Being near the ocean makes life different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun

Halifax, Nova Scotia


I have ventured out to the east coast of Canada many times to visit friends but never made my way out to Nova Scotia. I’ve been told of the beauty but I of course just had to witness it with my very own eyes

In August 2011 I headed out to Halifax with a friend for just a couple of days, even though the trip was short we managed to see quite a bit and I ended up loving everything I saw!

We started out with our first day just walking around downtown Halifax and down by the harbour which was beautiful we managed to have great weather and I actually got a little bit of sun. We had a lovely dinner at Salty’s which was recommended by some co-workers. The food was so fresh, now I have to say I am not a big seafood fan at all but being on the harbour and knowing they got fresh fish right out of the Atlantic that morning I had to have some battered fish and chips….they were amazing so fresh, the batter wasn’t too thick it was just right and was really priced well for the portion you received!


Day two we rented a car and drove out to Peggy’s Cove which is probably one of the biggest tourist spots on the whole east coast of Canada. Apparently the lighthouse on Peggy’s Cove is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. I can totally see why, we got there mid morning I’d say and took some beautiful pictures and just hung out by the ocean for a bit, the place was packed, so many people just come to relax and enjoy the ocean and the beauty of it all. We left and headed up the coast to Lunenburg and Mahone Bay. After we saw all we could for the day we headed back to the city, we took the scenic route passing Peggy’s Cove right when the sun was going down so we grabbed some ice cream parked the car and sat on the rocks at the cove and watched the sun go down over the ocean. It was probably one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen, it was so calming and relaxing to just sit there and watch the waves crashing and sun setting.


We had one day left and we kind of just wanted to relax for the afternoon cause we had a super early flight to catch the next morning so we were down on the harbour and remembered that the day before we passed a sail boat tour company and we looked at each and said “hmm why not” we ended up spending just about two hours sailing across the Atlantic before heading back to the docks. I don’t think I could have asked for a better way to end our trip to Halifax! I highly suggest adding Halifax Nova Scotia to your places to visit you won’t be disappointed that’s for sure!!

Here are some pictures of my trip and some links listed below, I hope you enjoy


Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada

Mahone Bay

Sunset at Peggy's Cove

Lighthouse At Peggy's Cove

Murphy's Tall Ship


http://www.saltys.ca/downstairs/index.html
http://www.explorelunenburg.ca/

http://www.mtcw.ca/TourSailing.php

Stampede and a Princess!

Back in July 2011 I was supposed to travel to Ottawa to meet the prince and princess, but due to the recent changes in life I was actually out west training for my new job on Canada Day, the day I was supposed to be in the nation’s capital hanging with the royals.


But luckily for me Princess Kate and Prince William made their way out west to Calgary Alberta for the Calgary Stampede and I just knew I had to go and make up for my missed opportunities after all they were expecting me right?! Ha Ha


This time the timing was perfect, I had finished all my training and had the day of the opening cermonies for the stampede off so I headed downtown with a co-worker and saw the parade that they were to host.


Now as you can imagine security was crazy intense because of the royals but with a wee bit of sweet talking and batting of the eyes I managed to convince a police officer to tell me which road they would be arriving on for their final drive around. Needless to say my camera was out ready and zoomed in. I managed to get a picture of Princess Kate in the car but you do have to look closely to see her waving at me, which is perfectly ok with me since there was only me and my friend on that road that they actually BOTH waved at me. It’s funny because I certainly do not get “star struck” BUT it’s the PRINCE AND PRINCESS I was pretty excited.


Ok enough of me going on and on here’s some picture lemme know what you think :)

Princess Kate waving

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man and one of those places is Jasper Alberta

As you can tell by my previous blog I love love Alberta!! I’ve been lucky enough to go back a bit and get to see different parts of the province or just re visit some of my favourite places♥


When I got the chance to visit Jasper National Park in July of 2009 I was so excited even though I really didn’t know much about the park itself. I knew there were beautiful mountains and lovely hotels so I decided to research some more so I could make the most out of my visit.


