Beautiful Banff National Park

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110–180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff’s early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees, and through Great Depression-era public works projects. Since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the Trans-Canada Highway. As Banff is one of the world’s most visited national parks, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study, which resulted in management recommendations, and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.

The tradition of Christmas Markets go back to the late Middle Ages and originated in the German speaking part of Europe. One of the oldest Christmas Markets was the Bautzen Christmas Market and was first mentioned in records in 1384.

These modern versions of these original markets normally sell food, drink and seasonal items from open air stalls located within town squares, in large towns or cities across Europe. Tourists and locals alike love the atmosphere surrounding these markets, with traditional singing and dancing and some markets even welcome the boy “Jesus” (normally a local child) on opening night.

These markets are beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and decorations adorn every stall, some even display huge Nativity Scenes making them massive tourist attractions during the four weeks of Advent.

These traditional European Christmas Markets are great if you want something a little bit different or extra

Sunny Destinations To Escape To This Winter

So despite being forecast a relatively mild winter this year back in October, it seems that Britain and many parts of the world are experiencing one of the coldest winters in the past 25 years with temperatures reaching -16 and set to plummet further. With the Met office issuing severe weather warnings for widespread icy roads, tales of the grit running out, plenty more snow forecast and the big freeze set to continue well in to January next year, this may well bring a new meaning to ‘the January blues’ in 2011.

Of course it’s not all bad news! Avid ski and snowboard enthusiasts are revelling in the abundance of snow with resorts doing extremely well with visitors. However, it becomes difficult to complete day to day tasks such getting to work and to the local shops and transport links can come to a standstill leaving people stranded which means that eventually the novelty begins wears thin and we are all wishing our white Christmas away! So if like me, winter sports are not your cup of tea, I say it’s time we got away for some well needed vitamin D! You may believe that feeling low in the New Year is all in the mind but this time of year can have profound effects on your body. The lack of sunlight during these winter months means that we do not get some vital nutrients that have been proven to lower energy levels, bring on depression and reduce overall motivation. So there you have it, jetting off in the New Year to warmer climes is essential for your health (that’s my excuse anyway). So make use of that credit card and Virgin money if need be -  this is a matter of life and health!

So here are a few summer holiday places that are perfect to escape to during these winter months;

Canary Islands

photo source

The canary islands are the perfect place to escape to in any month as they enjoy sunshine all year round, rain is rare and the temperatures always warm! Due to the canaries being located off the coast of Morocco in West Africa its actually south of the mainland but still part of the EU. The island can offer you a no nonsense, get away quick type of holiday to soak up some rays and come home again. What’s better – flights are

Wave Riding Vehicles – tricks on the waves

Even if you’re not surfer or a skater, you’ve surely heard of Wave Riding Vehicles (WRV).  Wave sailing is the ultimate windsurfing experience. It is an opportunity to magically fuse bird and fish into one. The landscape is continually changing and to successfully adapt to the situation one must make the appropriate accommodations to these changes. If you have a basic understanding of wave riding and the wind/wave interaction you can learn to master the landscape. If you don’t, you’ll probably leave the water with both broken equipment and broken pride.
Wave riding – execution of tricks when passing obstacles in the form of waves. The competition is held at a time. In carrying out elements of the athlete uses the wave as a springboard. During these competitions the athlete must perform a few tricks required. Basic tricks are performed on a wave, points are given depending on how well used a wave. A typical competition – two jumps with a wave and two jumps on the wave. Objective – The maximum number of tricks in the allotted time for speeches, scored the highest number of points for the execution of tricks.

Bridget Jones style holiday mishaps

A recent repeat of the infamous “Bridget Jones” films made me think about the many similar mishaps I’ve had whilst travelling. My misdemeanours are perhaps not in the same league as the fictitious Bridget, who not only endured the embarrassing ski lift incident but also found herself in a Thai prison for inadvertent drug smuggling.

I guess we all have a tale to tell of a holiday horror (or two!). Whether it’s driving on the wrong side of the road or not securing the tent well enough before it blows away in the middle of the night – we’ve all been there.

I think my worst experience was in Dublin Airport on Fathers’ Day a few years ago. The plane home from a trip to see my then boyfriend (now husband) was delayed. In my infinite wisdom I decided to spend the extra time drinking red wine in the bar, interspersed with shopping for a Fathers’ Day present. I clearly wasn’t paying attention, because when I wandered casually to the gate my plane had apparently just departed! Amid tears and alcohol fumes I rushed to the desk and explained my predicament, whereby it became clear that the airline weren’t even aware that the plane was missing a person! They hadn’t even called for me or removed my luggage from the plane, which was then deemed a major security issue! The plane, which was taxi-ing for take off, had to basically come back and get me – how embarrassed was I when I embarked on the plane, tear-stained and stinking of booze, to a round of applause!

Other episodes include me losing my passport once in the departure lounge, only for it to literally be handed back in with seconds to spare before they took my luggage off the plane. It had fallen out of my jeans pocket in the loos! Needless to say my friends were NOT impressed!

Another embarrassing moment happened when I was living in Portland, Oregon for 3 months. I thought I’d be really cultured and ask for a martini and lemonade in a lovely rooftop bar, however a martini in America is a posh cocktail not a cheap vermouth! Much confusion ensued…