Springtime

Spring has sprung in Vancouver, and the cherry blossoms are out in full force - gorgeous! The streets are beautiful, so many all in a row, just make it look so pretty. We've been having some beautiful weather, milder temperatures, and less rain.This has meant that we've been able to get out and explore a bit more, now that the madness of the Olympics is over, and the crowds have gone.





The other thing that helps is that we have bought a car! It's a 1998 red Ford Escort, and was a bargain. Runs really well, reliable, and means we don't think twice about going somewhere now as the only additional cost we have is gas. Insurance here is through the roof though - we pay about $120 a month (Canadian $). Still, it's worth it, and means we do more on the weekends now.


One thing we've done is go to a place called Deep Cove - about 30 minutes from downtown. We had a coffee and a bit of a wonder round - it's like a little village, and has this beautiful inlet, with the mountains - so pretty. There are lots of walks to do around here too, but we haven't got that far yet!

2010 Winter Olympics

The long awaited Winter Olympics came to town - there had been a lot of hype about it, with most Vancouverites dreading it, or so it seemed from my perspective. We had so many people coming in wanting to book trips out of the city - anywhere, they just didn't want to be here while the mayhem was going on! Andrew and I were looking forward to it though - what an experience, to be living in a city that's hosting the Olympics!

The city was well prepared. Apart from the issue of no snow. Vancouver had the warmest winter in years, which didn't make it ideal for the one year they really needed the snow! The buildings were used as billboards, the weather was stunning, there was a buzz about the city. Meanwhile, they were importing snow from other mountains, as there wasn't even enough snow to make more! Ah well, you can't have everything, right?!


The Opening Ceremony was on the 12th of February, Flight Centre had put on a party at one of the local pubs so we went there to watch it. We hadn't got tickets for any of the events, as by the time we thought about it we couldn't get anything for under $100 each. It's the first Winter Olympics on record that the Curling sold out!!
There was, however, lots of free stuff going on around town, and even just walking around soaking up the atmosphere was great. We walked down to see the Cauldron, which stayed lit for the entire time (lit by Wayne Gretzky, naturally). Streets that were normally not even half as busy on a Saturday night were jam packed every night of the week - meaning even the quickest errands took longer, and Andrew had to fights his way through the hoards to get to work and back.

The light show that you can see in this photo happened every night, and the lights moved all over the sky in different patterns - it was gorgeous.

Now the one sport we had followed religiously was the hockey. Of course, every Canadian had their hopes pinned on Canada for the gold medal! Canada played the USA in the quarter final, and lost, but then both met again in the final - the gold medal match. Canada playing the USA in hockey is like NZ playing Oz in the rugby. Tension is at an all time high! Andrew and I chose to watch the game at home, as watching it at a pub would've meant queuing up at 7am to get in somewhere, for a game that didn't start until 12pm. Ummm... no thanks. So we watched at home, and had the balcony door open a bit - every time there was a goal, you could hear the yelling! And then when Canada won the gold in overtime - my god, it was amazing. The whole city just exploded - very soon afterwards there were people running down the streets, screaming, singing, cars beeping their horns, such an outpour of relief and pride. After about an hour we went out a block from our house to see what it was like.....

Fantastic! This is normally a street that cars go down, but they'd shut it off for the Winter Olympics. It's the same street as the one above (night shot with all the people), and check at all the red - mainly Team Canada hockey tops! The atmosphere was amazing, and the people and noise carried on into the night.






That evening we watched the Closing Ceremony - and the fireworks that ended the Olympics, that we could see from our balcony. We really were so close to it all!

Billy & Elton in Seattle

Last weekend I went down to Seattle with a friend - we caught the bus down and due to delays at the border (not our fault!) a 3 1/2 hour journey turned into 5 1/2 hours. Not impressed. We got there just after 3pm, and checked in to the Fairmont Hotel - god bless travel agent discount rates. After heading out for a very late lunch/early dinner at a little Italian joint for a tasty risotto.

Then it was time for the main event - time to head to Key Arena for the Billy Joel & Elton John concert! Andrew and I saw Billy Joel in Auckland in November 2008, and he was the main pull for me to go to this concert. It kicked off at 7.30pm, with both of the piano men playing together - they took turns singing songs from each other's repertoire. Whenever it was a Billy song, Elton would start to sing, and vice versa.

