Summer Photos!

I haven't posted a photo post in awhile, so here's a few of my favorites from the summer which I haven't shared yet.

Granville Street.

Stanley Park

Crossing Granville Bridge

Olympic Mural

Ian;s Birthday Cruise - up the Indian Arm!

Silver Falls

View of Downtown, from the boat.

Enjoying coffee and cream at The Templeton :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sculpture outside the Science Museum

Mt. Pleasant

False Creek, September 2013.

Pokemon World Championships

The weekend after I started work, I found out the Pokemon World Championship event was being held in Vancouver. I'd actually known about it before we'd even left England and excitedly saved the website page for the event and made a mental note to visit. I'd forgotten all about it and suddenly realised on the preceding Thursday that the 3 day weekend event was starting the very next day, so we made plans!

Friday was mostly a day for competitors day to sign in and some qualifying rounds where being played, so we headed down for a quick look before work. It took us a little while to realise we were in the wrong building of the convention centre (we followed the crowd and ended up with a bunch of people signing up to do a half marathon, eurgh, not a Pokemon in sight.) Eventually we made it to the right building, and was greeted by this...

Awesome right?

Unfortunately the shop was only open to competitors that day, so we didnt get to look around, but we decided to head back the next day and have a look, I was very tempted to buy a t-shirt and geek up.

Then we headed into the main hall where the competitors where preparing to battle! We walked through the doors and wereastounded at how huge the event was! We really didnt expect it to be so huge and to have so many participants, and from so many countries. People came from all over the world. The Tournament was for both the Trading Card Game and the Nintendo DS version, so their where seperate areas for the two types of gaming, and they were split up into age groups, and paired off on schedules dotted around the venue.

There was so much to see, blow up characters, people dressed as Pokemon, a cinema section which showed episodes of the anime series, and even the trophies were displayed in a show case. We spent quite some time wandering around and taking in the atmosphere, reliving our childhoods and getting very nostalgic. (We later looked into getting Game Boys and some older generation versions of the game but my God, they cost a bomb out here! When we head back to England I'm definitely going to play my original Pokemon Blue, circa 1999!)

The Venue

The tournament trophies!

Sadly we had to leave before the real playing got under way as we both had work, but we vowed to return the next day to make the most of it, and I wanted my merchandise!

The next day the event was a lot bigger as it was more open to the public, and more competitive as quilifying was over and players were being eliminated. There were even some camera crews filming certain games and performing interviews, we spent awhile wandering again and taking in the atmosphere.

Then we queued for the shop, which took about half an hour, and I got more and more worried as we got closer to the front, as they appeared to be running out of stock already! They had a list of products which were only available at that one event and which were limited, and the longer we waited the more things were struck from the list. Happily I got to the front, and managed to get myself  my t-shirt, though they ran out of the size I asked for, so I bought a size smaller instead and it fits like a glove anyway, happy days! Ian then surprised me by getting me a lifesize Pikachu plush as well (soppy and lovable git that he is) which I adore. We have come to the conclusion that when we return to England, we will now require an extra suitcase to get him home.

When life goes nuts!

So I've been absent from my blog for a little while (almost a month!!) And a fair bit has happened in the last few weeks. (Imminent posts on a few bits and pieces we've been up to, but for now I'm going to write about why I've been so quiet!)

At the beginning of August I started my job at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Robson Street, and I got stuck in straight away. I very, very much enjoy my job, I found the first few days to be a little overwhelming (I've not worked in this environment before, and was mildly thrown in at the deep end, as I started during the busy summer tourist season) but I've settled in well, get on with everyone and now thoroughly enjoy it. My job entails selling chocolate, fudge, caramel apples and ice cream, being nice and friendly, and answering the same questions every day. 'How do you girls stay so thin?' 'Are you from Australia?' and 'Do you ever get used to the smell?' being the most frequent.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shop! Yaaaaay!

And then...

Around 3 weeks ago I ate a piece of our Rocky Pop popcorn, and felt rough as hell afterwards. I didn't think much of it at first, then a few days later Ian was eating walnuts, and within minutes of him opening the bag I felt rough again. And then later, I ate something with a Pecan it and boom, my throat swelled up and I had to go and sit down and I became quite wheezy for awhile. Turns out I have tree nut allergies.

