Becoming Vancouverites
We arrived in Vancouver international with a surreal homecoming feeling. The similarities to Wellington airport followed us from the plane to the door. Water features, Wooden carvings and birds hanging from the ceiling all brought a smile to our faces. We really couldn't believe how much it felt like NZ. We jumped in a taxi and headed in the direction of the Airbnb which was to be home base for the next 6 nights.
On our first full day we met up with Kane a friendly kiwi face id met at uni - a real good bugger. He asked if we were up for a bit of walking we both nodded and so proceeded a private walking tour around the whole of down town. We visited Nelson the Seagull for the best coffee we'd had abroad. We walked along the waterfront, to various beaches and busy spots within the city. The stroll lasted 5 hours (4 hours longer than what we had expected when we first nodded our heads), But it was so cool to get crash course on Vancouver Downtown. Mils and I knew that we were going to get on pretty well with Kane from then onwards. We also knew that we were going to love our time here in this awesome city. Our first few days in Vancouver were dedicated to more of this sort or exploration. We went to a comedy Night with Kane, Chloe (Kanes Partner) and some others that they knew. We laughed at every comedian as our expectations of cringeworthy jokes were far exceeded. It really was hilarious.
Our next adventure was out to Cat Lake north of Vancouver in a town called Squamish. The crew consisted of Millie, Kane, Chloe, Greg (another friend of Kane and chloes) and I. We piled into Gregs primo, brown van and set off. The weather was perfect for some beers, a bbq and a swim and we made sure to tick all the boxes. The next goal was to taste some local beers. So under the excellent leadership of greg, Millie Kane and I followed suit meeting some other cool Canadians along the way. Callister, Lupollo, Strathcona and our favourite Storm brewery provided the goods. Storm had the most interesting vibe like an old run down ware house with kegs everywhere. But the beer made it a feel so right with flavours you would only dream about - Literally. Cucumber and dill, pineapple, apple pie, smoky campfire, and classic IPAs and pilsners were enjoyed by all. You were always intrigued with what delicious beer was being poured into your plastic tasting cup next. It was just a totally awesome place.
Our next mission was to get deep into the apartment hunt. After days of seeing sometimes 3-4 apartments per day we found a one bedroom apartment in Granville (South of downtown) which we both loved. We applied and were accepted. Before we knew it we had an apartment and we had partially filled it with some second hand furniture and a haul from Ikea. This was not before staying several nights in the lounge of Kane and Chloes apartment for which we still owe them dinner at our place (Maybe one day when we get more than three dinner plates haha).
Within a couple of days of settling in our new place Andy Mischefski was arriving in Vancouver via Seattle. So he took up living quarters in our lounge for ten days. Let the exploration continue. First up was Biking Stanley Park which we did on a sunny day and loved every moment. We even took the frisbee along and found a perfect patch of grass to let rip (Much to millies anguish as she quickly lost interest in throwing hahaha). We stopped for a classic hotdog for lunch which went down a treat, before then stopping to purchase a box of Stanley Park Breweries finest mix of craft beers on the way home.
Before we knew it our trip to whistler for three nights had dawned on the three of us. So we jumped aboard the bus heading 2 hours north to the adventure land of Whistler. We stayed at a hostel lodge south of the main village and bused everywhere which turned out great. Especially after our first night of eating and drinking at the GLC and then drinking at a few more fine establishments. Our favourite was definitely the Irish pub - Dubh Lynn Gate which had great live music, a fizzing atmosphere and some good Old Fashioneds. We planned a hike for the next day, and albeit a little dusty, the Chekamus lake was a stunning spot to walk to. We loved it even though we didn't spot any bears along the way. The next day we hired bikes and hit the famous Whistler mountain bike park. We jumped on the lift and started with some simple green(beginner) trails. This was after speaking with a veteran of the slopes at the top to get an idea of where to start. He said "Ezi duz it(Green trail) is a good place to start, then hit B-line (Blue trail - Intermediate) and then all going well definitely come and do Crank it up" Then he blitzed down the entrance to crank it up just as I got a chance to thank him. So we followed his instructions and loved both ezi duz it and B-line then finally moved onto Crank it up (this trail had also been recommended to us by the gnarly Aussie who helped with our bike hire-age). It was so much fun we couldn't get enough. Even when that feeling of absolute tiredness came over us a two thirds of the way down, the urge to go for another run as soon as we hit the bottom took over time and time again. To top it all off we saw a bear. Andrew was in the wilderness for two days and got lucky with a bear sighting. It was literally perfect too. We were on the chair lift and passed directly over it. It was 15 meters below on the trail we were about to blitz down. Luckily we didn't meet it face to face on the way down. On another note Andy named himself the black panther early on in the day as his get up was mostly black. Lets just say the black panther took a tumble at one stage coming up with some hefty grazes to his upper arm hahahaha.
