Sights from Seymour

We went to the top of Seymour - one of the three mountains in on the North Shore - to take in the view.

However, the shoes Cathy & Sarah were wearing were rather unfortunate:

Yes, there is actually snow in Cathy's golden shoes. Both girls said they had 'feet freeze' (the equivalent of 'brain freeze') on their tootsies.

The girls managed to put on a full smile for the camera despite their pain:

CS

A glimpse of Deep Cove

To continue on our sight-seeing tour during Sarah's visit, we went to Deep Cove - a stunning little village just 35-40 minutes from our flat.

Check out the pictures here:

We were only here for a couple of hours but everyone fell in love with the place. We'll be coming back - and next time we'll have kayaks with us!

CS

A visit to outer space

Today we turned into five year olds again and visited the Space Centre in Kitsilano:

It was rather telling that other than us, there were three different schools - with children aged seven and below - inside the centre.

It was a fun visit & we sat inside the planetarium and learnt about the stars and planets. Did you know Pluto is no longer listed as one of the nine planets in our solar system? Instead it's lumped in with 'other planets' as they've found dozens more. Who knew?!

Naturally we rushed around the museum with full enthusiasm and played with all the games - including pretending to be an astronaut:

Loads of fun. Jo & Pete, if you make it out, Matilda would love this place!

CS

Exploring Van's drinking establishments

For four days of Sarah's visit to Vancouver, I had to go to work; not ideal, but that's life.

We made up for it by hitting the town/bars in the evenings wherever possible. Here are a few of the places we visited:

This was The Cellar Jazz Club in Kitsilano on West Broadway, which is said to be one of the top 100 jazz venues around the globe. It was a special night of exceptional food and wine coupled with live, mesmerizing jazz. The venue takes the music seriously - you cannot talk when people are playing; a nice touch. We'll definitely be going here again.

The Sunset Grill in Kitsilano. It's a traditional pub that plays all hockey games - a good choice as we both became avid Canucks fans for the week (as the Stanley Cup has started). The staff had great banter and Sarah - who would talk to a wall if left alone - made many friends throughout the evening. She also managed to swindle a free drink called a 'paralizer'.

The boathouse on Kitsilano beach; always stunning. We watched our second Canucks game here while taking in the views of the moutains/sea etc.

The Smoking Dog Bistro in Kitsilano. It seemed like a good choice until the mussels made me violently ill within the hour. Not a great experience, but the venue and staff were lovely none-the-less.

Milestone Restaurant is a chain in Vancouver, like Earls. Good food & chat but not as spectacular as some of the other venues.


CS

Gifts from the UK!

I wanted to say thank you for a couple of gifts we've received from the UK to brighten up our somewhat sparse-looking flat...

Dee, Bob, thank you for the duvet set - it looks divine!

And Sarah, loving our Vancouver painting - it's a great addition to our living space & is now proudly displayed on our wall:

Thank you!

CS

Spain hits Vancouver....

A momentous occasion; Sarah Spain (my best friend) visited Vancouver.

The first few days have been excellent. We went straight to Whistler and spent the Easter bank holiday weekend on the slopes.

Here are a few snaps of us:

And while we spent time on the bunny slopes, David tackled the jumps:

It was the first time I'd stayed the night in Whistler village & it was great fun. The Irish Bar - Dubh Linn Gate - was a good giggle, had live music & authentic 'Irish' men.

We were also persuaded to try 'Mojos' - a dodgy nightclub which resembled 'The Pig', a dodgy Austrian pub we frequented on a previous ski trip at school. The oldest person, other than us, can only have been 19 years old at the most. Yes - we felt like we were in an episode of 'Cougar Town' and didn't stay too long.

All in all it was an excellent weekend. Looking forward to the rest of the week.

CS

Got my dance shoes on...

I thought it was about time I got back into dancing. I bravely put on my gear & headed to Harbour Dance for a hip hop class:

Ignoring the fact I hadn't danced in four years, I thought I'd easily get back into the swing of things.

I walked into class & it was like a scene from 'Step Up to the Streets'. I used to go to Pineapple regularly and I never saw anything like it. People had their groove on before the class had even started & were performing for others.

Needless to say, I struggled to keep up with the choreography - and experienced my first bout of back pain afterwards.

Vicky Hatcher - if you are reading this - I may need some more dance lessons from you!

I'll definitely give it another go, however next time I'll be in the beginners class where I belong...

CS