A Stinky Pool in Paradise

Banff’s sulphur hot springs stink. There’s no getting away from it, the smell of sulphur is everywhere and it reeks.

As soon as we pulled up in the car park, the smell invaded everything and it smelt like rotten eggs. Still, we’d never visited hot springs before, and as the saying goes, try everything at least once!

We’d been up Sulphur Mountain the day before and marvelled at the amazing scenery. The basin below is home to the historical site of the first National Park, an information centre and the grotto which housed the sulphur spring.

The grotto was fairly small but the pool within was like something out of a movie.

Surrounded by rock, the green glow of the water reflected all around us. The smell of the sulphur was almost overpowering at times but it was really interesting to see the source of the ‘healing waters’ that people had once flocked to bathe in.

Outside of the cave, a small visitor’s centre provided information on the history of the site. Around the outside of the site, the pool deck provided a walkway around the edge of the pool. Standing up on the higher walls gave a great overview of the site and really highlighted how deep the pools were.

Living in the caves and basin are a species of endangered snail. Although we could get close to the pool edge, we were warned not to put our hands in to avoid upsetting their delicate eco-balance.

We spent the rest of our visit checking out the visitor’s centre and learning more about the basin site before heading up to the hot springs themselves. If you do decide to visit the baths, be warned, they are the hottest waters I have ever been in, and I like my shower set to scalding!

Although the centre only really has enough to keep you entertained for a short visit, it’s well worth a stop, especially if you look out for the red chairs – a great place to sit and take in the view.

Learn more about Banff’s cave and basin here: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/ab/caveandbasin

$4 for adults, children go free.

Highlights of San Francisco

San Francisco is an odd place. There I’ve said it. Everyone who I know that has visited speaks with delight of the cable cars, the steep hills and the beautiful pier. There’s a problem though – I’m not convinced! Or am I?

We’ve visited San Francisco a number of times now, usually because it’s the best place to pick up a car before heading to one of California’s national parks.

The first time we stayed in San Francisco, we booked the hotel on the day and ended up in one of the most grotty places I have ever been: the shower didn’t drain, we were right in the middle of the roughest part of the Tenderloin area (we didn’t realise this until later), there were huge spiders and the toilet sounded like a foghorn every time we flushed it. Although it was terrible, it added character to the trip and we still laugh about it now.

Since then, we’ve tended to stay outside the city centre at the Best Western. Fairly close to the airport (and a Trader Joes for stocking up on food for camping trips), this is a handy place to stay.

I think that the reason I struggle with San Francisco is because it reminds me of Blackpool! The old trams, the pier and the general ‘seaside’ nature of the place all remind me of when we used to visit Blackpool as a child – and it’s not the stand out place for a holiday destination for me.

That was until I started writing this post. So many happy memories of what we did on our trip came flooding back. I remembered how this was the gateway to our road trip. How excited we were to explore and hit the road. San Francisco has given us some amazing memories:

  • The Giant Noodle – Top of my list is the Giant Noodle. When we visited back in 2010, there was a sculpture of a noodle on the pier. Next to the noodle was a sign which read “for your own safety, please don’t sit on the giant noodle”. This struck us as immensely hysterical and ever since, the wisdom of the giant noodle is often quoted in a range of situations and each time it makes us laugh.
  • Alcatraz – This place was creepy and cool in equal measures. A ‘must do’ if you visit San Francisco. You can read about our experiences and tips for visiting Alcatraz here.
  • Bird attacks! – One of our group got hit in the face by a bird. On the pier, in the rain, with a wing. And it was as funny as it sounds!
  • The Cheesecake Factory – sitting high above the Macy’s sign, a small balcony looks out over the main square in the city centre. Armed with the best cheesecake in the world (I love a good cheesecake – and they cater for gluten free travellers), it’s the best place to watch the world go by.
  • Golden Gate Bridge – just standing by the iconic landmark, watching a group of yachts go by was one of those surreal ‘wow I’m in America’ moments.
  • Cable Cars / Tram – Going down the steepest hill on a tram is a experience all on its own!
  • Cliffs and Coast – Driving over the cliffs in the middle of the fog, looking out at scenery between each break of the clouds was the start of our road trip to the national parks.

San Francisco is not the one of the most beautiful, scenic or even iconic places, but it did give us plenty of laughs and memories, and that’s exactly what you want from a holiday, isn’t it?

Sunset Boat Trip

One of the best ways to get a sense of a place is to have a view of the shoreline. That way, you get to see the whole of the city, wrapped up, postcard perfect, containing everyone as they go about their lives. Split was no different and sailing away from the shore slowly removed the bustle of the city. The sounds faded. Our boat was quiet, and the sound of the sea soon took over.

The outline of towers and buildings set against the silhouette of the mountains in the distance was captivating. We had been promised incredible sunsets and Croatia delivered. I’m a bit of a sunset/ sunrise collector (see here for more pictures from our travels) and this was definitely one of the more memorable.

The further out to sea we traveled, the more the light faded, creating beautiful patterns on the waves. Lights glimmered from the houses on the shore and beach stragglers waved to the boat as we passed.

As the temperature dropped and we sat in near total darkness, the trip back to the city brought burning lights – creating a snapshot of a city brought to life.

Is that a Wizard or is he just taking a selfie?

One of the most striking sights around the Diocletian’s Palace is the huge statue of, what appears to be, a giant wizard.

We found him outside the Golden Gate of the palace, towering over the walls and surrounded by onlookers and two Roman guards (actually, two dudes in fancy dress, but who’s checking?!).

Despite looking like a wizard, the statue is actually of Grgur Ninski. Playing a huge role in preserving the old Croatian language and supporting catholic practices in local languages rather than in Latin, our tour guide described him as a symbol of national pride.

She told us a further story about how the statue had moved locations a number of times, with locals protecting it from destruction before it was located in its current resting place. The way our tour guide told it, the statue had been broken down into small pieces and hidden across different locations until it was safe to reunite the statue in a safer location.

The biggest stand out feature of the statue is his huge, shiny toe! The toe has been worn smooth by thousands of visitors rubbing it for good luck or to have their wishes granted. So much so that the toe is now a completely different colour to the rest of the statue.

Although an imposing statue, it feels completely at home in its current location, watching over the palace walls.

It’s stories like this that peppered our visit to Split, learning more about the history and culture from the stories of locals – in my opinion, that’s the best way to learn.