Danielle is Here!!!!

No sooner had Matt left us, then our next visitor arrived!!! Danielle! Hence such a hectic last few weeks! Awesome though!!!! She flew in on friday, and we whisked her off to a BBQ at Kate's....taking advantage of the hot weather! This was perhaps a little ambitious, and poor Danielle did her best.....but conversing when you have jetlag and have been up for over 24 hours is not the best, so we soon headed home and got her to bed! For most of her time here Danielle amused herself, walking miles to see all the sites of the city and enjoying the amazing summer weather! I was at work most days, so we met every evening for meals in a variety of restaurants, and walks along the shore to see the sunset! Mark proved a great tour guide too and took her site seeing on the weekend! (including for the typically Canadian pancake breakfast!!!) Tuesday brought my days off, so we excitedly decided to hit the shops girlie style! We didn't quite make it though....we ate far toooo much for breakfast, and it was too hot!!!!! we ended up meeting Darth Vader, and drinking cocktails in Moxies before heading home!!! Wednesday was much more lively! We were up very early as we had a whole day's site seeing to achieve! From start to finish it was excellent! We popped into a local shop for flipflops....as you do....and ended up spending hours in there, trying on almost everything and feeling like princesses....it was very pretty womenesque!!! The assistant was lovely! We returned home to change and deposit our purchases then headed out a little later than planned to start our site seeing!!! We went to Lighthouse Park, and wandered through the forest and down to the rocky shore for our 3pm lunch! Lovely! Then it was back on the bus and over to Capilano Suspension Bridge....this took us over an hour, and we had to change buses 3 times....but the drivers were very friendly and helpful and we made it in the end!!!! We had such fun at the bridge, filling in our passports to show where we had been, doing the treetop walk, and listening to a chinese woman that started singing....amazing! We purchased some fudge and returned to the bus stop to head up Grouse Mountain....by now the time being around 8pm! We waited 45 minutes for our bus, and amused ourselves eating our fudge!!! It was a glorious sunset and a gorgeous evening.....and the view of the city was breath-taking! Grouse Mountain was also very interesting...the snow now starting to melt, and where i had skied only a month before, was gravel and grass! Some snow remained though, and after falling in with my flipflops we put on our trainers!!!! The bears were out of hibernation, and we saw one which looked like it really had just woken up....it was amazing! We then headed inside for tea...determined to eat, even though we had filled up on fudge!!!! We got the last gondola down, and ended up sharing a taxi to the seabus terminal with a french man (as the busses had stopped!!!!). Then seabus home! We were absolutely shattered, but what an excellent day!!!! Danielle then headed off to Victoria for a few days, returning friday for a last look at Vancouver! Sunday we were up very early to get her to the Rocky Mountaineer station for her trainride to Banff - 5:30am!!!!! We had a great time though, waiting for the train, taking pictures and generally laughing!!!! I think Danielle lowered the average age on the train by a few decades, but she would be looked after for sure! I was standing outside the train to wave her off and managed to get noticed by quite a few train guards......i think that is the way to do it girls!!! When the train left i ran alongside waving, much to everyone's amusement...until i reached all the staff on the platform waving flags as the train passed.....i stopped there and joined them! I think i will be in many people's holiday albums as everyone on the train was taking pictures of us!!!! hehehehehehe It was lovely having Danielle here, we had a really nice time, she did loads and we had some lovely girlie chats! We also made lots of plans for when I get home!!!! She is now in the Rocky Mountains, and i hope having just as much fun!!!! FOR SURE!!! - Canadian phrase!) Oh, and i learnt how to take black and white pictures on my camera, Danielle fell in love with margaritas, and we carried paper shopping bags!!! xxxxxx

Whistler!!!!! We made it!!!

