Banff Last Day

We woke today to a misty and drizzly day. We had a later start to our day due to the weather as we wanted to see if it would clear a bit before we ventured out. With the low cloud hanging around you couldn't see the mountains surrounding Banff at all. It moved and swirled and was very atmospheric.

One of the famous places in Banff is the Fairmont Banff Springs. It sits majestically at the top of Banff overlooking the Bow River Valley.  It was built in the 1880's as one of Canada's Grand Railway Hotels. Originally  built in a Swiss Chalet style clad in shingles and stone, the building today is much different and much more extensive.  In building the original one the builder made a mistake and orientated the hotel with it's back to the  mountain view, this was rectified in later remodels. It was rebuilt in starting in 1911 and the wooden structure was replaced with concrete and stone and was designed around a central tower with adjoining wings. It has since been extended and is now a world renown resort hotel.

Fairmont Banff Springs

The hotel is just spectacular, not only from the outside but from the inside too. There looks to be many original fittings and we could see why it is so expensive to stay there as the opulence is overpowering. In saying that the hotel doesn't mind non guests wandering around and having a look at the various public areas. You could definitely get lost in the maze of corridors and little nooks and crannies where there are wingback chairs to read in or a card table with a couple of chairs to sit upon.

Staircase in the foyer

An old fashioned bubbler which still worked

Can't remember the name of this room but it was probably the ballroom in the olden days.
Floors all original.

A letterbox in one of the corridors and it is emptied everyday except weekends and public holidays

Peter wasn't much interested in wandering around so he went and did his own thing walking back into town from the Fairmont. We all originally caught the local Roam bus there using our room keys as the hotel has a deal with the bus company that guests can use their keys on any of the local Roam buses. A great idea as they go to quite a few of the tourist spots.

After wander around the hotel, John Cheryl and I caught the bus back into town and met Peter for some lunch. After lunch we again did a bit of our own thing, Peter got a hair cut, John went for a wander and Cheryl and I visited the local First Nations Museum, which the boys had done a couple of days ago. It is over the bridge on the Bow River.

Bow River

It was very interesting and showed lots of different aspects of life and how the settlers impacted the lives of the First Nations people. A similar experience to our own Indigenous people. Loss of culture, language and customs are the ones that come to mind but they are working to revive a lot of what has been lost before it is gone forever.

Our last stop for the day was to purchase something from The Spirit of Christmas. We had another look around and wouldn't you know it Cheryl and I both bought the same Jim Shore Santa. Another stroll down the main strip f Banff and then back to the hotel to do some photo work and blogging.

Our day finished with dinner at Wild Bill's Saloon and it was a great meal served again by yet another Aussie waiter! You can't go anywhere in Canada without bumping into one. At some times it seems there are more Aussies than Canadians. As we finished dinner our young waiter whose name escapes me said we should stay until 9pm because that's when the mechanical bull comes out and the karaoke starts. We said we had a bit of packing to do but would be back.

We arrived back at around 9pm and what a difference we found. the place was packed with young people all ready to party the night away! We found ourselves a seat and the fun started. What a hoot!! The mechanical bull starts off quite easy but the longer you stay on the more it bucks around until the person eventually falls off. While this is happening there is someone up on the stage singing their heart out to some well known and some not so well known songs! There were a couple of young blokes complete with cowboy hats who quite possibly had been to the Calgary Stampede calling themselves Sam and the Moustache who did an awful rendition of Sweet Caroline but god it was funny! Another couple of singers made an attempt at songs we didn't know as they were country songs and they weren't too bad. All the while people are getting up on the mechanical bull trying their best not to fall off. I think there could be some injuries with that thing as even though there is plenty of padding around it you would only have to fall awkwardly to do some damage. After awhile we left it to the young ons and I would expect that by the end of the night it could get a bit messy in there. But gee we enjoyed it.

Not a great photo but you get the idea

On the road again tomorrow for a series of 1 night stopovers so will combine them all in one post.