The Duomo, Milan

In the history of tourism, I doubt anybody has visited Milan and not seen the Duomo, the big cathedral slap bang in the centre of the city. An architectural masterpiece with over 3,000 statues, God knows how many spires (each with a statue on top) and a million tourists. It was actually started in around 350 AD and they are still adding to it today. It originally started out as two churches but one got abandoned and was only discovered in the 1960s when they were digging the Metro.

Sforza Castle, Milan

Thirty hours in Milan to visit the opera, one of our stops was the Sforza Castle, home to many Dukes of Milan many years ago. We had a quick walk around the battlements and the park beyond.

Vancouver

And finally on to Vancouver itself, city of skyscrapers and a huge downtown park called Stanley Park. Weather was beautiful, we ditched the car and travelled around on the Hop on Hop off bus which had a cheesey commentary but got us around all the sights. Above, Canada Place, where the ocean-going cruise liners dock. Below, we did a trip on a seaplane and got fantastic views of Vancouver from the air. Problem was, I had to stay in the hold and saw nothing.

Below is Gastown, the oldest part of the city, and its famous steam-driven clock which actually isn't really particularly old but makes a good tourist landmark.

Point Roberts, WA

Our only venture on our roadtrip outside of Canada was into the oddity that is Point Roberts, near where the ferry from Vancouver Island leaves you off on returning to the mainland. We actually spent more time in immigration than we did in Point Roberts which is very small. When the 49th parallel was decided as the dividing line between the USA and Canada, nobody thought of the small promontory sticking down into the Pacific Ocean south of Vancouver. The top half is in Canada, the bottom half is the USA. Thus, the only way to get to Point Roberts from mainland USA is through Canada.
The photo above is taken at the stone marker erected to delineate the boundary. The marker is in the USA. The hedge is the boundary. The house on the left is in Canada. Sure confused our Google Maps!!!

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

Finally got away from the misty drizzliness of inland Canada and made it to Vancouver Island, on which the city of Vancouver isn't but the capital of British Columbia (Victoria) is. We spent a very enjoyable few hours at the well-renowned Butchart Gardens, carved out of a limestone quarry by the very wealthy Butchart family and now generating a veritable goldmine. Aside from the gardens, they have live music and fireworks on a Saturday night.

Abandon all....

This is Hope, near the confluence of the Fraser River and the Thompson River. It is known as the Chainsaw Carving capital of the world. The streets around Memorial Park are full of wooden statues that have allegedly all been carved with a chainsaw.. I shouldn't say'allegedly.' At first, I thought, yeah, yeah, they probably used chisels and pretended but apparently no, the carvings were all prizewinners at the chainsaw festival which happens every year and the carvings have to be done in public.

Yale, erm, not the University

Next stop was to Yale Historical National Site. Yale is a very small village on the Fraser Canyon but at one time it was the largest settlement west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. And all for one reason - Gold. When they discovered Gold here in the 1800s, 30,000 people flocked in, some for gold, some to provide the services for those seeking gold. A very congested tented settlement was set up on this tiny foothold on the banks of the mighty Fraser river.

They've done up a few tents to represent the saloons, barber shops etc of the time and so I had a good time playing music, cheating at cards and drinking whusky. No dancing girls though...

The Othello Tunnels

This wasn't bad actually. They brought me to the Coquihalla Park just to the east of Hope, where there was a lovely walk through a series of disused railway tunnels that had been cut through a mountain. Weather a bit drizzly but it was quite unusual and we needed flashlights for a couple of the tunnels.

The Gates of Hell

Well, they've brought me to some interesting places on this eart but the Gates of Hell? To be fair, the ugly one with the glasses accidentally left me in the car, so I didn't get to go down on the cable-car into the Fraser canyon and watch the whirling, swirling waters that so terrified explorers in the early 1800s. They only remembered me afterwards.

Okanagan wine

We did a tour of West Kelowna wineries which was great. The Hatch was the first one, then the famous Quails Gate, then On the Grid, hic, Off the Grid, then erm, Dallingroll, um, Rollingdale and then some Hills, Beverley Hills? the Black Hills of Dakota? no, hic, Volcanic Hills....

Kelowna

Down in Kelowna for a wine tasting tour, this critter nearly got a taste of me. Actually, he was friendly enough. His name is Ogopogo and he is the Okanagan version of Nessie.

Kamloops

Heading south from Jasper, we landed in Kamloops in time to board the 2141 Kamloops Steam Railway for an evening drive. We were entertained by dancing girls and then got robbed by female outlaws. I also got to drive a vintage car.

Mount Robson

A lovely sunny day, we crossed the state line from Alberta to British Columbia on the Yellowhead Highway and stopped off for a magnificent view of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Only downside was there was no whacky baccy allowed....

Jasper

There are three types of bears in the Jasper National Park, Black bears, Brown bears and Grizzlies. Actually, close up, they aren't particularly scary. The bear necessities of life...

Athabasca Glacier

This is the middle of July and we're freezing our extremities off on a glacier? What kind of people are these? The Athabasca Glacier feeds off the Columbia icefield, the largest icefield in the world outside Greenland. You may only visit by giant buses with big wheels. It is located just off the extremely scenic Icefields Parkway, linking Lake Louise and Jasper.



At least I found someone who was sympathetic to my freezing limbs.

Lake Louise

Okay, if you come to Banff National Park, you've got to visit Lake Louise. Which is why it was jam- packed with people, though doubtless many were there to see me. It is a very nice stroll around the north side of the like and the sun even graced us with its presence at intervals. And yes, the water really is that emerald colour.

Calgary Stampede

A long flight, via Heathrow, to Calgary, Alberta for a two-week road trip to celebrate a certain person's 60th birthday (not mine) As luck would have it, we arrived just as the annual Calgary Stampede was taking place. Kind of like a State Fair. Yahoo!!!