I'm not entirely sure which tree nuts, it may be a few or all of them, but so far I've reacted to walnuts and pecans. Drowsy allergy medication is amazing by the way, on one occasion I took some and felt amazingly spaced out and giggly for an hour, and then spectacularly crashed and slept for 4 hours in the middle of the day. They really knock you out!

So for a good 10 days I felt really bad, and it seemed to worsen when I was at work. I had taken to doping myself up on non-drowsy antihistamines before my shifts. But for 2 weeks I felt awful and I was convinced being at work and breathing in the nut dust (our place is pretty nut orientated) was making me ill. So I handed my notice in.

Around 4 days before I was due to finish at work I realised that actually something was not quite right. I felt bad, but not allergy bad, more just throaty bad. It turns out I had/still slightly have but am fighting off, a post nasal drip (not very pleasant so I won't go into details - but if you're interested - it's this!) And it turns out some forms of antihistamine can make it worse, so I immediately stopped taking mine. 2 days later I felt blooming wonderful. I skipped into work and asked if actually please could I keep my job after all, and they told me yes absolutely. So now I am alive and well and keeping my lovely, awesome, wonderful job. I'm just not eating nuts.

On Wednesday we got our seasonal Halloween and Thanksgiving products. (Canadian Thanksgiving is on October 16th, so not long!) We have chocolate skulls, ghosts, mummy lollies, caramel apples shaped like pumpkins and turkeys and woooooooooo, I'm so happy and excited I get to stay.

I've been asked if I'm happy to be trained in closing the shop, so I will have to learn to balance the tills and take on a bit more responsibility, which I think is a great sign. I'm really, really happy (as you may have guessed!) and feel lucky to have a job I love! So now I'm throwing myself into working hard and also persevering in updating this 'ere blog! New posts in the line include writing about our visit to the Pokemon World Tournament and our recent trip into Mt Pleasant where we checked out a vegetarian restaurant!

Coffee Shops of Vancouver

So I've already written about Blenz in my Food (and Drink) for Thought, and recently covered Beaucoup Bakery in the Review: Beacoup Bakery and Cafe post but since we've been here we have covered a lot of coffee shops. We simply love coffee. We're a coffee kind of couple.

So here's my take on a few of the places we've visited recently and why you should or shouldn't visit.

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Trees Organic Coffee 

Trees Organic Coffee was an early discovery. We stumbled upon the branch on Granville Street and decided we had to give the place which lays claim to the 'Best Cheesecake in Vancouver' a go. Between us we shared a piece of chocolate cheesecake and it was simply delicious, at the time we thought it was a tad pricey hence why we only got one slice, but the serving was large even for the 2 of us, and came on a neatly presented plate with cream and 2 forks, so in the end I think it was pretty reasonable for what we got. In the first few crazy days of being in Vancouver I don't think I really took in how good this place was and it's taken us this long to realise we actually love it.

We recently went again, this time to the one on Richards and I tried the mocha, which was lovely, though I would say very sweet and chocolatey and not particularly coffeeish, it was more hot chocolate than a mocha. (Not necessarily a complaint if like me, you love chocolate!)

Then this morning we returned for another coffee hit. Ian got an espresso, which he says is probably the best he's had in Vancouver. I myself sampled the espresso machiatto, which was perfect, hitting that perfect balance between the intenseness of coffee with the milder, calming milk. I also attempted (Ian talked me into it I swear) a slice of cheesecake, and I somehow managed to eat the whole damn thing. Seriously check these guys out, we haven't had one thing we disliked and we'll be making it a  regular haunt.

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Revolver

After some considerable research we decided to visit Revolver as it is supposedly one of the best in Vancouver. We heard it had a yuppie sort of hippster vibe which some didn't like, but due to the incredible reviews on the actual coffee we were eager to try it out. On entering you're met with quite a stylized interior, with warm woods and contrasting cold metallic decor such as nails in the wall which are shaped like the continents of the world. On the shelves they sell coffee beans, and various coffee utensils for brewing at home, which are a tad pricey but pretty to look at. It feels a lot less stuck up than I'd anticipated and I was quite comfortable in my jeans and t-shirt.

