Exploring the world one bite at a time
The Athabasca Falls are just a short stroll from the parking lot and very easy to reach. The falls are very beautiful, but I found that the concrete paths and railings took away from the experience, although I understand that these are safety measures.
Athabasca Falls, Hwy 93, Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta T0E 1E0, Canada
http://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/index
+1 780-852-6176
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Athabasca Falls also on TripAdvisor.
Rosa is located conveniently close to the ‘Zeelaan’, the central shopping street of Koksijde. The restaurant has a nice terrace, where we unfortunately couldn’t eat, because it was raining very hard. Inside it was nice and warm though. The place has big windows on three sides, so a lot of light can get in. I liked the wicker chairs which were very comfortable.
We ordered the menu (starter, main course and desert for 34,50 euro). Sadly the waiter told us the tuna for the starter was not good. He offered us a choice of other starters: We went for the home made shrimp croquettes, which were excellent.
The main dish was an excellent cooked cod with mashed potatoes. To my taste there was too much leek in the dish, but I liked it nonetheless. Sauce and mashed potatoes were served in seperate bowls. I always like it when I can choose myself how much sauce I add to my dish. The soufflé was something completely different than I imagined beforehand, but it was also nice.
The white wine of the house was a bit of a disappointment though, too bitter for my taste.
Rosa, Boulognestraat 7, Koksijde 8670, Belgium
http://www.rosakoksijde.be/
+32 58 62 66 10
Visited September 2015. You can find my review about Rosa also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 3/5, service 4/5, food 4/5.
This lake is a must see when visiting Banff National Park. Absolutely one of my favorite places in the park. So beautiful. The color is mesmerizing. For the best views of the lake you have to hike further than the first lookout point that is easely reachable from the parking lot. After about twenty minutes of easy walking, you’ll be able to enjoy the best views on Peyto Lake, almost undisturbed.
Peyto Lake, Icefield Parkway, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyto_Lake
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Peyto Lake also on TripAdvisor.
This really is a once in a lifetime experience, since there are only about 30 Ice Explorers in the world. The Ice Explorer is a very special vehicle with enormous tires that bring you up to the Athabasca glacier. The ride in itself is special and our driver, Tall Mike, really made it unforgettable. Such a funny guy!
You’ve got about ten minutes to walk around on the glacier and have a taste of the very cold glacier water. Wonderful to see the ice up close and enjoy a walk on a glacier! The fee for this attraction is high, but this experience truely is worth it.
Highly recommended!
Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure, Icefields Parkway, Jasper National Park, Alberta T1L 1J3, Canada
https://www.brewster.ca/attractions-sightseeing/columbia-icefield-glacier-adventure/
+1 877-423-7433
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Columbia Icefield Glacier Adventure also on TripAdvisor.
Num Ti Jah Lodge is beautifully located at the shores of Bow Lake. We had the pleasure of dining in the Elkhorn dining room, but didn’t stay in the lodge itself. We had to wait some ten minutes before we could got seated.
The dining room is built in typically lodge style and decorated with hunting trophy’s of almost all the wildlife you can find in Canada’s National Parks and paintings of the nearby lake and glacier. I liked the atmosphere, but would have preferred some better lighting in the dining room.
I ordered the rosemary marinated beef tenderloin and my boyfriend a burger. I ordered my steak to be cooked rare. I have to say, the beef tenderloin was excellent, very good and juicy meat. so, so tasty. My only remark is that the cook clearly cut in the meat to see if it was cooked properly. A no go, but since I enjoyed the meal so much, I was willing to let this pass.
We had a really pleasant dinner here. Quality of the food is high, but it is also pricy. My beef tenderloin costed 40 Canadian dollars.
Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, Mile 22 Icefields Parkway P.O. Box 39, Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Alberta T0L 1E0, Canada
Stayed July 2015. You can find my review about Num-Ti-Jah Lodge also on TripAdvisor. My scores: value 4/5, location 5/5, service 4/5.
