Explore The World

Our son Mattias is studying in Seattle at the University of Washington so what a great opportunity to go and see that neck of the woods and beyond.

San Francisco

We started by spending a few days in San Francisco. I had been there before but Helle hadn’t and wanted to celebrate her 60th birthday in San Fran!

Feeling safe and getting close to the local police in downtown San Francisco.

Since my last visit to San Francisco I did get the feeling there was more homelessness and the city seemed a bit more rundown?

But still a great city to get on a bike and explore. We were there in late June and it was chilly!

Of course you have to hit the Bay and cycle to the famous bridge

Helle – in full concentration mode over the bridge

Sausalito – a cool spot on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge

Just beyond Golden Bridge – much less travelled but take the time and cycle the coast.

Cruising the quieter neighbourhoods

I love the old houses and colours

We spent 3 days in San Francisco which I think is the perfect amount of time to explore and get a good feel for the place.

You need to go to Alcatraz

Take the late afternoon tour and enjoy the sunset over Alcatraz and the lights of San Francisco

Take the tram and just trip around – hop off and hop on

Its hilly so be prepared for some strenuous exercise

Colour coordinated!

We love to just hit the pavement and explore where people live

Gay capital of the world – we joined the parade

Seattle

What an excitement to land in Seattle and visit Mattias who we hadn’t seen for a year. He is loving his new life at Uni. The University of Washington(UW) is amazing. It is a beautiful campus and Mattias gave us the guided tour.

The lovely grounds, trees and buildings in UW

Looked like something out of Hogwarts

We then discovered Seattle by bike

We ticked off a few tourist attractions

Pike Place market

Locks – quite cool to watch in action

Discovery Park – looking towards Olympic National Park

Seattle is a lovely city to get on a bike and explore – it is quite hilly so e-bikes could be a good option!

We spent some time exploring the South Coast below Seattle and up North.

Pacific Coast

Seabrook – a beach town developed for the wealthy! It wasn’t Mattias’s scene but he enjoyed the pizza.

North of Seattle – Deception Pass, Whidney Island

It was a lovely walk in the National Park on the Northern tip of the island.

Vancouver

Our favourite city on this trip. The weather behaved and what a wonderful city to again jump on a bike and see where the roads take you.

Stunning Stanley Park

Great views back to the city

Bird park in Botanical gardens

Lovely greenery

There are lots of swanky houses enroute

We rode through Pacific Spirit Regional Park – a gem in Vancouver

Then we hit the beach looking towards Vancouver city

Back into the city for a healthy lunch!

Road Trip – Vancouver to Calgary

What a great road trip! We took about 10 days and visited the lovely National Parks in British Columbia and Alberta. The road trip has everything – wonderful nature, glaciers, rivers, colourful lakes, bush walks, spectacular scenery, interesting small Canadian towns, tourist hotspots, wildlife spotting.

Whistler

What a top spot – okay its very touristy but the town is nestled in the trees with a lovely glacial river running through it so feels like a small village.

Home to the 2010 Winter Olympics – the town has a great holiday vibe

A must is to take the Peak 2 Peak Gondola – spectacular

Take the chairlift to the top and enjoy the skywalk and the 360 views

Whistler in the distance

There was a carnival atmosphere in Whistler

We hit the road and off we went visiting Revelstoke National Park, Glacier National Park, Yoho, Jasper and finally Banff. All spectacular!

,Yoho National park

The lakes were an amazing colour – Lake Louise

Lovely reflections in the lake

Drive the Icefields Highway from Lake Louise to Jasper

Peyto Lake

Columbia Glacier

The National Parks were as we imagined they would be – vast and imposing with stunning natural beauty

We spotted some wildlife on our way

Spot the Black Bear

Banff was our last stop. A bustling tourist town but fun just to wander the town and nature not far away.

A popular wedding spot!

Take a wander down the river from the town – there was nature art

The town centre is great to just walk about with the mountain as a backdrop. I would imagine in winter it would be epic.

Bow River – just outside Banff

Lunch on Lake Minnewanka – again just outside Banff

Our first time in Seattle and Canada was fabulous. We did fall in love with Vancouver so keen to go back , maybe do a house swap in our retirement!