Great Valentine's Roadtrip of 2011

Javier & I typically don't celebrate Valentine's Day. The commercialism, and blah, blah, blah. We always gets a little something for Lizzie and I do like to decorate, when I have the time. For us though, we like to think everyday is Valentine's Day (ha, ha).

This year we desperately needed an escape for a few days. We tried to wait until Family Week (which is next week) so Lizzie could come along, but I booked too many work days so it turned into a couple's getaway instead.

Our first stop on Valentine's night was Calgary to Le Germain, a brand-new, ultra chic, fabulous boutique hotel in downtown Calgary.

hotels.com

It's a bit snowier in downtown Calgary than it was when this photo was taken. It was our first visit to this hotel and we were both very impressed. The drinks in the lobby lounge are divine, probably even more so because I was on some intense painkillers (more on that another day).

This bed was so comfortable I could have stayed there for days, but alas we had other places to visit. We enjoyed a complimentary breakfast and, after running a few errands (Javier: new shoes, me: stack of books, knitting, and jewellery store), we headed off to our ultimate destination - Banff!

Truthfully, I was kind of hoping that we'd run into this guy...

Melissa Brandt via cbc

...but I guess he's hibernating for the season.

Actually we didn't see any wildlife this trip, no deer, no bears, nothing. I see more on my way to work everyday. Seriously! I was almost late for work last week because three young deer were walking down middle of the street to the hospital and I couldn't drive around them!

In Banff, we stayed at the fairytale that is the Banff Springs Hotel.

The Fairmont Banff Springs via banff.com

This is my favourite hotel in the whole world! And to make it even better we were upgrade to a junior suite on the Gold Floor, which is the cat's meow, to me at least. What more could we ask for - a private concierge, complimentary breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres, and a large comfortable room.

Ah yes, a view.

We stood at the window and watched the moon rise one evening.

Isn't this beautiful? It makes me happy even with the snow.

There were plenty of cozy places to curl up with a book. I would have taken a nap here had it not been in a public area.

Rocky-Peak.com

Swimming in the outdoor pool is another treat at the Banff Springs. It was especially magical when it was snowing.

We did venture out of the hotel a few times and trekked down to the village. It was cold, but with down coats and mittens, made for perfect hand-holding weather.

We napped, we read, we talked, but most just enjoyed one another's company. We all need to get away on our own sometimes, just to remind ourselves of why we fell in love, how fortunate we are to have found one another.