance warning? Well they don't bother with that. I was driving along happily and then all of a sudden a lane was coned off with no warning, I nearly **** myself! And driving around Florence itself was a total mare. Obviously an ancient city isn't designed for cars and the roads in the centre of the city are not much wider than the car itself. The whole experience has left me scarred.
I'm assuming by real football you are talking about that version where they wear mattresses so as not to get hurt, throw the ball once and have a rest ... We went to see Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Chicago Bears in December 15 when we were in Florida. The occasion was a great spectacle but i just couldn't get excited about a game that stops after one throw and a bit of argy bargy. We actually wanted to take in a hockey game in that trip as we visited Toronto and New York but wherever we went the matches seemed to be in other places to where we was, hence going to the Buccaneers game. If we were to drive from Vancouver to Calgary, how long should we allow for the drive and staying in the area?
Do Americans ever question why it's called football, when the foot touches the ball for probably less than 5% of the game?
Because originally American football was like English football, the ball was round and the aim was to kick it into a goal.
So why haven't they changed its name since the game completely changed and pays no resemblance to it? And the point still remains - do they ever question it? I refuse to believe all American Football fans know that.
One of my favourite things in the history of the world was when vendors in America changed the name of French Fries to Freedom Fries after France opposed the invasion of Iraq. Like as if that was punishing France They'd have done well to remember where their country's most iconic monument came from... Absolute ****tards.
If you don't fancy the drive, we usually take the overnight train from Vancouver to Jasper - it leaves Vancouver in the evening and reaches Jasper on the afternoon of next day with plenty of time to enjoy the fabulous views as you cross the Rockies. In Jasper we pick up a hire car and spend a few days hiking and seeing the (many) sites while staying in one of the bungalows on Patricia Lake. In late September of last year we were lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis there. Then spend a day driving down the Icefield Parkway to stop at Lake Louise or Banff - again, last year we diverted to the Yoho national park and stopped at Emerald Lake which is similar to Lake Louise but, in our opinion, is even better. From there it's a relatively short hop to Calgary where you can drop your car off for the onward journey.
According to National Geographic, the Icefields Parkway (Hwy 93) between Jasper and Banff is one of the most spectacular drives in the world. Having driven it, I can attest to its amazing scenery. You can find loads of information online regarding points of interest, beauty spots and hikes etc. When I drove it we left Jasper at daybreak as the traffic (especially rental motor homes and tour buses) can be pretty heavy during the daytime.
I was actually referring too what we call football! you have the Vancouver Whitecaps, FC Edmonton, Ottawa furry and Toronto to choose from, The CFL is the Canadian version of American Football, i think it has better rules and is a bit faster. The drive between Vancouver too Calgary takes about 11 hrs without stopping, i would recommend going to Jasper and doing the drive too Banff, like what some have said the drive is great. Been to Emerald lake is worth seeing as is Athabasca Falls. also recommend going to Canmore its just 30 mins from Banff and has a great Micro brewery The Grizzly Paw.
I'm going to have to bookmark all this advice before I forget the excellent suggestions everyone is making.
I was going to post on Syd's thread but didn't want to hijack away from his good news... but the talk of Italy got me thinking of summer holidays and this thread, which I'm sure can be resurrected with a slight title change... Where's everyone going this year? I'm shunning Italy after first considering Sardinia and am now going to Bali. Anyone been and can offer any tips? I've heard Kuta is a hellhole but I'm staying in Seminyak and Sanur.
If they're anything like Syd then I cant wait... Nah as I understand it that is mainly Kuta, hence I'm giving it a wide berth.
