Canada Trip: Day One

All ready to go!  We flew out pretty early on Saturday morning.

And y’all, I have to tell you these leggings are amazing!!  I hadn’t even worn them that much before this trip, but I wore them with everything all week long, including under my ski pants.  They’re highwaisted too with lots of stretch, but they never stretched out.  Highly recommend! // Tote // Jacket (on sale!)

Brought my favorite little bracelets along.  Use code: SWEETSOUTHERNPREP at take $10 off!

We had a layover in Chicago along the way.

Can you spot Wrigley Field?

And we finally made it to Canada!  Check out the skyline with all the mountains!

I didn’t want to have to pack my big boots, so I wore them while we traveled.  After a week’s worth of wearing them, I never had trouble with them.  They were the comfiest!

Calgary Bound!  And thankfully, all our luggage arrived too!

We stayed in Calgary the first night, before heading to Banff.  It happened to be their Glow Festival, so there was lots to see on the streets of Calgary.

Like this!

For our first dinner, we celebrated my friend Flora’s birthday.  He’s the reason we were all on this trip in the first place.  He wanted a Banff Ski Trip with all his friends for his 40th!

It was hard deciding what to order for each course at Workshop: Kitchen & Culture, but every single dish was divine…

…as were the cocktails!  I had the Bad Man Breanne (on the right).  A yummy concoction with Last Best AfterGlow Gin, Green Chartreuse, Absinthe Rinse, Simple Syrup and a lemon.  It was so good!

Cheers, Flora!

This dessert was absolutely delicious!  I want to try and re-create it!

Grapefruit Tart // Buckwheat Graham Crust // Chamomile Chantilly Cream // PIstachio

This photo was taken with Lanier and his sister, almost 21 years ago (circa summer of ‘99) at Moraine Lake, about 10 miles from Lake Louise.  I have never seen a lake this vividly turquoise in my life!  It’s a glacier-fed lake, so the blue-green comes from light refracting off the rock flour (fine particles of rock) in the glacier run-off which flows into the lake.  When we visited so many years ago, it was easily accessible and not touristy at all and very rustic.  You could drive up and easily park, hike a little and snap a photo.  As of recent, this area has become heavily populated with tourists and very busy in the summer.  Instead of climbing up a real rock trail, they now have built in stairs and hand holds.  And if it gets too busy, they’ll close the road without warning.  If you want to visit, I’ve heard you should take the shuttle, the parking lot fills before sunrise.  Also, access isn’t permitted during the winter due to the high avalanche risk and heavy snowfall from November to late April.  But come June, this site is spectacular and so picturesque it doesn’t seem real!

Where we’re sitting at the top of Rockpile Trail is called the “Twenty Dollar View” because it’s the scene featured on the back of Canadian twenty dollar bills from 1969 and 1979.  Oh and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise is absolutely beautiful too.  And the waters of Lake Louise are stunning in the summer months.  I’ve heard it’s a little busier than it was twenty years ago when we visited, but you still can’t beat the panoramic views.  Thanks to Lanier’s dad for capturing this photo…three years before cell phones with cameras even existed.  And notice the camera in my hand – still loved taking photos as much back then as I do now.

I hope y’all have a great weekend!  I’ll try and get the rest of my Canada trip up on the blog in the next day or so!  So much to share with you!