My first day in Canada was my birthday, so I treated myself to pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. Definitely a habit that I should avoid getting into but very yummy. My friend John, whom I met in Vienna two years ago, took me out to a whole bunch of different pubs – he’s been to Ireland and understands the joys of this habit, unlike most Canadians who I am discovering seem to prefer hanging out in coffee shops rather than pubs! Oh well, I like coffee too!
I hung out in Vancouver for a couple of days with John, he drove me around to see Kitsilano, English Bay, Deep Cove, Lynn Valley and the suspension bridge. On the weekend we drove up the Sea to Sky Highway, one of the most spectacular roads I’ve ever been on – snow capped towering mountains on one side and a sheer drop on the other to an ocean scattered with pine forested islands.
We stopped off for lunch at Taco Bell – my first ever experience with this famous chain restaurant (it was the one that survived the restaurant wars in Demolition Man!). Not too bad a feed actually. The mission of our trip was Breckendale though so we pressed on to this quiet bend in the river which is the winter nesting ground for a couple of hundred bald eagles. We saw a few fishing for salmon in the river and had a couple fly right over our heads into the sunset. Incredibly majestic birds, they are about 1 metre tall with a wing span of about 2m and the most ferocious looking beaks and claws that you hope you never come across.
I then hopped on a Greyhound and headed into the interior, first stop Kelowna. Thought it was going to be a small enough town, but turned out to be 100,000 strong. Took the shuttle up to Big White, a famous ski resort, to discover the secret that everyone had been hiding from wide eyed innocent little me. NO SNOW! Well there was some, but just the same as an average season back in Australia, not even remotely close to the waist deep fluffy power snow that the resort is famed for.
Still, there was enough to have fun on, and the hostel was at the top of the village – could ski in and out, and they had hot tubs out the back, which was a heavenly way to relax after a hard day’s skiing. With a couple of ice cold Kokanee beers in hand one couldn’t ask for more.
Hung out in Kelowna for a bit, went to my first ice hockey match – Kelowna Rockets vs Seattle somebody or others – I went with some locals so I had no option who I was going for. It’s a pretty cool game, fast and vicious. Also indulged in some Tim Hortons donuts (I was under strict instructions by my Canadian friends that this was essential to my Canadian experience). They were good I must say, along with the morning coffee or three.
I had planned to check out Fernie and then head on through to Banff and Lake Louise but, given the less than promising ski reports, I decided that my best bet was to head back to Vancouver and look for some work there. Adventures have henceforth been to a minimum, most of my time being taken up by flat hunting, temp agency interviews and watching TV (cheaper than going to the pub).
Canadian and American TV is crazy. The ads are long and crazy and lots of them, and they censor everything – picture watching the Breakfast Club with every swear word bleeped out! Extra amusement!! The cinema is pretty cheap though and have seen some great movies.
Went to watch the Superbowl at a North Van pub though. Gave it my full attention but I have to confess it’s a boring game. They’re a bunch of wimps. Can’t even run the whole length of the field in one go. Give me soccer any day. Won a Molson t-shirt though.
Vancouver is pretty, and definitely growing on me. Loads of cheap Japanese restaurants and organic food markets mean that it’s not the usual chore to eat yummy health food.
So stay tuned for more adventures next month.
