Everyone in Seattle knows about Whistler, and everyone in Seattle knows it is beautiful. You mention Whistler and they say "oohhh you are so lucky, it is so beautiful there!". Whistler is about a 5-7hr drive north of Seattle, across the Canadian border, about 3 hours north of Vancouver. It is a small village town up in the mountains, home to some of the best skiing in the world, host to the 2010 winter Olympics, and filled with hotels, resorts and all sorts of luxury boutiques. It was certainly a few steps up the ladder from the accommodation I usually pick for myself! Luckily, I wasn't picking, it was my host family!
We spent 5 days in Whistler, staying in a lovely three bedroom condo within a hotel complex. Our condo opened out right onto one of the ski slopes (which, being near the end of the ski season, was pretty much just grass). The hotel's hot tub was also right beside our door - talk about perfect location!
The weather was sunny and warm for the majority of the time we were there, it was bliss to be in the sun! During the day my host parents and the older boys would go skiing, and me and the three little ones would go on 'Gina adventures'. We went all over the place, all through the village, all over the mountains, all through the town!
Dragging our sleds on one of our adventures in search of snow
no snow here, just cute kids!
ahhh beautiful!
In the evening when I was 'off', I wandered through the village by myself, I stumbled upon a music festival which was finishing up the Whistler Ski and Snowboarding Festival.
The village was quaint and lovely, well laid out, beautifully tidy, filled with boutique shops of curiosity (read: expensive!). One thing I definitely noticed was the amount of Australians around!!! In New Zealand and Australia you often hear about work exchange programs where you can work in a ski resort over the winter period, well, obviously that resort is Whistler! There were Australians (I didn't personally meet any New Zealanders but I'm sure there were a tonne of them around!) working in all the shops, all the restaurants and cafes, in all the hotels and resorts - they were everywhere!!! I felt like I was back home in downunder! Really, it was the strangest feeling. I was relieved to be back on American soil at the end of it! haha!
The ski slope right by our door!
Olympic rings! A picture perfect relic from the 2010 games
Dressing up crazy to go skiing!
Relaxing in the sun
Kids playing in the beautiful treehouse playground in the village
The Whistler village with mountains in the background.
We had a great time in Whistler, and it was lovely to be with the host family on their vacation!
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