The last few days of our trip to Whistler were amazing, as well. It was mostly free time, with just a short business meeting one morning and a group dinner on the last night that we had to attend.
We spent a good amount of time in the village, checking out a few stores and eating of course . . . just as beautiful as everything else there !!! It was just a short walk from our hotel to the lower village, and included walking over this covered bridge and all:
The village looked just like what I'd pictured an alpine village to be:
There were gorgeous flowers everywhere, spilling over window boxes and from hanging planters:
And while I'm not much of a shopper, a few stores did catch my eye . . . like Lush, a store that sells natural, homemade bath and body products . . . . what a cool way to display the bath fizzies !!!
And of course I hit a chocolate and candy store !!! All of these beautiful caramel apple confections looked amazing !!!
The better part of one of our free days was spent on Whistler Mountain. The first part of the journey is made by gondola, and takes you about 6000 feet up . . . what a ride !
At this point on the mountain, there is a restaurant and many observation areas . . . not a bad view in sight !!! Just stunning . . . I'd never seen anything like it before ! The picture below is of an inukshuk on Whistler Mountain overlooking the town . . . it's also being used as the symbol for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver.
The view from the top was even more amazing than I'd imagined, and more breathtaking than just a thousand feet lower. We hiked around a little, taking in that panoramic view . . . I think I could have stayed there all day, just soaking it all up. There were actually more hiking trails up there than I'd thought . . . maybe if I was in better shape and wearing hiking boots . . . !!!
We made another trip up Whistler Mountain our last night there, for a group dinner at the restaurant. It was cloudy that night . . . much different from our trek the day before ! It was truly a treat to watch the sun set while there, and to ride back down on the gondola looking at the lights in the town below . . . magical !!!
I can't say it enough: I had such an amazing time on this trip !!!! It was truly a gift, in so many ways . . . and now that I've been back to work and to reality for almost a week now, I'm ready to go back !!!!
Stage two of our time on Whistler Mountain involved going an extra thousand feet up to the very top . . . !
. . . . and we got there by open-air ski lift !!! I was really nervous about this whole deal; I've never been skiing, much less in a lift, not to mention over 7000 feet up on a mountain ! There was a bar across your stomach area, to "hold" you in and all, like on a roller coaster . . . . . . but the key concept was truly "open-air" !!! It was breathtaking . . . so peaceful . . . so glad I did it !!!
The view from the top was even more amazing than I'd imagined, and more breathtaking than just a thousand feet lower. We hiked around a little, taking in that panoramic view . . . I think I could have stayed there all day, just soaking it all up. There were actually more hiking trails up there than I'd thought . . . maybe if I was in better shape and wearing hiking boots . . . !!!
We made another trip up Whistler Mountain our last night there, for a group dinner at the restaurant. It was cloudy that night . . . much different from our trek the day before ! It was truly a treat to watch the sun set while there, and to ride back down on the gondola looking at the lights in the town below . . . magical !!!
I can't say it enough: I had such an amazing time on this trip !!!! It was truly a gift, in so many ways . . . and now that I've been back to work and to reality for almost a week now, I'm ready to go back !!!!
Maybe someday . . . . . !!!
1 comment:
Wow, amazing views. Everytime I read the word "gondola" I imagined an Italian guy in a black and white striped shirt and red hat guiding a boat up the mountain! :)
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