We wanted to start the day with a simple breakfast, so we headed into town and found the local Tim Horton’s!  After a quick breakfast, it was back to the hotel to check in to the Willow Stream Spa.

Nadine and I each had massage treatments and then spent several hours using the various hot and cold pools, steam rooms and mineral pools.  It was a very relaxing time.

In the afternoon, we again set out to explore more of the Banff area.  We began by driving up to the base of the Norquay ski hill to look around.

After looking around for a little while, we drove back down the switchbacks leading up to the ski base.

We then took a quick drive along the Vermillion Lakes, just outside of town, seeing a few deer and moose along the way.

Returning to the hotel, we had reservations at the Waldhaus restaurant for dinner.  As with previous meals at the Banff Springs, we were not disappointed.  This is a lovely little restaurant at the base of the hill, just above the golf course on the Spray River, where we had a nice table with a view.

We then walked around the area by the restaurant and the Bow Falls.

We then climbed back up to the hotel.

Since we still had an hour before the Willow Stream Spa closed, we quickly returned for another relaxing soak in the pools.

Our plan today was to head up the Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  The weather was mostly overcast, but at least it wasn’t raining!

On the way out to the gondola, we passed a few elk having breakfast on someone’s front lawn.  Maybe if they kept their grass trimmed, this wouldn’t happen!

While there is a walking trail that zig-zags up the mountain, we thought we’d take the gondola.

Once at the top, we had breakfast in the cafe before exploring the area up top.

From the building at the top of the gondola, we followed a boardwalk over to the next peak, which is the site of an old weather observatory station.

The photo below is looking back at the top of the gondola from the observatory.

After our trip up Sulphur Mountain, we explored the shops in Banff.

We then returned to our hotel for a guided tour of the historic castle.  We then headed back out to see some more sights.

Below is a photo of our hotel from across the river.

We then headed back into Banff townsite for some dinner before returning to the hotel for the night.

In order to maximize our time away, we booked an early flight out of Toronto, arriving in Calgary at 9:10 AM.  In retrospect, this was probably not such a good idea, since it meant we were fairly tired by the end of the day, but at least we made it a full day!  At least by flying business class, we arrived as refreshed as possible at the end of our flight.

We took a taxi to the car rental office, picked up our car, and headed west toward the mountains.

About an hour outside of Calgary, we stopped for a rest along the Trans-Canada Highway.

Continuing toward Banff National Park, we stopped at a tourist information centre in Canmore for some literature and advice on the local attractions, and got back on the road for the last few miles into Banff.

Before checking into the hotel, we drove around the area a bit so we could get a feel for the layout.

Below is a photo of Nadine looking out over Lake Minnewanka.

We then took a drive through the Banff town site and grabbed a bite to eat for lunch.

After lunch we headed across the river and over to our hotel, the Fairmont Banff Springs.  Upon arrival in our room, we were greeted with the following display.  Apparently Fairmont Presidents Club knows my birthday, and they must have known I like cheesecake!

We had a wonderful room with stunning views overlooking the Bow Valley, with the river and golf course below.  The photos below were taken from our bedroom window.

After a bit of rest, it was time to head out to dinner.  We had reservations at the Castello restaurant, and the food was fabulous.  We had received many glowing recommendations for this place, and they were not exaggerated.

Below is a photo taken along the walk around the front of the hotel on our way to dinner.

Here are some photos of the main hotel lobby.

After dinner, the hotel had a nice fire going on one of the outside patios.  It was a nice way to finish a very tiring first day of our vacation.