For the first time ever I went away with some of my friends without kids or hubbies to enjoy a relaxing and fun-filled weekend. We stayed at the beautiful Banff Springs Hotel where we upgraded to the Gold floor (highly recommended for its exclusive Gold Lounge with amazing evening 'appy-happy-hour', scrumptious buffet breakfast, views of the mountains, cozy chairs and massive fireplace). Yes, we spent a lot of time in the Gold Lounge drinking, laughing and eating to no end. =)
We also enjoyed shopping, a two hour horseback trail ride, and an entire day at the Willowstream Spa. I can honestly say I haven't had fun like this in a long long time. Many thanks to my great pals Molly and Lise and our wonderful husbands for making this weekend possible. We are already planning for next year!
The 'Castle in the Rockies'
Great friends
Yup, I was a wee nervous at first, especially when my furry friend Troy didn't seem too keen on leaving the pen for a ride. We got along well though.
The scenery was great on the two hour trail ride which took us through the back-country and up a small hillside. We ran into a lone biker at one point who said he had just seen 4 grizzly bears ahead. He was heading in the opposite direction to us. Our guide's advice? Keep your eyes open and book-it-like-hell if we saw them. Nice. Thankfully we didn't.
The Gold Floor Lounge. We stayed in here each night until it closed!
The view from our room the second morning after a light dusting of snow had fallen. Stunning and serene.
I am already counting down the days until next years' adventure...
