Banff, Lake Louise & Jasper

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Banff continued to be an amazing part of my trip. We met some great people and decided that we wanted to stay around a bit longer than planned. We noticed in reception a sign looking for volunteers so we enquired what that was all about. It turned out that if you volunteered to work in the hostel between 9am-1pm during the day, you could get a free nights accommodation-BRILLIANT! Or so we thought! The next morning at 8am, Lucy and I awoke and resentlfully got up...my tonsils were on fire and I considered pulling a sicky but figured on day 1 that wouldnt go down too well! Also, it was probably self inflicted considering for 3 nights straight we all played drink driving, (a drinking game with cards in case you were worrying!!)...and had been downing Canadian Club, Whiskey, Wine, Beer, & Vodka. So anyway, I started to feel like cinderealla when I was handed a duster, bucket and cloth and told to wash all the walls and dust every flat surface in the hostel! It got worse though, I was then asked to clean ou the cookers, wash the fridge and all the cupboards in the kitchens! UGH! After a days work we decided we needed some pampering so me, Lucy and Mick headed back up to the hotsprings! Day two of work was worse, I had to wash the toilet floors and the laundry room...I took the liberty of doing my laundery whilst I was in there though, and basically just sat on top of the dryer with my ipod for a while! Naughty me. This was to be our last night in Banff so a load of us took a trip to town and headed to Hoodoos nightclub for some drinks and a bit of dancing! A couple of canadians got chucked out by the bouncers for being sleezy towards me, yay!

Next stop, Lake Louise! We arrived at the hostel which was more like a hotel. Me, Lucy and Mick got a room with only four beds in and our own bathroom which was awesome, a nice change. The fourth bed was actually taken by a guy we'd met in Toronto and Banff so that was a little crazy! Our first day in Lake Louise we decided would be spent trecking up the mountain, 6k...mistake...to the lake. The lake was frozen but still beautiful. MIck, being an aussie, had never built a snowman before so we built a nice rude one on the lake for all to admire. We then walked across the lake being careful not to fall through. We couldn't find where to get the free shuttle back to town so managed to get a lift in the back of a locals truck! So much fun! The next day we spent skiing in the mountains, unbeliveable.

Now, I'm back in Jasper with Lucy and Mick. We managed to find a hotel for a cheaper price that a hostel with all 3 of us sharing. We have 2 queen size beds, bathroom and even a tv! Luxury! I'm off to Vancouver tomorrow so until then....

Lots of Love, me

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