Winter wonderland

Thank you ... to whoever stage-managed the decoration of Canada for us ... we hugely appreciate your efforts in making the entire country like a giant Christmas card!

Here we are in Vancouver, after travelling on the train on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday ... and we loved it! We were preceded by (and in some cases accompanied by) snow wherever we went, and it was beautiful, incredibly beautiful. The pines, spruces, hemlocks looked as if they had icing (frosting) in thick layers on the end of every branch, all impurities were blanched out and covered over, and leafless plants stood black against a sparkling white background ... it was amazing. Add to this the fact that lakes and rivers were frequently totally frozen, occasionally partly frozen and reflecting the blue sky in parts - we could go on - and on - and on ....

We had been a little concerned as to whether we would sleep on five nights sitting up (we Windolfs don't use sleepers, which can be small, uncomfortable, claustrophobic and which limit the view to one side of the train only) and we were thrilled with how comfortable the journey was. For much of it we were allocated a double seating area, with two sets of seats facing each other. Each seat had a folding section which matched the one opposite, making a continuous bed from one to the other ... can you picture us travelling through the night in an upholstered double bed, blankets and pillows provided, John snoring gently, sleeping for 8-9 hours a night, waking briefly once or twice? That's what we did! John's laughing at me, though, because in our comfortable suite at the Vancouver 'Rosedale on Robson' last night I half-woke, heard the hum of the air-conditioner, saw the half-light through the windows, and thought "Oh, we're having a long stop at THIS station"!!!

We're taking Vancouver very lightly - not madly visiting the tourist spots, but treating the city as the locals do - enjoying the wonderful Japanese cafes, shopping a little, maybe going to a movie this afternoon, watching a protest march and listening to the chants of "Free the Refugees ... Stop the De-por-tay-she-ons!", enjoying a group of young Chinese Salvation Army members playing carols with "jingle-bells" ... we feel really at home here!

Our journey home begins tomorrow - Monday here - and hopefully we'll arrive in Coolum in the middle of Wednesday afternoon. We fly from here to Los Angeles, then with Qantas from Los Angeles to Sydney, and then a domestic flight home, travelling to Coolum on our local shuttle bus. We've had a wonderful journey, but we're looking forward to getting home ... please can we bring some of this cool weather with us? Hopefully, we'll put a list of highlights on the blog in a few days time, just to sum up, and to thank you all for travelling along with us.