Revolver has a limited menu with just a few basic coffees (see above!), along with taster flights and a few snacky type foods available. I wonder if having such a small menu means that they are able to perfect each one because I can honestly say their's is the best latte I have ever had. And I've been back 3 times to make sure. It's so drinkable I could drink about 5 in one sitting. One criticism some have mentioned is that drinks are served in glasses. I actually like this touch, it feels different and quirky, and I didn't find the heat of the drink affected my ability to hold the glass, as some people claim.

Ian's drink of choice here has been the macciato, and he say's Revolver's is really, really good. Not the best he's had but high up there. He also says the espresso's are great, and that if you were an espresso fan they'd be your idea of heaven.

Amongst the food we tried, the chocolate cake is delicious, its sweet, sweet, sweet and the most delightful consistency, quite thick but not too stodgy. Ian has tried one of their power cookies, which he enjoyed immensely, and we've also sampled the pecan pies slices, which are very tasty but a little on the small side in my opinion.

All round a great place to hang out, the staff really know their stuff and the latte's are INCREDIBLE.

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AGRO Cafe, Yaletown

So we tried out AGRO as it's flagship shop is pretty close to our apartment and it was well reviewed, but honestly this has probably been my least favourite so far. The coffee was nice, but it was just that nice. It wasn't horrible but also not much to write home about. The shop was pretty quiet, with just us and one other patron there, and the setting/decor lets it down. While the coffee is nice, and it's situated in the hip Yaletown area, the shop itself is just a bit...blah. It's kind of dull looking, compared to the others which have so much personality and life! In other coffee shops you can tell they have put effort and serious thought to how they want to be presented, this place seems pretty lacklustre. That being said the lady that served us was lovely and chatty, and we had nice art on our drinks, but really you can get a much better experience elsewhere.

 

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The Buzz Cafe

The Buzz Cafe is one of my favourite places. On our first visit I went for a Hedgehog Mocha (which I believed involves chocolate and hazelnut) and was delighted to be met with these beauties (see right!), before I promptly dived into mocha heaven. It was creamy, chocolatey and sweet and just yum.

I love this place for so many reasons, the staff are chatty and informative, the menu is extensive and caters to pretty much anybody, all the products we've tried have gone down a storm, and the places location and feel is amazing. I just love it. The place is situtated within an art gallery so not only do you get great coffee you get to look at beautiful art while you drink. The art makes for great conversation, and makes the place feel very relaxed, open and chilled out. It's easy to spend lots of time here.

On a hot day we popped in for cold drinks, and I tried a fruity shake named something along the lines of a Pamela Ander'Sun' which involved peaches, ice and I can't remember what else. But it was refreshing, cooling and ticked every box for what I wanted. On the same occasion Ian had the David 'Hazel'hoff, which I think was a hazel/coffee shake and which he immensily enjoyed too. We've also checked out the macciato's (yes, amazing!) and I've had the Rolo Mocha (nice, very sweet, but I didn't really get Rolo coming through as a flavour.) This place just keeps on giving, there are so many things to try, so much variety and is such a great place to just sit and chill out, we can and have whiled away many an hour here. Love it.

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So that's a wrap for now, though I'm sure we'll try new places soon! If anyone can recommend any new places they think we should try out, drop me a line!

Review: Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe, Vancouver, BC

Today is BC day, a public holiday that means most Vancouverites get a three day weekend.

But not for me!

I started my work on Friday and worked all weekend, with today being my first day off, and it felt like a well earned one I must say. This mornings lie in was heavenly! And then for breakfast Ian organised a trip out, as he'd heard great things about a bakery just south of Downtown, so we made it a thing for us to do.

We decided to walk as Google maps told us it would only take 30 minutes, and so far we haven't attempted walking across Granville bridge, due to my slight reservations about it. It's an intimidating looking bridge! But when you actually get on it, it feels really safe, and the distance is really reasonable, it turned out to be a short walk to the other side and the views of Granville Island and the harbour are beautiful.

We found our way to the bakery pretty easily, its nestled on Fir Street, about a 2 minute walk away from Granville, so really easy and a very doable distance for us from home. We wandered up to the cafe to find all the tables outside where filled, and once through the door we found the place was packed! It's a reasonable size shop, however the queue at the counter was impressive. We'd read that it gets busy, the place is so popular they regular run out of stock early in the day, so if you decide to check it out I'd suggest going in the morning. The business is young at only 8 months old, but apparently they are doing really well and continually growing and gaining customers, and I can see why. I did manage to grab a seat while Ian ordered and paid.

