We decided to explore as much as we could in a day, so Vancouver  here we come! Steve wanted to do one of  Vancouver's natural wonders- the "Capilano Suspension Bridge", on North Vancouver Island.....so have feet will travel, so off we went. After about 6 blocks, we stumbled across the ferry terminal, boy what  a terminal, Wow what a ferry.

Once at North Vancouver, we boarded a bus which took us on a scenic route to the "Capilano Suspension Bridge". The setting around the bridge was a reserve with many other activities for those like myself with no stomach for swinging through the air on lengths  of  rope !  Eco tours, Treetops Adventure,  Fish Feeding, Boardwalk Tour, plus activities for children.

Before leaving home I made myself a goal to conquer my fear of heights,  thinking along the lines of going up in a  chair lift to the top of a mountain, or as the Canadian's call them ( a tramway or gondola). Well after some enquiring at the entry gate and finding  that the suspension bridge was 230ft above ground level and sways to a great degree....MY GOAL SOON FLEW OUT OF THE WINDOW, for now.

Off Steve went to explore and relive his Mt. Everest trek, as he  traversed many a suspension bridge on that trek.

I in turn walked the area till I found this quaint coffee house, just looked like a house you would see in a Switzerland brochure....made out of logs, inside an open fire was roaring away.

This was just the place for me to sit and wait for Steve  ( who would be 1 1/2 hours )....while enjoying a couple of Roman coffee's, admiring the beautiful Tulips and stunning Magnolias !

So back to the ferry terminal. How good are you all at parking????? Both of us were totally amazed at the ferry driver's ability at parking this huge ferry into this small bay.

How cool is this!

Once off the ferry, I came to face my goal of conquering heights once more. Vancouver Tower stood towering before us. On top of which an observation floor was to give us a 360- degree's view of Vancouver.

Ok I can do this, into the elevator we go...being on the ground floor I didn't realise that the elevator went up the outside of the building, til we hit the first floor....oh suugggaaaarrrrr, I swiftly  turned to face the back of the elevator and buried my face into Steve's chest. On arriving  at the top, I could feel myself shaking, sweating and physically feeling sick..

Steve took some fantastic photo's of Vancouver, so my  fear of heights was still with me on returning to ground level.

The next day was to be the start of one of the highlights of the trip --- two days of luxury aboard the "The Rocky Mountaineer Train"  described as one of the most awesome train trips in the world. We splashed out  to travel "Gold Leaf" which would put us in the glass domed carriages with panoramic views, whilst being plied with free grog and beautifully served food. If this is how it's done in Canada ----- bring it on !

We arrived at Vancouver station to be met by the crew who would look after us for the next two days and we settled in to watch the suburbs of Vancouver pass by as we followed the Fraser river and its many spectacular bridges.

The cabin crew were fantastic, lead by a Burmese immigrant Canadian callled Thapper, who knew so much of the country's rich history and enthralled us with an inspiring commentary, full of anedotes and amusing stories. All this whilst his colleagues served us with drinks and meals to die for, as we sat spellbound at the every  changing scenery!

As a keen trainspotter from his schoolboy days, Steve was fascinated by the 2kms long Canadian Pacific freight trains that passed by on the other side of the river. Two huge diesel locomotives in front, two more in the middle and another two pushing from behind!

In order to make sure we missed nothing at night, the train stopped at "Kamloops" (greeted by the Canadian Mounties)

and were taken to a lodge on the outskirts of town where we spent the night.

At "Kamloops", the train splits into two, our train took the "Kicking Horse pass" route to "Banff", while the other section took the "Yellowhead" route to "Jasper".

The next day, as we climbed higher towards the Rocky Mountains, the scenery became more spectacular. From our glass dome seats we could watch the snow capped mountains pass by, as Thapper continued his stories about how the salmon spawn in the rivers and why this route was called "Kicking Horse".

The train is climbing steeply now and about to head into a marvel of railway engineering, called the spiral tunnel ! Here, the train goes into a tunnel which curves inside the mountain on its steep climb and emerges 15 minutes later high up above the track below.

Now we really know that we are in the Rockies, and heading on the last part of this incredible journey into Banff. Little did I know that the experiences of the past two days would be surpassed by what we were about to experience in Banff !

If you  are reading these last few words, I congratulate you for making it to the end of my very long blog...hehe! Reliving my memories our dream trip, with you all makes it all that much more special.

Much love to you all, Janice & Steve xxxxxx