Rocky Mountaineer: Kamloops - Banff

It was an extremely early start for our second and final day on the Rocky Mountaineer as we departed Kamloops before 7:00 am. Today was the longest day on the train with the journey to Banff covering 497 km/309 miles. Once again we were fed incredibly well throughout the day. For breakfast we had a croissant and farmhouse scramble with smoked bacon, breakfast hash and roasted mushrooms. Lunch included a spinach and apple salad along with roasted pork loin in a creamy Dijon mustard sauce with brown rice risotto and local market vegetables. We had a few desserts with a piece of cheesecake, a cheese and wine course, and an oatmeal raisin cookie towards the end of the journey.

There was lots to see today as this was the day we hit the Canadian Rockies. We began heading around Shuswap Lake to the Eagle River, and then went through Craigellachie, where the last spike of the Canadian Pacific Rail line was driven, which linked Canada by rail from coast to coast.

We crossed the Columbia and Illecillewaet Rivers, and went in the 8 km/5 mile long Connaught Tunnel through Mount MacDonald before hitting the Stoney Creek Bridge which towers over the creek bed.

With the Canadian Rockies coming into view, additional bridges were crossed over Surprise Creek and Mountain Creek before leaving the Columbia River behind for the Kicking Horse River and traveling through Kicking Horse Canyon.

The next big architectural marvel was the Spiral Tunnels, modeled after a tunnel system in Switzerland. The Lower and Upper Spiral Tunnels allowed the grade to be reduced from 4.5 per cent to a much safer 2.2 per cent, with the railway doubling back on itself twice in the process of gaining altitude.

 

After passing the Continental Divide and highest point in the journey at 1,626 m/5,332 feet, we went through Lake Louise (though couldn't see the lake) and saw Castle Mountain as we arrived at the Banff train station to the welcoming waves of the ever friendly Rocky Mountaineer staff. Once again we made excellent time and arrived over an hour early. Shuttles for passengers to the various hotels around town were there on our arrival, and we were taken to the Banff Caribou Lodge and Spa, where we could head straight to our room with our bags arriving shortly after.

Riding the Rocky Mountaineer was a great experience, but I think two days was enough time on the train. The staff were really lovely and accommodating of everyone's needs, and you can see how much pride they take in their customer service. For the sheer variety of scenery I think the First Passage to the West trip we did is hard to top, so if you can only do one Rocky Mountaineer journey I think it is the one to pick.

Rocky Mountaineer: Vancouver - Kamloops

Mom and I were up bright and early for our Rocky Mountaineer First Passage to the West two day train journey from Vancouver to Banff. When we arrived at the Vancouver Rocky Mountaineer Train Station around 6:45 am we were greeted by the friendly staff who brought our bags to the check in counter to tag them for the hotels we would be staying at over the next two nights. The train station was big and filled with sunlight and you could get drinks and lounge around watching clips of the journey on large screens while a piano player played in the background. 

Before boarding the train they gathered everyone together at the front of the hall for a departure ceremony with a bagpiper. After the call of "all aboard" everyone headed to their designated train carriage and as we departed at 8:00 am all the Rocky Mountaineer staff were outside waving us farewell on our journey. We were in the SilverLeaf Service single level dome car and had assigned seats near the front of the carriage. There was lots of leg room and large windows to peer out of to see all the scenery. You could also go out back to the outside platform where we entered to take pictures as well. 

Each carriage has three dedicated staff - we had sisters Katie and Tracey as our servers and tour guides, and Jordan cooking all our meals. One thing about the Rocky Mountaineer is that you will never go thirsty or hungry. They are constantly serving you throughout the day. The food was hot and excellent. For breakfast we got a cinnamon scone then three cheese omelette with chicken sausage, skillet potatoes and roasted tomatoes. For lunch we had a sliced tomato salad and grilled salmon with a creamy dill sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables. For dessert there was a chocolate brownie with fudge sauce, as well as snacks of mixed nuts and dried fruit in between meals if you were interested. 

For today's journey we traveled from Vancouver to Kamloops, which was 460 km/285 miles. We began with the green agricultural region of the Fraser Valley and the sight of our first mountain - Mount Baker.

As we climbed into the Cascade Mountains it got very green and lush, and then we saw Hell's Gate, which is the narrowest part of the Fraser River in the canyon.

Next we hit the Cisco Crossings, where the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National train lines cross the Fraser River on an orange arched bridge.

As we traveled further we came through Lytton, where the Thompson and Fraser Rivers met and the water goes from muddy to clear.

From here the landscape changes and becomes more dry and arid. The trees became more sparse as you went along and then it became more like a desert with all the brown rocks and slides.

On the way into the town of Kamloops the Thompson River widened into the massive Kamloops Lake. As we traveled around it we kept an eye out for animals on the hills and saw a few mountain goats along the way.

We made really good time during the day, and as the Rocky Mountaineer pulled into Kamloops we were greeted by the volunteer Kamloops Mounted Patrol. They come out with their horses to welcome train passengers into town.