This is what we choose:

On the left, my plate with a Salted Caramel Eclair and a Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie, and Ian's on the right, with 2 Cheese Scones.

First of all the Cheese Scones. These were incredible, and an item that was suggested as a must have! We got 2, as they were the last 2 in the basket and wanted to snap them up before anyone else did! They were delicious, with just the right amount of cheesey flavour, and a light texture which avoided the stodginess you sometimes get with scones. Simply divine! I had a taste but left the majority to Ian. Him being more of a savoury man means I got the sweets instead :D

The first item I tasted was the Salted Caramel Eclair. I don't even know where to begin with this. The pastry was light and crisp, and the Eclair was filled with cream and the caramel topping was crunchy, giving it a varied texture. The cream and topping hit my sweet tooth to the max, and the caramel flavour was exquisite. The salt on the top rounded the flavours off beautifully, I could have wolfed down another one immediately!

Secondly the Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie, which was again, amazing. The cookie components where so beautifully soft, that when you bit into it, it almost melted in your mouth, while the rest of cookie still held together in your hand (just!). The crumbles of peanut butter and sugar granules added variety, the filling was smooth and sweet, and just the right amount to moisten up the cookie but not overpower it. The peanut butter flavour that came through was extraordinary, but without the sticking in your mouth sensation you can sometimes get with peanut butter, and it also provided a slightly salty taste to compensate for the sweetness. Such a lovely combination, I wish I could have eaten all of it! But alas, both the eclair and cookie together where quite filling, even for me, so I had to share, though I'm pretty sure I could have polished one of these off if I'd only had one item.



To end, we wrapped up our visit with an espresso for Ian and a cappuccino for myself. Both delicious and very well made (also quite speedily!) We would buy again.

Having read reviews and recommendations for this place, it really didn't disappoint, and we left with massive grins on our faces and a croissant to take home for later! (Which we later sampled and Ian said, and I quote 'Was the best croissant he'd ever had.')

All round, an amazing bakery, and we will definitely be returning to try other goodies out soon. I'm already eying up the menu!

Ian's Birthday Cruise

Last Tuesday was my lovely other halves 24th birthday and as a surprise I'd organized a lunch cruise up the Indian Arm, a coastal mountain fjord, courtesy of Harbour Cruises down on Denman Street. The way I figure it, the best gift I can give right now is a piece of Canada and a great day out rather than something physical that takes up loads of space that we don't have and baggage space when we eventually go home! (I did also get him a mug (romantic eh?) with a Canadian maple leaf on it, so he had something to unwrap!)

So Tuesday morning rolled around and at 9:45 we shot out of our apartment and powerwalked down Howe and Georgia till we hit the harbour. Boarding was at 10:30am sharp, so we waited around for awhile, taking in the harbour views and people watched. As we sat there it dawned on us we were among the youngest visitors waiting to board, and were slightly apprehensive it would make for a slightly awkward trip. But upon boarding our fears were allayed! We were ushered on board, and our tickets indicated we were on the upper deck, where we discovered they had divided up the group with the younger ones on the upper deck and some of the older visitors below. We felt this was very well done and showed great consideration for all parties. We were shown to a table, which had a name card for the booking and very thoughtfully, a birthday card for Ian. (When I went to pick up the tickets earlier in the week they asked if it was for a special occasion, I should have twigged!) We did wonder if they'd do something further like announce it on the loudspeaker as there was a gentleman doing some chatter as we left the harbour, but thank goodness we weren't picked on!

Then we were off! The boat started moving, and we left the harbour and followed the Inlet east. After we's started moving we were allowed to move around the vessel, so after a quick cup of coffee Ian and I darted up to the next deck which was outdside so we could take in all the views in the fresh air. I swear I saw some jellyfish in the water too! The picture right features the Trans Canada Highway on one side and the railway line on the other. (On our return journey a monstrously huge train passed over us just as we went under it, pretty cool to see!) As we traveled we were provided with information about the sights we passed, such as parks, the McBarge (yes someone unfathomably built an McDonald's on a barge) and an oil station and I took a million photos. About an hour into the cruise and we turned left into the Indian Arm, a glacial fjord which basically consists of stunning cliffs covered in trees and scattered with waterfalls.