This Canyon truly is a testament to the force of Mother Nature. The view on the canyon from the bridges is breath taking. You only have to take a short hike from the parking lot to see all this beauty for yourself.
Maligne Canyon, Maligne Road, Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta T0E 1E0, Canada
http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/canada-maligne-canyon-waterfalls.html
+1 780-852-3583
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Maligne Canyon also on TripAdvisor.
Beautiful cathedral, a must see when you are staying in Ypres. The church was rebuilt after World War I. Saint Martin’s Catheral actually is no longer a cathedral, but it still feels like one.
Saint Martin’s Cathedral, Vandenpeerboomplein, Ieper (Ypres), Belgium
http://www.toerisme-ieper.be/item.php?itemno=485_465_142_145_229_226_191&lang=EN
Visited October 2014. You can find my review about Saint Martin’s Cathedral also on TripAdvisor.
We were very lucky to have the weather clear up, right before our cruise to Spirit Island took off. The cruise is expensive, but I found the guide very knowledgeable and the views from the boat breathtaking. Of course the small stop to take some pictures of the mythical Spirit Island was the highlight of the trip. Such a beautiful place. We also hiked up to Moose Lake (a short and easy hike), but sadly didn’t see any mooses. We did encounter lots of mosquito’s though, so use insect repellent!
Maligne Lake, Maligne Lake Rd. 44 km southeast of Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
https://www.brewster.ca/attractions-sightseeing/maligne-lake-cruise/
+1 780-852-3370
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Maligne Lake also on TripAdvisor.
This is quite a challenging hike: you’ll climb 700 meters on a hike of 4km, but the view is so worth it! Gorgeous. The path is very well indicated and there are benches were you can take a rest. The last part of the hike I found the most difficult, because there were lots of small stones on the steep path.
Sulphur Skyline Trail, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
http://www.hikejasper.com/Hike-Jasper-Sulpher-Skyline.html
Visited July 2015. You can find my review about Sulphur Skyline Trail also on TripAdvisor.
I’m very sorry to say this, but I really didn’t like my stay in Astoria Hotel. The room was small and dark, the bed was decked with linnen and an old fashioned bedcover with bears on it, the furniture was made of heavy wood, not my style, but I can imagine this was the ‘rustique’ feel this hotel was going for. I really don’t mind small rooms, we had enough room to fit in our two big suitcases. I do mind when a bathroom isn’t clean, as was the case in this hotel. There were hairs on the floor, some mould in the bathtub (a jacuzzi which we paid for, but of course didn’t use because of that) and some leftover hairs stuck to the wall from a previous customer. No idea how long those hairs had been there, but we stayed for tree nights as did the hairs. Since those hairs were long and a very dark brown colour, I’m sure those weren’t accidentally mine, as I am a light blonde myself.
Wifi was working so so. Sometimes it worked fine, other times you had to wait for ages before you could connect to the acces point, or you just couldn’t connect at all. We were in the middle of Jasper Town, so there really is no excuse for the wifi not working properly.
There is no elevator in the building, so you have to carry your luggage up te stairs.
Worst of all was the way the airconditioning was set up. The outside connection of the system was fixed through the window. You couldn’t close the window because the suction pipe from the airco was blocking the window. If you wanted to close the window you had to remove the pipe, but then you couldn’t use the airco anymore (and when the sun was on the building it got hot really fast). Sleeping with the window open really wasn’t an option, because of all the noise.
We slept in front of the building, so we heard absolutely everything: honking cars, driving cars, noise from the pubs and restaurants, talking people and the worst: the dreadful, horribly loud noises of the nearby trains. It was terrible. Even with the window closed you could hear almost everything. But that’s not a surprise, knowing the windows consisted of only one layer of glass. It is a mystery to me why this hotel doesn’t invest in a proper airconditioning system and some good isolation.
Astoria Hotel, 404 Connaught Drive, Jasper, Jasper National Park, Alberta T0E 1E0, Canada
Stayed July 2015. You can find my review about Astoria Hotel also on TripAdvisor. My scores: sleep quality 1/5, cleanliness 1/5, service 3/5.
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