They played like that for about half an hour, then it was all about Elton for an hour and a half - literally. He played & sang really well, and his songs are classics - but he wasn't much of an entertainer - it was like he was acting as if he wasn't playing for anyone, there was no interaction with the crowd. And considering the concert in November was postponed because he got sick, he didn't even acknowledge it! However, with songs like his, he can get away with it I guess!

Elton went off and it was time for Billy - who proved again that he's a great entertainer - interactive, apologised for having to postpone the November concert, joked, played guitar, and of course sang and played piano amazingly well. Fantastic - love Billy. He played for about an hour before Elton coming on again and they played together for another half an hour or so - finishing up with Candle in the Wind and Piano Man. No encore - which was actually fitting, as I don't know how you could top those two songs, it was a great way to finish.

The next day we had a wander around the shops and went to the Pike Place Market, and to this great little chowder place for lunch, where you can get a sampling platter of four different chowders....mmmmmm....... very tasty. Time for the coach back again, much quicker this time - loved Seattle, and love going to the US. Looking forward to the next time - unfortunately it will be without Billy & Elton though!

My first post with no photos :o(

Mmmmm Hockey

We managed to score some cheap tickets to the Vancouver Canucks, when they played the Nashville Predators. We were up on the nosebleeds, but the view was still really good. With the seating being sloped so much, you don't get anyone's head in your view which is great! The atmosphere was fantastic - Canadians LOVE their hockey. It's such a fast-paced game, and the puck moves to fast, you have to pay attention or else you'll miss all the good play - not so bad if it's on TV and you get the replay, but live, you gotta keep your eye on the game!

The Canucks are Vancouver's team in the NHL, despite none of the team actually being from Vancouver! Most players just live here during the season, and then move back to wherever they're from in the off season. There are some that have made Vancouver their home though. 9 out of the 24 players are not Canadian! We've become quite the fans, and watch most games now - there are about 3 a week. Unfortunately the tickets to go and see the games can be pretty pricey - normally about $70 per ticket for the cheapest ones, so we won't be going to many..... They're a good team though - currently standing 7th equal out of the 30 teams in the NHL, and the top ranked Canadian team at the moment.

A week after going to the game (which they lost!), we went to see the Superskills - which was the Canucks showcasing their talents, and going head to head for such titles as hardest hitter (who could hit the puck the fastest, which was about 97 miles/ph), fastest skater, best target shooter and so on..... it was nice to see them all relaxing a bit, and the night before they'd just had a huge win in a shootout in overtime, so both the team and the fans were on a high. We had much better seats for this as the tickets were a lot cheaper than an actual game! The players that had kids bought them out at the beginning as well.

Dog-sledding

While we were up at Whistler we decided to go dog-sledding, as it was something we thought would be great to try while we had the opportunity - and it's good to try something different that you can't do at home. We got picked up from Whistler village and drove about half an hour up in to the Soo Valley. That's where the dog-sledding base is - they have loads of dogs - about 300!! They even had a kiwi as one of the guides.
It was SO cold, about -14, and we hadn't realised it was so much colder than it was in the village, so we were a bit ill-prepared, but the numb fingers and toes soon took a backseat as we got to meet our dogs. The dogs are a cross between a husky and a greyhound - as huskies can't operate when it's as warm as -14!! So they cross-breed them with greyhounds, which also makes them faster. They breed them especially for dog-sledding, and they carefully control the breeding - there were a few times we saw where some of the girl-dogs were on heat, and the boy-dogs just can't control themselves - the guides end up diving on them to break them up! They can use it to their advantage though - they can put the girls on heat at the front of the pack, so the boys chase them, and therefore run harder - clever ploy!

As there were two of us and a guide on our sled, we had 6 dogs - there seems to be a ratio of two dogs to each person. And for those of you that might be worried about the treatment of the dogs, they are treated SO well. These dogs are bred to run, and the LOVE IT. When some of the dogs are going out on a run and the others are left behind, they go nuts - they just want to run! They do a maximum of two runs in a day - each run is 7km long. The dogs constantly pull and pull as soon as they have their harnesses on, so much so that even having the brake in the snow doesn't stop them - you have to stand on the brake as otherwise they'll just pull it up! They lick the snow as they run, to get some moisture, and then get a treat and lots of cuddles at the end. They're lovely friendly dogs, and really well looked after.