At this point we were asked to take our seats for lunch so we had to go below deck again. The food on offer was delicious. The buffet style of serving meant that you could have as much or as little as you liked and go back for seconds, and things on offer included a garden salad, a Greek style salad, BC salmon filets, roast chicken with garlic, and a lovely pilaf. It was all very fresh, tasty and pretty healthy. I must say I was so eager to get stuck in I forgot to take pictures, but imagine a plate piled as high as humanely possible and you get the gist of how good it was. For desert there was some sort of fruit tart thing, but honestly my concentration zoomed in on a piece of chocolate cake and I was done for. Following a very fulfilling meal, Ian and I dashed back outside to take in the gorgeous views. Below are two of my favourite shots from that day, it was so photogenic I couldn't stop snapping.

From there we followed the Indian Arm further north, and we stayed outside for the duration, enjoying the sunshine, the breeze and the views. Eventually we reached the northernmost point of our journey, Silver Falls. Here the captain produced a very impressive maneuver where he sailed the vessel very close to the falls for photographs. Mine didn't come out fantastically as we stood on the highest point of the boat and were looking down at the falls and the prow of the boat which reflected the sunlight and made an awkward white glare, so I had to dash to the front of the boat for a better view, this was the best I could do, as at the time we were reversing back out of the gap in the rock where the waterfall resides.

From that point onwards we were on the return journey, taking a similar route but following the opposite shore so we did get new views. We passed close to Deep Cove, a lovely area we had recently visited with friends, and we spotted lots of kayakers and rowers. Then it was back into Burrard Inlet and towards the harbour again. This last leg was very informative with lots of commentary, it started to get quite windy but we persevered and stayed outside to listen. We passed an array of vessels as we headed along North Vancouver, including a Russian millionaire's yacht worth $30 million, barges carrying cargo and 2 which were partially submerged after an accident. We passed massive cargo ships and tug boats waiting to be loaded, some with grain, others with products such as sulphur. We even passed a group of seals basking in the warm afternoon sunshine. and then alas it was back into the harbour and time to disembark.

Considering the journey was 4 hours long (almost to the minute), Ian and I agreed it went by so quickly, we didn't want it to end! We both loved the trip (at least I think he did!) and would absolutely do it again. Overall it was a great experience, a very relaxing and chilled out day that made you feel very taken care of throughout. The staff are very friendly and attentive, the food great, the coffee and tea free-flowing, the commentary is entertaining and informative but not too overbearing, and the natural beauty of the places you get to see and truly breathtaking.

Stockholm - There's SO much to see!

This time last year we were in Stockholm, Sweden. Quite why it's taken me so long to write about it I don't know, as it's among my favourite trips which we've taken to date.

The Vasa

We were there for 10 days and we crammed in a lot during that time. Flicking through the photos I'm actually pretty astounded how much we managed to do in such a short time, so I'll just cover the highlights!

As far as the tourist trail goes we did pretty well. First off we did the Vasa museum, a place which houses a 17th century warship, the Vasa, which sunk in 1628 but has gone on the become the most intact 17th century ship in existence today. It's simply beautiful, and took up a whole morning in itself wandering around the boat and museum (you can't go on it but you can go around it.) Rather than waiting for a tour we did it at our own pace, and waited for the English language showing of the video they show about the ship. It's actually pretty fascinating, the Vasa sunk on her maiden voyage, less than a nautical mile into her journey, and laid on the bottom of Stockholm's harbour until it was rediscovered in the late 1950's and salvaged in 1961. It's thought she sank because of the organisation of the ballast and weight of the guns in the hold, which made her more unstable, and also that she was sailed with the the gun ports open, which meant when the gun ports dipped below the waterline they further increased the weight and she capsized entirely.

Getting progressively more drunk and cold.

