Lake Louise, to me, is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It has a beautiful view of the glacier on the opposite end of the lake. On either side, the mountains seem to cradle the glacier, thus creating a natural frame for a beautiful scene.
With the morning gong show behind us, we pulled into the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise for our lunch reservation. We had to pre-order our food on the first morning of our bus tour. I had chosen beef. It wasn’t steak, but when in Alberta, you just have to have beef. That was my thinking.
The meal started with a nice warm squash soup. That hit the spot since it was still very chilly outside. The hotel was surrounded by snow and giant icicles were still hanging off the eaves of the building. Some in our group of 11 requested the chicken or seafood pasta. I still think the beef was the best choice for the meal, though. Lunch was topped off with a little bit of dessert. It was nice to enjoy a meal in a classy former Canadian Pacific hotel.
After lunch, we had a good 45-60 minutes to wander around the lake area. The snow was still about 2-3 feet high in some spots. So it offered a good opportunity for snow angels. My sister-in-law totally took the opportunity to leave her snow angel in the snow bank. She even had to venture into knee-deep snow just to stage a scene for her photos.
The ice was fairly thick on the lake, but signs were posted all along the lake shore telling people not to walk out there. People just don’t pay attention to signs, do they? Being spring, the ice is melting underneath. In one part where the lake funnels into a creek, the ice had already melted and surely the melt was well underway. Anyone out on the ice obviously didn’t pay attention to the signs of melting. However, no one did fall through the ice that afternoon.
The sun started to make its appearance. Blue skies started to break through and sunshine poured over the white wintry landscape. That allowed for a better view of the hotel on the lakefront and of the snowy glacier across the lake.
After horsing around on the lakefront, we headed back into the hotel. We had about 15 more minutes before heading back onto the bus. We walked around the grand old hotel that is the Chateau Lake Louise. It has beautiful thick and patterned carpet on the floor. The chandelier in the hotel lobby was also grand with its wooden figures carved into it and the faux-candles that lit up the top of it. A stay in this hotel is certainly not cheap, but it is worth stepping in and taking a look around.
Lake Louise is always one of my favourite places to visit whenever I’m in Alberta. This was the first time I ever came here with so much snow on the ground. The snow added to the beauty of the Canadian Rockies landscape. I’ve never hiked any of the trails in the area. That would be one of my goals if I ever return to Lake Louise and its wonderful environs.
metro babel 
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