In my determination not to miss anything or have any regrets on my 2011 fall tour to the Canadian Rockies, I not only upgraded my hotel rooms at Chateau Lake Louise and Banff Springs Hotel to have the best views, and took my first ever helicopter ride over the mountains at Banff, but booked the Gold Leaf package on the Rocky Mountaineer for a two day train ridge through the Canadian Rockies from Banff to Vancouver.
The Gold Leaf package included a special car with a glass domed observation section upstairs and a dining room and kitchen downstairs. It also included having ones luggage delivered to the hotel in Kamloops for the overnight there. In Red Leaf, one would be in a regular train car where sandwiches would be served and everyone needed to take their own hand luggage to their hotel in Kamloops with their larger case remaining on the train. I really liked the idea of the glass domed observation car and of getting my larger case for the overnight, so I splurged again. I was very thankful I could afford the splurges on this trip (there were many earlier trips when I could not) and viewed the whole thing as a very special trip that would give me great memories for the rest of my life. So Gold Leaf package it was.
The group from the Florida retirement community went Red Leaf, so I didn’t see them at all for the entire train ride. There were two other couples in my group who also went Gold Leaf and were in my same car. I was up towards the front of the car with one of the couples a short distance away (just a couple rows back on the other side of the car) and the other couple further back in the car, near the stairs to the lower part, which not only had the dining room and kitchen, but restrooms and an outdoor observation deck.
We were given mimosas when we arrived, then the 1st seating group went down for breakfast. I was in the 2nd seating group, so we had some pastries and another mimosa while waiting. For both breakfast and lunch, we had menus from which we could order what we wanted. The food was delicious.
Our first day we traveled over the Continental Divide and along the Kicking Horse River and Shushwap Lake. We also went through the corkscrew tunnels with part of the train coming out one tunnel while another part was going in another tunnel. The Gold Leaf cars were at the back of the train, so we could see the rest of the train well ahead of us.
Due to delays along the way, we arrived at Kamloops three hours past when we should have. Because of this, we were served dinner on the train instead of at the hotel and had an open bar until we arrived in Kamloops. Once we arrived at the hotel, I found that my larger case was waiting for me in my room.
The next day we were returned to the train, where I was in the 1st seating for breakfast and lunch. We traveled through the Thompson Valley and Fraser Canyon, arriving in Vancouver around 5:00pm (which was on time). We were staying at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel on Canada Place, just across the road from the Olympic Cauldron from the 2010 Olympics. All of the cruise ships dock at Canada Place.
There was a representative from the tour company at the hotel waiting to sign us up for day trips for the next couple of days. For the first day, I chose a trip to Vancouver Island. The entire group from Florida signed up for the same trip and filled out the coach for the first time slot, so I went on the next coach. I met a lovely couple with whom I had lunch and then some gelato later.
After taking the ferry across to the island, we went straight to Butchart Gardens where we had a couple of hours to explore the place. The gardens were absolutely gorgeous. Originally a limestone quarry used for the making of Portland Cement, once the quarry was played out, Missus Butchart turned the quarry into a sunken garden. An Italian garden, a rose garden and a Japanese garden were added over time. When the Butcharts turned the gardens over to their grandson, he added a fountain. The gardens are still run by the family.
On the way back to Victoria, we were given a general tour of the island. Then we were dropped off at the Empress Hotel with a time and place established to be back on the coach. I explored the hotel first. Opened in 1908, the hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is a very elegant hotel in the Chateauesque style. Their afternoon tea is legendary.
I took photos of the Parliament and of the bay before heading for Miniature World. I’m very interested in dollhouse miniatures and gravitate to dollhouses and miniature exhibits. Miniature World had several dollhouses (once called “baby houses”) and lots of historic scenes in miniature. They had 85 exhibits in all from Olde London (Tudor London) to World War II to outer space. They also had some scenes of the western US and Canada with a miniature version of what a Native American village in the upper western coastal area would have looked like.
I had some time before I needed to get back to the coach, so I had an old-fashioned shake at a nearby soda shop. This fortified me until I got back to the hotel in Vancouver and had dinner.
On my final day in Canada, I had a late flight home. So I checked my bags at the hotel when I needed to check out of the room and took off for a Hop On Hop Off trolley tour. This covered such locations as Stanley Park, False Creek, Granville Island, the Art Museum, the Library, Gastown (the original settlement), the Lions Gate Bridge, and the Olympic Stadium. There was also the hotel in which Howard Hughes lived the final years of his life.
The day I was flying back home was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable about being on a plane on that date. The security person at the airport in Vancouver rather cheerily reminded me of the date, which didn’t help. But all went well and I arrived home safely in the early hours of 9/12.
In the Gold Leaf car 
View from Rocky Mountaineer 
One reason why I wanted to ride in the domed observation car 
Along the route 
Another part of the route 
Some rapids along the way 
The ferry to Vancouver Island 
Sunken gardens at Butchart 
More of the sunken gardens 
A totem pole at Butchart Gardens 
The Japanese garden 
The Italian garden 
The Empress Hotel in Victoria 
The bay in Victoria 
The Parliament in Victoria 
Model of Pacific Coast Native American village 
Canada Place in Vancouver 
Vancouver as seen from Stanley Park 
The Olympic Stadium in Vancouver