Later in the afternoon we had some free time, and spent time in the centre of the town. We visited the Canadian Parliament Building, we spent time down by the harbour, and some time in the shops in the town.
The final visit of the holiday, was to the Cross Iron Mills Shopping Mall, our driver encouraged us to visit the Bass Pro Shop, just to look at the scenery!!!! It was amazing!!!!!! There were wild animals of every description.
Sunday included a visit to Buthchart Gardens, the flowers and displays were absolutely stunning, and the weather was amazing, hot and sunny. We spent 3 hours looking around the garden.
From there we made our way to the ferry, which took an hour and a half to reach Vancouver, and then we made our way to the Inn on the Quay Hotel for a two night stay.
Monday commenced with an 8 hour tour of Vancouver. This included visits to Chinatown and Gastown. It was was interesting to learn that all the parts of the Gastown Steam Clck were manufactured in Croydon.
In the afternoon we continued our tour with a visit to Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park.
Tuesday, once again cases were packed and loaded on the coach, there was a lot of travelling to be done as we made our way to Kamloops.
On the way we stopped at a Cafe called Rolly's where I had the best cup of tea throughout my stay in Canada, as very often the water in not boiling hot and so the tea doesn't brew properly. As we left the cafe we could hear lots of birds singing, they were in a tree, there were lots of them but I did manage to get a couple of photos.
In the afternoon we visited Sun Peaks Ski resort, although a lot of the shops were shut as the season had not commenced it was good to have a look around.
As we made our way to the hotel we saw a beautiful rainbow.
Wednesday we travelled to Salmon Arm, once again we stopped for a Cafe break!! I decided I need ed to get some exercise and so walked around the block, as I did so I saw a Salvation Army Shield, on further inspection it was the local Salvation Army Corps, I went in and introduced myself. It was good to meet the officer and listen to the work they are doing.
We then travelled to Last Spike, this was where the last spike was placed to conenct the Canadian Pacific Railway from the east to the west coast. We also had the privilege of seeing some Bald Eagles.
From there we travelled to 3 Valley Gap, which has a hotel, a gift shop, a lake and an attraction called Ghost Town. After enjoying some refreshments, I discovered that we could visit the 'Gost Town for 5 dollars. Although I only had half an hour I decided to take advantage of this, the Ghost Town is similar to Beamish, with lots of Olde Worlde shops and businesses.
We then travelled to Revelstone and spent an hour in the town before making our way to the hotel for an overnight stop.
Thursday was our last full day in Canada the day was spent travelling as we made our way back towards Calgary. On the way we visited Lake Louise, although it was wet the lake was stunning.
From there we travelled on to Banff where we had the opportunity of shopping for gifts and souvenirs.
Then we travelled on to Canmore for our last hotel stop. The views from here were amazing!!!
Friday morning, and we were all packed ready for our journey home, but there were two more stops before the flight. The first was to the Olympic Park in Calgary, this was where Eddie the Eagle participated in the Winter Olympics.
And so the holiday ends with a flight back to Gatwick. There was a bit of turbulence, but all in all it was a good flight. As we came into land it was good to see the coast, and then in the distance Gatwick Airport.
And now the next adventure begins on Monday morning as I travel to Lee Abbey in Devon for a course on Journalling. A time of learning, retreat and rest.
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