We had a little holiday within our holiday with our trip to whistler! It was ace, we took the bus up after I finished work on the saturday, arriving around 10pm, and headed straight down for drinks in the bar! Whistler itself is a very lively place, with lots going on....while being surrounded by awesome scenery!!! It is like a little ski village hidden in the mountains!!! On sunday we awoke to rain, so decided to go for a llllooooonnnngggg breakfast! (Mark also had to buy some pants....as he had forgotten his...much to our amusement!!!!) The sun then started to come out, and we decided to spend the afternoon ziplining! Although known for its snow and winter sports, Whistler is also a fantastic summer sporting area...and we were there at a cross over time...snow still in the mountains, but cleared forest at ground level! As it was still cloudy in the mountains, the forest was a good choice for our afternoon activities!!! I loved the Ziplining, and i think the boys did too.....you are basically harnessed to a line that runs across a huge creak....and then you slide down! It was a great way to experience the forest, learn how it is being managed, and have some fun!!!! (and i got to wear a yellow jacket again!!!) That evening we ended up eating Italian and in the bar listening to some live music!!! The next day was ski / board day, so we were up early! The sun was shining and the mountain looked amazing! We headed to get our gear and meet our instructors....we had booked lessons as it was our first time on these slopes...and all the nursery runs were closed for the season!!!! I ended up having a private lesson as noone else had booked in for skiing lessons, so a bargin!!!! The snow was amazing.....the change as you climbed the mountain in the gondola was awesome....at the top you would never know it was spring down below!!!! I started well, and my instructor was quite pleased.....but then came the comedy! As it was a green run...it was gentle in places and steap in others, and although i was in control on a gentle slope....on the steap it was a different story....i could no longer control myself at all.....imagine the scene...a calm peaceful afternoon, people gently skiing down the slopes, then me, screaming and waving my arms in the air like some crazy woman as i not only went down, but also across the slope!!! As the trees neared i decided i had to fall over.....so down i went, but by this time i had picked up quite a bit of speed.....and i slid...sideways...propelling a lot of snow, and me straight into the first tree! Well, i say into, more like underneath! I ended up completely stuffed under the tree branches (which came to ground level!), my legs were stuck up in the air, with the skis hooked up on various branches, my body was pined to the ground under the branches and my arms were stuck above my head! What a sight!!!!!! ;-) The instructor had to come and take my skis off, literally untangle me and pull me out! All i could do was laugh!!!!! All he said was....."why didn't you fall earlier?!!!!" hehehehhee...luckily only suffered bruises, so i carried on....i think i provided amusement for a few people on the slopes that day!!!! My poor instructor.....at one point when another learner cut me up he had to position himself almost under me so i was on his back and stop us both!!! hehehehhe I was very proud though, the first time down i fell a lot - maybe 10 times, but the second only 3!!! The instructor was impressed too....he said he had enjoyed the lesson - hmmmmm, yes, i'm not surprised!!!!!! Mark and Matt also had a great time, they were boarding - Matt for the first time, so well done him for that! They say the green slopes in whistler are like blue ones anywhere else in the world, so doing a green run on your first time on a board is pretty impressive!!!! That night we were shattered, we could hardly talk, let alone walk!!!! We all suffered bruises and stiffness in strange places.....but it was well worth it!!!! We were only away a few days, but it was amazing, and the landscape absolutely breathtaking! (Oh and Mark and Matt joined the olympic team!!!) It was fab having Matt here, we had an absolutely excellent time! (Dope!!!! - Boarding phrase!) xx

Time flies!

Wow, time is really flying, it has been a while since i wrote anything here and things are building up!!!!! We also now only have 2 weeks left in Vancouver, which in itself is kind of strange and exciting all at once! So, what have we been doing? well.....last i wrote about was Matt Holland's visit, and that continued with style! On the friday he returned from Victoria we headed to a Vancouver Giants Hockey match....and a fab match it was! (The Vancouver Giants by the way were crowned 2006 WHL Champions a few matches after we saw them!!! Now that's Towel Power!!). Alex and Rachel joined us...Alex had worked with Matt at BT, and they have recently emigrated over here! We were soon chatting and enjoying the evening, including finding many crossed paths in our time at BT....including.....my LEXI! I'm not sure how we got on to it, but we were talking about cars and i mentioned good old Lexi, and how i had donated her to the BT Fire Brigade to practice on....Alex kind of started laughing and asked if she was the very same brown austin rover metro that they had squeezed 11 firemen, in full uniform into, and driven around site!!!!! Now Ross McHugh had told me about this incident, but i thought he was exagerating!!!! Obviously not!!! That's my girl!!!! Aparently they checked to see if it was a record, but sadly not, but i'm still proud of her! That was soooooo weird though! On the saturday we headed off to Whistler.....but that is another post!!! Over the last few weeks i have also been out for drinks with Ishbal (Scottish lady from pottery, who's parents-in-law live in southwold!!!!); Cris from work....for a much needed after work debrief! Perkie time lives - but this time it's in the form of nachos!... ..and of course Aaron and Sara...and the drink didn't last long before they had whisked us off for midnight ice cream at Casa de Gelato - a HUGE ice cream parlour just outside downtown where you can choose any, and i mean ANY flavour of ice cream you want, and taste it first!!!! We loved it....i ended up with granny smith apple as it tasted exactly like those pens that smelled of apples, that we had as children!!!! mmmmmmmmmm I think Aaron had a curry flavour.....hmmm, not so nice!!!! Yesterday me and Mark hit the shops of Metrotown.....a HUGE mall in the suburbs of vancouver....we were late getting there, but it is surprising how much you can buy in a short period of time!!!! And work this week brought the strangest sight yet! A couple came in wanting to buy a pushchair for their dogs!!!!! and they weren't joking!!!! Gordana sold our most expensive ($1229.99 = around 600pounds) stroller to a couple for their dogs! Now i have seen it all!!!!!! hehehehe p.s. check out my dream car! A Nissan Figaro! Gorgeous! xx

Matt Holland is here!!!!!