Needless to say, the scenery was amazing - just a winter wonderland. SO much snow. It was fantastic, taking in the view while we went along - Andrew had a go at driving his own sled, whereas I took the easy road and lay back and enjoyed the ride! All in all it was an amazing afternoon, and a great way to spend Boxing Day - highly recommended!

Christmas in Whistler

So to make sure we had a white Christmas, we booked to go up to Whistler for 3 nights - we headed up on Xmas eve and came back on the 27th. We booked an apartment so we had a kitchen, and the place even came with a outdoor hot tub and a heated swimming pool! So we spent a bit of time in those. The apartment was right in the middle of Whistler village, so we were able to walk everywhere. They'd had a lot of snow the few days before we got there, so although it didn't actually snow while we were there, there was definitely plenty of the stuff!

Whistler village is a decent size, for a ski resort, and has plenty of shops, although they're mostly souvenirs and ski gear. It has a real alpine feel to it, and the building are all done in the style you can see here. No cars can drive in the village, so it's a good place to walk around. At one end of the village is where the skilifts are to go up the mountains - Whistler and Blackcomb.



On Christmas day we went for a walk to Lost Lake - this photo is of Andrew standing on the lake - when we were here in November, the lake wasn't frozen at all, despite there being snow everywhere! It was a great walk through the snow to get here, and lots of people out snowshoeing by the lake as well.

It was amazing, there was so much snow - just beautiful! I love how the snow clings to the tree branches, and just has a way of making everything look so pretty.

On the last day we bought a sightseeing pass for the lifts, and went up the top of Whistler peak to check out the views. We'd been so lucky with the weather the whole time we were there, beautiful blue skies every day, and this day didn't disappoint. There were a lot of people out boarding and skiing, but we just hung out and watched the world go by and took in the view.

The gondola ride up to the top was pretty steep, but there were points where you could see the runs below and the view was spectacular, with the village getting smaller and smaller the further up you went. There are some cafes and restaurants up the top, and another gondola that opened about a year ago that goes over to the top of Blackcomb. That one was really high though and I was too much of a wuss to go on it, but Andrew did.
The Inukshuk, which is the official mascot of the upcoming Winter Olympics, called "Ilanaaq" looks out over Whistler village from the top of the mountain. These stone symbols are quite popular in Canada, and even more so the further north you go apparently - having been used for centuries by the Inuit or First Nations people.

Vancouver at Christmas time

Now, don't get me wrong - I love Christmas in New Zealand, with the sun, and of course spending it with family. But there is something magical about Christmas time in the Northern Hemisphere. Maybe it's because we grow up with these images on Christmas cards and TV, and all the mention in carols of snow, cuddling up by the fire and so on..... but Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere just seems right. It's how it should be. I love the lights - that come on at 3pm, you don't have to wait until 9 or 10pm like at home - wrapping up warm to go outside, the little carts on the street corner with the nuts roasting, egg nog everywhere..... everything seems so cosy and CHRISTMASSY! Even the bus drivers would often have little handheld "jingle bells" that they would jingle as they drive along - giving the feeling like you were on a sleigh or something!! The photo above is of Robson St - the main shopping street in Vancouver, 3 blocks from our house.

The photo the the right is the hospital, one block from our house. I love the lights! I had to make sure we had a Xmas tree this year - I've made the mistake before of saying "no, no.... we don't need one" in the interest of saving money - only to go out and buy one two days before Xmas as I couldn't take it anymore!! So the tree went up the first weekend of December, just a little one as we don't have a lot of space.

On Robson St there is an outdoor ice-skating rink, so there are a lot of people there, especially in the evenings and weekends. Also with the mountains being so close (there are a couple of skifields closer than Whistler that you can get to by public transport), you'll often see people on the buses with their snowboards. Vancouver is a great city in that respect - very accessible to be able to go out and enjoy the great outdoors.