#tbt #3 - Canada is the best!

I have a lot to say about Canada, but I'll have to say them tomorrow cause my throat is killing me and the comfort of my bed and covers is calling... my..... name....Tomorrow you'll find gorgeous aquamarine lakes, delicious Canadian (not traditionally) food, and awespiring landscapes below (why is Canada so freaking cool?):

Lunch view

Basil Margarita mmm...

Alberta Beef Burger w/ Rice Bun

Chicken w/ Wild Boar Bacon in Cream Sauce

     Our first stop: Lake Louise! Ok, it technically wasn't the first stop but it sure was the first memorable stop. While I've seen the deep sapphire waters of Capri and the crispy, clear aquamarine of the Bahamas, the opaque teal of lake waters in Canada surprised me. It was beautiful. It's hard to describe, aside from the fact that I just felt really good staring at it, because of how infrequently you see such a rich shade of blue/green in nature. On this particular day, Lake Louise was duller than her full potential due to the fact that it was overcast about 80% of the time we were there. After a simple lunch in the Fairmont Chateau, we took a walk around the lake, following a path full of tourists admiring the view. I'd be outside every day if I lived nearby.

Lake Louise

      Afterwards, we drove a bit deeper into Banff National Park to Moraine Lake. I thought Lake Louise was beautiful... this was a recurrent theme, each subsequent lake even more beautiful than the previous. Out of all of the ones we saw, however, Moraine Lake had the deepest of colors. We took a short hike, encountered the most beautiful golden eyed mutt somewhere along the way, and stood atop a hill overlooking the lake admiring its beauty for a good hour.

Moraine Lake

That color...

     Lake after beautiful lake. Overall, when describing it to people, it sounds like a horribly boring trip. Truthfully, we spent a lot of time inside a car with a cranky toddler but the times we spent outside surrounded by nothing but nature made it so worth it (we live in Los Angeles, imagine!). Specific locations, since we traveled between Banff and Jasper National Parks, became a little blurry. I wasn't too concerned with where we were or what we were doing, all I knew was I was seriously enjoying this trip.

Bow Lake

     On the way to the Athabasca Glacier, we passed by this lovely nugget of awesome: Bow Lake. It's much bigger than the two previous lakes we had gone to. A clear, sunny blue sky really showed off the natural color of the lake well. Again, we took a stroll around where we could, probably stepping into places we shouldn't step into. I wanted to take a dip and almost did (not sure if this is even ok).

Athabasca Glacier

 We decided to take the on-ice Athabasca Glacier "tour", which is basically, a bus picks you up, takes you onto the glacier in this awesome ice explorer vehicle with 5 foot wheels, you walk around, drink some crisp-as-heck glacier water, bus takes you back. They shared a couple of horror stories of people walking around and falling into ice tunnels where the ice cracked and gave way beneath their feet. It was pretty cool - pun intended - walking on a giant slab of ancient ice.

Heart of Palm and Mushroom Salad

Dirty Vodka Martini (the girl didn't know what a dirty martini was!)

Local Caught Trout

Dry-Aged Alberta AAA Strip Steak

     Following the glacier, we drove to Jasper National Park and stayed at this little lodge quite... literally in the middle of nowhere. It was clean, decently packed, and located close to some waterfalls that we visited after dinner. We ate both dinner and breakfast the next morning in the lodge restaurant. The food was fair but the service was beyond horrible. They really weren't that busy, with only 5-6 tables filled, and it still took over 15 minutes for anyone to even ask if we would like drinks, and another 30 minutes to get our drinks and salad. My husband wasn't thrilled.

      In Jasper, we took a humongous hike along Maligne Canyon; I can't remember the exact distance but I remember it being absolutely exhausting... and extremely exhilarating. The entire time we cross-crossed between the two sides of the canyon, separate by raging waters carving even deeper into the earth. I wish I had more photos, don't because we barely stopped, just hiked!

Bow Lake on the way back

So THIS IS REAL CANADIAN BACON. It said "Canadian back bacon" and for some reason I was surprised when Canadian Bacon came. The egg yolks were almost orange in color.

Caribounotamoose - ok is it actually caribou? It's a female elk!

Jack and Raspberry

Mushroom Soup

NY Strip

Steelhead Salmon w/ Beurre Blanc

Braised Beef Shortrib

Bone-in Ribeye

     We finished our trip with three days in Vancouver, attending my husband's cousin's wedding and visiting with his aunt and uncle. The day before we left, the five of us went out for dinner at Seasons in the Park in Queen Elizabeth Park. Our hostess was kind enough to seat us by the window with a gorgeous, albeit faraway, view of Vancouver. The food was very delicious. We all split a trio of sorbet, and my husband and I shared a Monte Cristo (Grand Marnier, Kahlua, hot coffee). The Jack Daniels cocktail I had, which came with raspberry and lime, was more or less the best thing I've ever had. I can't remember the name of it and I certainly wish I can recreate it at home.
     In addition to the places and foods I posted, we visited a couple of places in Banff, stayed there for a night, had some real fondue, and traveled around Vancouver a little. It was a blast riding the SkyTrain in a formal dress and heels!