We have another visitor...Matt Holland has come to visit us...and for a holiday i think!!!! Mark and Matt have spent most time together, out to venues to see some music, looking round the city and hiring bikes to cycle around Stanley Park and the sea walls - aparently it was very windy!!!! Sunday night we met for drinks and food at the Backstage Lounge and Bridges Restaurant, and managed to catch some music too! Tuesday i was off work, so we headed over to West Vancouver...this is somewhere we've never been before either! After faffing around for a bit we finally got ourselves sorted and on the bus! We stopped briefly for sandwiches by the sea, then carried on to Horseshoe Bay. Absolutely gorgeous, huge mountains reaching the sea, much like they do in New Zealand! We went for a long walk all the way to Whitecliff Park, which held amazing views...we even climbed a rock out to sea and Mark and Matt saw a wild seal! Then there was just time to revive ourselves with frozen yogurt and ice cream, before heading back on the bus to Lighthouse Park. A gorgeous forest that contains some of the oldest trees in Canada.....some that were hear even before the country was discovered, and stand over 60meters tall. We walked through the forest out to the waters edge, to an amazing view back over the city. It never ceases to amaze me how you only have to travel for a short time out of the city and the landscape around you can completely change....be it mountains or forest or shoreline....i don't think there is anywhere else like it in the world! The view was made even more spectacular by the ever imposing Mount Baker visible behind the city. Mount Baker is actually in Washington State, USA....but on a clear day you can see it easily. What was spectacular on tuesday was its size....Douglas Copeland compares the Volcano of Mount Baker to America itself when it comes to Vancouver and Canada......the city lives constantly on its borders, always threatened by destruction if the mountain ever chose to erupt; just as Canada sits on American borders, always resisting being overwelmed by an American way of life. What we saw could not have made this more real.....the mountain looked bigger than ever...completely dwarfing the whole city skyline, dispite its distance. I hope you can make it out from the picture, (the 5th one down), its peak looks just like a pointy cloud! Lighthouse Park was even more special for me as I finally pieced an old memory together! I have a picture of Rachel and Cesca sitting on a rock, with the forest behind them and looking out to see, and memories of being in the forest from when we were here over 10 years ago visiting Aaron....and i felt that the forest was so familiar it had to be where we were! I was right! It is amazing how good our subconscious memory can be!!!! After looking out over the city for a while, we turned to see a Canadian Goose had appeared behind us.....it was nice, and a bit scary to be sooooo close! By the time we got back on the bus we were shattered! We headed home, freshened up and then settled in for Yopo take out at ours...Matt had to try as we had written about the 'and then' lady on our blog...and so had another friend of his!!!!! Then it was Mylo! An excellent day! Matt is off to Vancouver Island at the moment, but back tomorrow, and then we are all off to Whistler for the weekend - a final attempt at skiing!!!!! It seems so normal having him here!! xxxx

Energy through Chiropractic!

Monday i went to talk, entitled, Energy Through Chiropractic.....i wasn't even sure if the title made sense, but i thought it sounded interesting! Anyway, i ended up volunteering and having the Chiropractor, Eric, work on my shoulders.....and now i am having 3 sessions with him to help my posture! I'm not quite sure how that happened....I think because he said the first one would be free (as i went to the talk!!!!). Mark got a free session too for being my friend! It actually really helps, he has straightened out my energies, and realigned me...aparently i had a twist throughout that was making one leg longer than the other....and i can feel a difference! He also thought that this was why i kept twisting or spraining my right ankle, (which i have repeatedly done over the last few years!) Hopefully no more! He also worked on my wrists.....very tight from using computers! The idea is to release the tensions we hold within our muscles and bones....which could have been there for years! Once the body starts to release them it gets easier and easier! I do feel like i am walking taller, and standing differently.....hopefully i wont get twisted again!!!!! xx

Where did that building go???

They are knocking down the building next door to us to make room for a whole new set of apartments....it has been quite an interesting process, that has lasted at least 3 weeks!!! Here is what we have seen...... (spot the lonely fridge and oven...left behind!, and the workmen taking a tea break!!!)