So we made it. After waking up at 4:30 in the morning with only 2 hours of sleep, we finally arrived in Banff at about noon local time. We were both pretty tired, so we decided to bum around the hotel until our dinner reservation at the hotel’s sushi restaurant.

Banff really is as beautiful as they say. The Fairmont is nestled right in the middle of the Rockies. We’re surrounded on all sides by proud, snow covered peaks. The hotel is just far enough from downtown Banff to feel like we’re the only ones out here while keeping the town center within walking distance. The Fairmont is really more of a compound than a hotel. It looks like an old castle on the outside, and an opulent Vegas strip casino on the inside (without the gambling, of course). We could get away with never leaving the hotel our entire trip. That, of course, wouldn’t be as fun. We’re off to go cave exploring this morning. I’m sure I’ll have a bunch of new pictures to upload to flickr this afternoon. Time to enjoy some more of my vacation!