Next on our list of things to do was the Ice Bar! While they now have locations in London and Oslo, the Stockholm location was actually the original, and I've always been keen on trying this out. It's not cheap to get in, and then you have to pay for drinks on top, and boy do they hit you for the drinks, but I treated it as a once in a lifetime type of thing...and of course got promptly smashed. Once you get your ticket to go in they deck you out in a not very flattering blue poncho and mittens, you do feel a bit of a tit to start with but once your inside the ice you thank the heavens for them. You step in and are immediately blasted with cold air, and head over to the bar! The cocktail choice is actually quite varied and between the 2 of us I think we rattled through the majority of the menu, finding ones we each liked. You're given a glass made of ice to drink from, which I loved, and I suppose quite handy for them in that they dont need to wash anything, just chuck them out!

You're given 45 minutes in the Ice bar, which we thought was pretty meager for the ticket price, however there is a reason for it. I think we got mixed up with a second group of people who entered after us, and we actually got an extra 15 minutes, and after an hour in there I was beginning to get pain in my fingers and toes. Time to leave! By which point I for one was pissed as hell, we ended the night with a burger and tottered home.

Gamla Stan

Another day was spent wandering Gamla Stan, the Old Town area of Stockholm, the very centre of the city and I believe the area where today's Stockholm originated. It houses the Swedish palace, the Stockholm cathedral, the Nobel museum (I wish we'd visited this, I'll have to go back!) the Stortoget square, and it's beautiful cobbled alleys have seen much history. We spent the morning wandering here and were lucky to get there just as the palace changed their guard, so we hung around awhile and took in all the ceremonial pomp, as a marching band paraded through and played awhile, followed by some pretty intimidating guards.

Changing the guard.

We were in Sweden for Ian's birthday so we spent his day wandering the city, as just walking and exploring is by far our favourite way to get to know a city. We discovered the island of Skeppsholmen, where we also came across a hostel/boat which is permanently moored on the island and has a bar! Much fun was had just chilling here! (See right for a picture of this beautiful boat!) If your ever staying in Stockholm maybe look this place up, I haven't looked at reviews but it seems to me an awesome place to stay. We also discovered the neighbouring island Kastellholmen, where we sat and took in the views of the city, and took a look at a small (teeny in fact) castle.

Another day out we spent at Skansen, an open air museum and zoo on the island of Djurgarden. Skansen includes many buildings which have been bought and moved to the Skansen location piece by piece, in an effort to protect the rural way of life and tradition customs, and range from the 18th to the 20th century. They also include replica exhibits, where tradesmen which include tanners, bakers, engravers and shoemakers demonstrate their respective skills. Skansen also includes an animal section where we saw brown bears, wolves, foxes, elks, owls, seals and Scandinavian breeds of pigs, cows, goats and sheep. We even saw a bright red squirrel running around. All round a great excursion that took up much of the day, and was very informative about the Scandanavian culture and history, and is also surrounded by some of the prettiest gardens I have ever seen!

Outside 'Lisbeth's' apartment - Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tour.

Next we made sure we booked ourselves up to do The Millennium Tour. (That's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo tour to those less book orientated.) We had both read and enjoyed the Millennium trilogy, and seen the Hollywood version of the first book (the one with Daniel Craig in, not the ones in Swedish, but we've since watched those too!) so we were keen to see some of the sights mentioned and which acted as inspiration for the story. With the city of Stockhom being so deepseated in the book, it was amazing to see the areas in real life, such as the particular buildings where the main characters Blomqvist and Salander were supposed to live, a cafe they regularly drank in and one where Larsson apparently wrote portions of the book, (incidentally we later went back to both for coffee) a restaurant they eat at, the office Blomqvist works at, and various other locations. The tour was great, it lasted a few hours but zipped by really quickly, I loved our tour guide Mia who was very enthusiastic about the books and stories, and had lots of little inside bits of information on the films, and she seemed to relish people asking her questions, she certainly knew her stuff.

Last but not least was the food. We ate out a lot in Stockholm, as it was a holiday we wanted to make sure we tried as much as possible. One place did amazing plank steaks with sauce and the most humungous burger I've ever seen (the place was recommended to us before we went, and we loved it so much we went three times!) another stand out dish was meat balls with lingon berries. Another day I tried veal... it was pleasant but all things considered I'm not sure I'll eat it again. Alcohol is very expensive in Sweden, so barring the Ice bar we only went out for drinks on one other evening, and though it had a cool relaxed atmosphere we didn't stay till very late.

