Conference kaosws::canada

    From what I've heard, it's all packed powder. You should have a great
    time, and wait till you go to the bank and by some Canadian cash,
    you'll be happy you did.

    Re:-1
    
    Sounds great - thanks.  What did you mean re the comment on Canadian
    cash ?
    
    Dave

    
    I think he means the exchange rate is good at the moment
    
    

    Sounds good.  The rate here is roughly 2.25 Canadian Dollars to the
    pound.  What is it normally, and more importantly, how much is a pint
    of beer out there ?  

    I'll check what the rate is here. Perhaps you might be better off
    bringing your pounds with you.

    
    I just exchanged some pounds I had left over from a recent trip to 
    England and got $2.26 Canadian for them at a local Canadian bank.
    (TD Bank)
    
    When I bought them it cost me $2.21. With the fluctuation of the
    Canadian dollar recently you might get a good exchange rate for your
    pounds.
    
    Terry MacLellan
    Hull,Canada

The pound is taking a bashing at the moment....against the German Mark...
The U.S. Dollar is taking a bashing ...against the Jap. Yen....
The Spanish and Portuguese have devalued their currencies.
The currency markets are in turmoil it appears.

I use a base guide lines for how cheap a holiday can be ....
Based on the cost of a BIG MAC...
                       MARS BAR
                       PINT OF MILK
                       LOAF OF BREAD

But to be honest its the cost of Fuel ..beer ...and Wine that count.

K.R.

    Cost of a pint of beer--
    
    Domestic in a bottle (341 or 355ml) at a pub - ~$2.50
       "     draught (20 Imp. fl. oz.)	"  " "	 - ~$3.50
    
    Imported in a bottle (341 or 355ml) "  " "   - ~$3.50
       "     draught (20 Imp. fl. oz.)  "  " "   - ~$5.00
    
    Each of the domestic and imported, in bottles, purchased at a liquor or
    beer store will be about $1.00 to $1.50 cheaper than in the pub.
    
    The last time I had a pint of Guinness in Co. Kerry (1993), the price
    was 1.10 punts, a lot cheaper than Canadian prices even for domestic
    bottled beer!
    
    Pat Beerpot

    Hey Terry...
    
      Things must be going Ok for you.  Gee vacation trips abroad. Boy wish
    I could save that kind of money.  
    
    					Loertta

    Weather Bulletin
    
    A chinook (a warm air mass from the pacific) is expected to arrive on
    Thursday /Friday 9th/10th.  This will produce daytime highs of +4 to
    +10 degrees C.  Chinook days are often cloudy and windy (up to 20mph).
    
    Should be excellent skiing weather.
    
    Have fun....
    
    ps.  For a great dark beer, try a "Traditional"
    
    

    RE .9
    
    Loretta, being the tight a$$ that you are, I figured you'd have lots of
    bucks stashed away for when the ice melts. Let's see 230 litres of gas
    at .53 cents/litre...takes a lot to keep that tugboat of yours
    patrolling the Rideau. 
    

    We returned from our 10 day trip to paradise on Sunday.  Everyone
    agreed that it was by far the most beautiful place we had ever
    visited/skied.  The skiing was perfect - it snowed for the first 6
    evenings so conditions were incredible.  The "Trad" was good, as was
    the Warthog, Grasshopper and Magpie beer.  Our lasting impression will
    surely be the friendliness of the Canadian people we met in the hotel
    and on the slopes.  Can people really be this nice or does the Canadia
    tourist board run courses in being incredible friendly to visitors ?
    
    Anyway, thanks for all the replies.  
    
    Dave

    Someone recently asked the Minister of Culture (or something like that)
    Sheila Feinstone what defined Canadian culture. She initally responded
    that there was no one single Canadian culture but corrected herself and
    said something like "politeness and fairness". 

    Another happy camper. Glad you had a good time Dave!

    One final point ...
    
    Do tourists get extra large portions in restaurants/bars etc or do
    Canadians really eat that much food ? ;-)  If you ask for a steak you
    get half a cow !  We went into a diner in Banff (old 50's style place)
    and had desserts that were at least a foot high.  Suffice to say, we
    all felt a bit heavier on the plane home.
    
    Dave
    
    P.S  Does anyone have a recipe for making "Beavertails" ?

    Well I just came back from 10 days in Florida and my question is
    do Americans really eat that much food?  We went in one place where
    the waitress looked at me with disdain because I ordered the small
    18 ounce steak.  The next size up was 32 ounces and there was one that 
    weighed in at 50 OUNCES!!!  We often travel to the U.S. and have always 
    found portions to be very large in American restaurants.
    
    Bernie.

    Having entered the base note, this would seem as good a place as any to
    get some more advice.
    
    Our skiing group have voted overwhelmingly to return to Lake Louise
    next March for our annual skiing vacation.  We've also decided to stay
    (again) at the Chateau Lake Louise.  However, I've found a holiday
    brochure here in the U.K that offers a two-centre holiday : 7 nights at
    the C.L.L and 5 nights at Jasper Park Lodge (at least I think that's
    the name - some posh place on the edge of town !)
    
    I now have a problem.   Does Jasper offer the variety of skiing that is
    available at Lake Louise ?  We are a group of varying abilities from
    relative beginners to bloody good.  Is the Jasper Park Lodge a good
    place to stay ?  It certainly looks nice, but we've been spoilt by the
    C.L.L and I wouldn't want to drag people from there, kicking and
    screaming, to a place that's not quite as good.  What do the panel
    think ? 
    
    Cheers,
    Dave

    Dave,
    
    Having skiied in Calgary for the past 10 years, my opinion is that
    Jasper is not as exciting as Lake Louise to ski. The reason that
    packages like that are created is to get people to Jasper in the first
    place. Jasper would not be bad for a day trip, where you would stay at
    the CCL, but drive up to Jasper for the day to ski. Also realize, that
    after skiing Lake Louise, it is really hard to compare, unless you go
    to Vail, Colorado or Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia.
    
    I feel there is much better skiing at Sunshine, Fortress, and Nakiska,
    rather than go to Jasper for the week. Do any other locals (Calgarians)
    have any thoughts on this ??
    
    Regards
    Brian Clarke

    Having driven the Jasper to Lake Louise route many times I don't
    believe you could possibly make it a day trip.  At the best of 
    times it is a 2 1/2 - 3 hr drive and for first time drivers on
    the most spectacular piece of highway in the world it can easily 
    take a day (if you stop alot).  I've never driven it in the winter
    time but I can't imagine it to be very fast and I believe it is often
    closed for long periods of time.
    
    
    Robin

    Thanks for the info so far.  Anybody else care to comment ?

    I would say LL is the better choice. The view is to die for, and the
    variety of ski hills can match anybody's skill level. In Jasper there
    is just the one resort (that I know of). 
    
     I would go for Banff. (But then again I was there this last January
    for a ski week, so I should say  "I went for Banff")
    
    							Derek.