Jasper National Park is approximately 3 ½ hours from Banff National Park which is where I spend most of my time while on vacation in Alberta. The drive from one national park to the other is on the icefield parkway which is widely considered to be one of the most scenic highways in the world


Icefield Parkway

Athabasca Falls

 Getting from Banff to Jasper you get to see some amazing scenery including Athabasca Falls, Saskatchewan River, Peyto Lake and the Columbia Icefield which is home to one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle. You can take a tour of the icefield where you actually get to walk on the Athabasca glacier and ice that formed from snow fall over 400 years ago. To take part in this tour it only costs $49.95 (I’ll link the site below)

Ice Explorer

Columbia Icefield

If you decide to take part in the icefield tour then I would recommend wearing proper footwear unlike me who wore flip flops whoops.


After my day of adventure and sightseeing I was ready for some relaxation so my friend and I checked in to our hotel, we stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and just like the name it is like having a little lodge to yourself. It was a great hotel and I would recommend it.

There are other activities you can do while staying in Jasper like the tramway or helicopter tours.

I suggest doing all that your time allows you to it really is a great place to visit.

http://www.explorerockies.com/columbia-icefield/
http://www.fairmont.com/jasper
http://www.jaspertramway.com/
http://www.icefieldheli.com/

Banff Alberta or what I like to call it a piece of heaven

What can I really say about Banff?! Screw Disneyland Banff to me is the happiest place on earth. The mountains the aqua water the tranquility it’s just absolutely breathe taking

Banff National Park

I first discovered Banff when I had training for a job out in Calgary and a couple of us decided on our weekend off we would drive out to Banff/Lake Louise and see what it was all about. Well let me tell you it stole a part of my heart and since then I’ve been back four more times and have made it a yearly tradition to go.

Lake Louise

There honestly is just so much to do whether it’s your style to have a relaxing trip or an adventure filled one you can do both.

Some of the activities that I’ve tried out and would do again and have done again are:


Horseback rides through the mountains
White water rafting
Wildlife tours
Lake Cruise
Gondola
Driving tour
Columbia Icefield
And my absolute favourite is the helicopter tours they offer over the mountains and lakes

View from the helicopter tour

But don’t worry if you don’t have the adventure bug then I would suggest renting a “gypsy guide” and go for a drive. A gypsy guide I know sounds weird right?! But all that it is, is a guided GPS so it’s like having your own personal tour guide but on your time and your schedule. If it wasn’t for this GPS my friend and I wouldn’t have discovered one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen Lake Peyto. You walk through this enchanted pathway and in the distance you can see the blue water then when you finally reach the lake its self it is just beyond I promise you it’s so worth it, whenever I’ve showed people my photos they all think I’ve photoshopped them but it’s just the true natural colour of the water coming down from the glaciers on the mountains. It’s priced at around $39.00 for the day and its convient because you can pick it up right in Banff at the Discover Banff Tour Company in Sundance Mall. If you’re interested in any of these ideas I’ll post the links down below.

Lake Peyto

So this is just a tidbit of information on Banff I will post more on the surrounding areas like Lake Morraine and more!

Enjoy


Links:

http://www.banfftours.com/ *for horseback riding/rafting and wildlife tour*
http://www.explorerockies.com/banff-gondola/
http://www.explorerockies.com/minnewanka/
http://www.gypsyguide.com/canada/index.php
http://www.explorerockies.com/columbia-icefield/

Lets get this started...

So I realized two things:

1. I love travelling

2. I love reading blogs

So on a sunday evening I decided to put two of my loves together and see what happens

Recently I've been looking up blogs on everything you can think of whether its beauty and fashion or travel and style. I've come across some amazing ones from all over the world and cant believe all the great tips I've learned, not only tips but new websites to shop and new travel sites that I most likely wouldn't have come across otherwise

So maybe just maybe if someone comes across my blog I can also join the group of great bloggers and give out helpful tips and information.

I think this blog is going to start off focusing on travel but who knows if my other loves will cross over as well

Hope you come along on the journey with me