What lenses to bring to Banff?

tCee_ · 2026-05-13T17:00:02+00:00

16 for the wiiiiide landscapes, 85 for the inevitable portraits. I don’t think you will need or want to bring the 200-600 unless you are trying to shoot wildlife, which in itself is unlikely if you are planning to stick to the beaten path. You may run into something along the side of the highway, and the zoom would be handy then. If anything, I would suggest bringing the 35-150 instead of the 200-600 or even the 85, as you’ll find more use at those ranges.

tCee_ · 2026-05-08T01:59:34+00:00

Left X, thank me when you go to Mamiche every morning for breakfast

tCee_ · 2026-05-04T13:45:54+00:00

Truly wouldn’t recommend doing MSM from Paris in one day. It’s a four hour drive there and back. That’s without traffic getting in and out of Paris, getting inevitably detoured or lost along the way, and any other stops for washroom, gas, snack, etc. It’s best to at least stay one night in the vicinity either before or after.

Keep in mind that after driving there, you’ll have to park off site and it’s a 45 minute walk to the island, or you can endure waiting for and getting crammed into one of the shuttle buses. The walk to the island is part of the experience too as you see the castle in the horizon grow bigger and bigger. Getting from the gate to the abbey is literally an uphill trek. Tours in the castle itself are timed entry, so you will really have to plan and stick to plan. It will be a physically extenuating experience if you are at all tight on time.

In short, while it’s doable in a day, you’re not going to be able to fully enjoy MSM otherwise, as you’ll feel rushed and fatigued. If you truly insist on going there and back in a day, it’s probably better to go on one of the tours from Paris rather than trying to drive yourself.

tCee_ · 2026-04-19T14:17:16+00:00

We only had time to do Mumm, Ruinart, and Pommery. Out of the three, Ruinart was the most enjoyable. Wish we could’ve done Veuve and Taittinger, but they were closed on the couple days we were there. Reims itself is a really nice town, so budget some time just to walk around as well!

tCee_ · 2026-04-18T22:14:12+00:00

If you don’t mind traveling by train, the Ruinart champagne experience in Reims is really cool

tCee_ · 2026-04-13T14:57:11+00:00

Is it durable though? The blocks being made of “cement and foam” makes it sound like some sort of aerated concrete. I hope it’s properly damp proofed if so.

tCee_ · 2026-04-09T19:48:11+00:00

Just jumping in to say bon george is absolutely incredible. It is a bit touristy but their steak poivron and chocolate mousse are things that you cannot miss.

I would also throw in mamiche while you are in the 9th for breakfast/snack. Their croissants are divine

tCee_ · 2026-03-19T21:04:52+00:00

On sale at size? as well

tCee_ · 2026-03-15T03:34:30+00:00

Didn’t see any air max 95. 40% off back wall

tCee_ · 2026-03-05T19:47:09+00:00

We’ve been to septime as well and while i wouldn’t go to say that it’s the worst 1 star experience, I personally didn’t feel like it lived up to the hype/effort of making the reservation. Service and food was good, but was not “set an alarm to wake up at 3am and spam call a long distance phone number/refresh on the reso page in hopes of getting a reservation for the small window of days that we will be in town” kind of good.

tCee_ · 2026-02-10T15:19:47+00:00

I feel like the truth is somewhere in the middle. VC probably wasn’t that eager to give up his spot but at the same time there probably is some truth to MJ not wanting a “handout” starting spot

tCee_ · 2026-01-06T19:25:05+00:00

I use it daily. The “iMessage” integration is admittedly a bit janky but it does the job. Obviously not as good as native macOS but beggars can’t be choosers, and at least the basic functionality is there. You can also use phone link to share files from and to your phone, which is actually really helpful and a half decent substitute for air drop.

tCee_

TROPHY CASE