Everything was very well organised as we departed the train. We got on our designated motorcoach and then drove the short distance to the Thompson Hotel and Conference Centre, where everyone was already checked in and had their bags waiting for them in the room. Mom and I grabbed dinner next door at The Noble Pig Brewhouse, and then got to sleep as it was another early start with a 6:15 am departure back to the Rocky Mountaineer in the morning.

Vancouver- Granville Island

I have been wanting to do a trip to Canada for a while now, and being in the States in late spring provided the perfect opportunity to finally go. My Mom and I flew up to Vancouver midday today ahead of leaving on the Rocky Mountaineer train tomorrow morning, so only had this afternoon in the city to see some sights. As we were staying downtown at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel we took a walk down Hornby Street to the dock to catch the cute little Aquabus across to Granville Island.

Granville Island is a bit of an arts precinct with its theaters and artisan studios along Railspur Alley. We saw some great public art from the Vancouver Biennale with a mural of six characters on gigantic concrete silos called Giants by Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo. The island also has a great Public Market with fresh local food, products and other goodies you can sample or purchase from the various stalls (sort of a mini Queen Victoria Market).

There are a few different venues to sit down and eat at on Granville Island and we decided to have dinner at Edible Canada, which utilises the best local and seasonal ingredients for its dishes. My Mom had the BBBB burger with duck fat frites and I ate the crispy skinned wild salmon with bacon glazed spring beans, smoked fingerling potatoes, beet and apple reduction. The food was fresh and tasty. 

There were so many other areas of Vancouver I would love to explore if I had more time, but for an afternoon adventure Granville Island was a good place to go, especially on a sunny day.

Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective

It is the last few days of the Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective exhibition at the de Young museum in San Francisco so I was lucky to be able to go see it today with Lynne. Originally from the Dominican Republic, de la Renta came to New York City in the 1960s where he began designing for Elizabeth Arden before starting his own label a few years later.

The exhibition features more than 130 ensembles from de la Renta's career, although it mainly seemed to focus on the 2000s. He is best known for his amazing ball gowns which were worn not only by First Ladies but also Hollywood celebrities during awards season. Each room of the exhibition is based around a different theme, and as is the case with most fashion exhibitions, it is a great opportunity to see the craftsmanship of his designs up close.

There is a video room where you can see two short films about de la Renta, which give you insight into his personality and the things he was passionate about. The exhibition closes on 30 May so if you are in the City be sure to get down there this weekend to check it out.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

On our drive back to the Bay Area we stopped in Monterey so that I could visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I was last there when I was in primary school, so it was exciting to go back and see the present day exhibitions. Our first stop was for the feeding of the sea otters, which happens three times a day and always attracts a big crowd. The sea otters were very playful with each other and fun to watch.

The mission of the aquarium is to educate people and inspire conservation of the ocean. There are hands on areas such as the touch pools as well as a variety of exhibitions that showcase the local ecosystems of the Monterey Bay and California coast.

My favorite exhibition was Jellies with all the different varieties of jellyfish. They looked so beautiful behind the safety of the glass as they gently floated through the water.

Viva Baja was also an interesting exhibition and featured the garden eel - which sticks out of the sand and looks like sea grass. It also has Pacific seahorses and some beautiful coral.

Hearst Castle

If you are traveling around the California central coast one stop you have to make is at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hurst worked with architect Julia Morgan to build this amazing hilltop estate from 1919 to 1947. Its style is Mediterranean Revival and the estate is filled with art and antiques that Hearst collected throughout the years.

The drive up the hill to Hearst Castle is an amazing sight in itself. It's hard to imagine how they put in the road, let alone brought up all the materials to build the estate. The views of the coast are fantastic, and there is a lot to see on the grounds.

There are two different pools on the grounds. The Neptune Pool is located outside, and is currently empty as it is undergoing repairs. This gives you a unique opportunity to see its white marble floor.

The other pool is the indoor Roman Pool, which was built using more than a million Murano glass tiles. It is beautiful and over the top in its design.

In order to see inside the buildings you need to book into tours, which are $25 each and last around an hour. Our first tour was the Grand Rooms Tour, which takes you through the main downstairs rooms of Casa Grande, including the Assembly Room, Refectory, Billiard Room and Theater. The rooms are quite dark and gothic with the wood ceilings, old church pews and tapestries hanging from the walls.

The second tour we did was the Upstairs Suites Tour, which allowed you to see the living and working quarters of Casa Grande, as well as bedrooms for guests and Mr. Hearst himself. This tour takes you up the winding staircases to the top levels of the house and the tour guide provides you with interesting stories about what it was like to actually be a guest of Hearst. It was quite fascinating and definitely the better of the two tours we went on.

When we returned back down to the Visitor Center we went to the Hearst Castle Theater to watch the 40 minute movie Hearst Castle - Building The Dream about the Hearst family and the building of the estate. The film is a mixture of reenactments with actors and some original film footage that paints Hearst in a very favorable light (aka no mention of the mistress who lived across the hall from him at Hearst Castle). If you plan to visit do give yourself most of the day to explore the grounds and take in the different tours.