But the stand out meal for me was eating out at Eriks Gondolen restaurant close to the Slussen T-Bana station (that's Stockholm's metro system.) To get to Gondolen you take a lift up the building, the restaurant is high up and has fantastic views of the city. I can't actually remember what we ordered but I do remember being very impressed, and then following our meal walking out onto their balcony and taking in the beauty of the city as the sun went down.

My favourite shot of the trip.

Stockholm is beautiful, fun and an exciting city. The people are kind and friendly, it's easy to navigate and unintimidating. There is so so so much to do, I could go back for another 10 days quite easily and not get bored, there are still so many things we didn't do. Stockholm is most definitely on the list of places I need to revisit, as well as checking out other areas of Sweden.

Adventures and Interviews!

Siwash Rock!

Recently we've quietened down on the whole tourist thing and gone low scale, choosing to do cheap and cheerful activities, and things which are a little more off the beaten track.

Last Tuesday we took another opportunity to tackle Stanley Park. The first time we went a month or so ago we walked a portion of the sea wall and then cut through the middle, and with me in my crappy cheap trainers which I brought back in the UK, was a sorry mess by the end of it. Good shoes are a must, and quite frankly I was in agony by the end of that day. This time I was more prepared. I have purchased some ridiculously comfortable shoes (thank you Payless Shoesource!) and armed with those and a crap load of water we were off. This time we walked down Davie street, past English Bay and went clockwise around Stanley Park. Along the way we came across Siwash Rock, a beautiful rock formation which we had to clamber across a rocky beach to get to and sat on for a considerable amount of time, taking in the gorgeous views and watching the boats drift by. A very memorable and beautiful experience.

View of the sea wall - taken while sitting on Siwash Rock!

I'm in the Hollow Tree!

We continued further along the wall, going under the Lion Gate Bridge and then cut into the Park to take in some of the stunning trails available. After a considerable amount of walking (and for a portion of it going round and round in circles as I'd forgotten my map) we eventually stumbled across the Hollow Tree, a huge Western Red Cedar stump, estimated to be about 700-800 years old. The stump was almost removed in 2006 after it was damaged in a storm, but locals formed a society to save the tree, and thus it still stands.

All in all, we had a great day, and were both knackered and fulfilled by the end of it. Stanley Park is such a beautiful location and one that just keeps on giving. There's so much of it to see.

This weekend we dived back into Chinatown again, I think it's fast becoming one of our favourite areas. With the Chinese Market taking place every weekend, I can't get enough of the place, and this was my third visit (so far!) We were there for Chinatown's second Outdoor Film event for this year, where we watched Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. Again we came prepared with pillows and snacks, but we couldn't help feasting on Chinese food from the vendors. I snacked on my favourite - sweet and sour pork and then some delicious stir fried rice rolls from the Dim Sum Express stall, which where incredibly filling and I would highly recommend. The film experience itself was brilliant (if a little dark to begin with, but they fixed the contrast eventually!) and if they had more films planned, I would definitely go. Next up for Outdoor films is Raiders of the Lost Ark, however this one takes place at Second Beach, so I realise it's going to be very busy and a different experience entirely.

For some reason it makes me look rather small!

On Sunday evening we had a lovely meal out with another couple - our first 'double date' in 3 years, which was great fun, we had a meal at The Templeton (yes again, we really love that place) and then one evening this week Ian and I hit up our local pub again. It was the day before I had a big session of job interviews, to help steady the nerves of course!

The last few days have been a blur of job interviews for me, things have finally started to come to fruition so I have high hopes something will appear very soon. I've had a real mix of opportunities crop up suddenly, including one for a bakery, one for a hostel and one for a contact lens company. Once I nab that elusive job I'll make sure to post about my job hunting experience.

This afternoon I had another job interview, one I'm rather excited about getting as it's in a pretty cool location, and I'm very enthusiastic about. Fingers crossed I get a call back from them for a second interview!

I've also been rather busy with Birthday plans, as it's my better halves birthday this coming Tuesday. I have a surprise lined up for him which I'm really looking forward to, I think it's pretty awesome and I can't wait for him to find out what it is! I hope he likes it! More on that later!

