Banff, Alberta, Canada

 Banff, Alberta, Canada - Aug 7, 2011

Banff is the larger and more famous sister city to Lake Louise. It has similar views of a light green lake and the mountains. Banff also has another fabulous Fairmont Hotel overlooking the lake and mountains, but the lake view from the hotel is mostly blocked by the trees.

The Fairmont Hotel at Banff is a really impressive and statuesque building.

With a very impressive front entrance

And an impressive reception area.

I don’t know why we spend so much time outside Ladies Rooms, but here we are again. The reason for this picture is the very formal Victorian Ladies Room icon on the door. If you can’t see the icon well enough, click on the picture to enlarge it, then you can click on ‘back’ to get back to the blog.

I must admit the Victorian version is much more appealing than the standard icon used in the US, shown behind Sylvia's head.

The Fairmont has carpeted (Yes, carpet) tennis courts. Sylvia was upset because we didn’t bring our racquets to Banff with us. She wanted to try playing on carpet. I wonder how long it takes for the courts to dry out enough to play on after a good rainstorm.

And a horseback riding area for those that want to go for a ride by the lake.

And a RCMP ‘Mountie’ guarding the plaza.

In order to get to the lake from the hotel you have to drive (or take your horse) down a road that takes you about 150-200 feet down to lake level.

There is a stream that runs beside the hotel and down to the lake. You can hear the stream when you are at the hotel. Here is where it enters the lake.

Well, it didn’t take long for Sylvia to get her feet cold..…again....

Downtown Banff has very distinctive architecture, reflective of French and European influence. This shot could almost be mistaken for France or Switzerland.

Here is a Canadian homeowner that is proud of his country’s flag.

  

And some of the flowers we found in the area.

The drive back from Banff to Lake Louise provided more majestic mountain scenery.