Vancouver - On a budget!

So moving to Vancouver can be pricey. We heard it before we arrived, we heard it when we got here, and we still hear it now. And I'm not going to lie, a lot of things you pick up, take one look at the price tag and put it straight back down again. Sometimes I get the urge to bellow 'Ian! Ian! Come and look at this!' across the shop because I can't quite believe my eyes.

So things that are expensive:

• Food - Certain foods, such as chicken, sandwiches, (really, don't bother with them) most kinds of processed food, even some veggies are more expensive than at home. I got taken for a ride at a salad bar recently. I won't be doing that again.
• Toiletries. Bring your own, as much as you can possibly pack. Its ridiculous.
• Banking - Here it is normal to pay for your bank account, and the basic ones seem kind of reasonable but some of the crazy ones with all the bells and whistles are extortionate. Free banking is definitely something we take for granted at home.
• Events and attractions - Lord some of these are really expensive, do your research before you turn up or you could end up forking out quite a lot to get in!
• Transport - I have heard getting a car out here is ridiculous, and buying single tickets or dailies can soon push costs up if you're traveling regularly, which we were.
• Tax - Its easy to forget that they add tax onto EVERYTHING. (OK not literally but onto a lot.) You pick something up and smugly have all the correct change clutched in your sweaty paws, and then realise when you get to the till that you forgot tax again and that's another 12% please.

Since we've been here we have devised quite a few little ways to save money, and it does soon all add up. We are in saving mode to be honest, so I thought I'd share a few little nifty ways we've devised/found to save ourselves some dosh!


To begin with I'll address the list above and how we have chosen to deal with them.

• Food - So certain foods are expensive, but if you are careful with what you buy in supermarkets it can make a difference, bulk buy products when you see good deals (things like loo roll and meats tend to do this) and generally shop smart, you can really bring your total down. Helpfully a lot of places give prices per 100g/1kg so you can compare brands and get the cheapest. We shop at Safeway and they have a Club card, certain items throughout the store have special club prices for those with the card, which honestly can knock off quite a bit of money. When deals are on for non-perishable stuff grab it and store it somewhere.
• Toiletries - Buying from supermarkets or cosmetics places seems nuts, get shampoo and soap from cheap shops like Dollorama or the Army and Navy shop, it's all the same stuff just with a smaller price tag.
• Banking - If you're coming over a newcomer to Canada, I would recommend Scotiabank. They don't actually advertise it much but they offer a program called StartRight which is designed specifically for newcomers to the country. You get unlimited transactions and they wipe all account fees for the first year. So far they've been pretty good to us, they did accidentally charge us for the first month, but we got in contact and they quickly reversed the charge. We also get cheaper films as they have a deal with Scotia Theatre, where you earn points and then get free cinema tickets!

  

  Make Music Vancouver - One of many free events!

• Events - Now this ones a favourite of mine. Vancouver so far has been awash with cheap/free events so far, we have managed to spend very little on days out and such. Keep an eye on events online and in local papers and advertising, there is so much free/cheap stuff to do! So far free events or attractions I've rocked up to include: Make Music Vancouver, the Chinese Night Market, the Dragon Boat Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, outdoor films, the Canada Day celebrations and Lynn Canyon. The Chinese Gardens are free for the last half an hour of the day, the Vancouver Art Gallery is entry by donation on Tuesdays, and things like Granville Island brewery tours offer 2 for 1 if you join their mailing list online. There are massive areas like Gastown, Yaletown, Coal Harbour and Stanley Park which are just gorgeous to walk around. Seriously, just go for a walk.
• Transport - Living in Shaugnessy in May we soon wracked up quite a bill when it came to transport. We discovered you can get a monthly ticket for $90, on which you get unlimited travel within a zone of your choice. Fortunately for us we found our apartment in Downtown Vancouver shortly afterwards so our need for such a ticket disappeared as now we seem to just walk everywhere. But if you're living outside of Downtown or are going to be using public transport fairly regularly, it's worth looking into. (Note: They can be bought from around the 20th of the previous month and they do run out, so you have to be quick.)
• Tax - Well, this one you can't really dodge, but do be mindful when you are buying things that just adding up the face value of what you're buying might not give you your total. They do add tax to a lot. Take note!