Upon our return back to Vancouver we still had several activities planned. We went to Lynn Canyon park which had a suspension bridge(perfect for selfies and facials). It was a perfect day of strolling in the wilderness seeing waterfalls and still green pools. We visited more breweries again drinking more beer and finishing the night with some amazing tacos from TacoFino. We visited the Granville island market which was something special with food stalls, amazing art and your usuals- fresh produce and buskers. We drank Caesers (Canadians take on a bloody mary) which turned out to be quite disgusting unless served underneath onion rings, burgers and chicken wings of course. We ate at Millies new favourite place Saj n Co which does the most amazing Lebanese wraps packed with so much flavour you cant explain it. Frisbee, Beers, and wine always found their way into the mix as well.
Before we knew it Andrews last day in Vancouver had come. His flight was in the afternoon and so we made the most of the morning by going paddle boarding in false creek. It was so much fun and such a cool way to see the city. Classic gags with pushing each other quickly took over and laughter rang louder than the downtown city traffic.
Thanks Andy for an awesome time and good luck in the UK and Europe. Hopefully one day we can come and crash on your couch and see explore London with ya.
Thanks also to Kane & Chloe for taking us to fresh fish under your wings. We look forward to more sweet adventures with you (and well get you over for dinner one night too - A BYO cutlery and plate party)
We will blog again soon after the Tall trees festival on Vancouver Island and another Mountain biking venture to Whistler.
Love Always
Ski, Millie (& Andy)
On our first full day we met up with Kane a friendly kiwi face id met at uni - a real good bugger. He asked if we were up for a bit of walking we both nodded and so proceeded a private walking tour around the whole of down town. We visited Nelson the Seagull for the best coffee we'd had abroad. We walked along the waterfront, to various beaches and busy spots within the city. The stroll lasted 5 hours (4 hours longer than what we had expected when we first nodded our heads), But it was so cool to get crash course on Vancouver Downtown. Mils and I knew that we were going to get on pretty well with Kane from then onwards. We also knew that we were going to love our time here in this awesome city. Our first few days in Vancouver were dedicated to more of this sort or exploration. We went to a comedy Night with Kane, Chloe (Kanes Partner) and some others that they knew. We laughed at every comedian as our expectations of cringeworthy jokes were far exceeded. It really was hilarious.
Our next adventure was out to Cat Lake north of Vancouver in a town called Squamish. The crew consisted of Millie, Kane, Chloe, Greg (another friend of Kane and chloes) and I. We piled into Gregs primo, brown van and set off. The weather was perfect for some beers, a bbq and a swim and we made sure to tick all the boxes. The next goal was to taste some local beers. So under the excellent leadership of greg, Millie Kane and I followed suit meeting some other cool Canadians along the way. Callister, Lupollo, Strathcona and our favourite Storm brewery provided the goods. Storm had the most interesting vibe like an old run down ware house with kegs everywhere. But the beer made it a feel so right with flavours you would only dream about - Literally. Cucumber and dill, pineapple, apple pie, smoky campfire, and classic IPAs and pilsners were enjoyed by all. You were always intrigued with what delicious beer was being poured into your plastic tasting cup next. It was just a totally awesome place.
Our next mission was to get deep into the apartment hunt. After days of seeing sometimes 3-4 apartments per day we found a one bedroom apartment in Granville (South of downtown) which we both loved. We applied and were accepted. Before we knew it we had an apartment and we had partially filled it with some second hand furniture and a haul from Ikea. This was not before staying several nights in the lounge of Kane and Chloes apartment for which we still owe them dinner at our place (Maybe one day when we get more than three dinner plates haha).
Within a couple of days of settling in our new place Andy Mischefski was arriving in Vancouver via Seattle. So he took up living quarters in our lounge for ten days. Let the exploration continue. First up was Biking Stanley Park which we did on a sunny day and loved every moment. We even took the frisbee along and found a perfect patch of grass to let rip (Much to millies anguish as she quickly lost interest in throwing hahaha). We stopped for a classic hotdog for lunch which went down a treat, before then stopping to purchase a box of Stanley Park Breweries finest mix of craft beers on the way home.
Before we knew it our trip to whistler for three nights had dawned on the three of us. So we jumped aboard the bus heading 2 hours north to the adventure land of Whistler. We stayed at a hostel lodge south of the main village and bused everywhere which turned out great. Especially after our first night of eating and drinking at the GLC and then drinking at a few more fine establishments. Our favourite was definitely the Irish pub - Dubh Lynn Gate which had great live music, a fizzing atmosphere and some good Old Fashioneds. We planned a hike for the next day, and albeit a little dusty, the Chekamus lake was a stunning spot to walk to. We loved it even though we didn't spot any bears along the way. The next day we hired bikes and hit the famous Whistler mountain bike park. We jumped on the lift and started with some simple green(beginner) trails. This was after speaking with a veteran of the slopes at the top to get an idea of where to start. He said "Ezi duz it(Green trail) is a good place to start, then hit B-line (Blue trail - Intermediate) and then all going well definitely come and do Crank it up" Then he blitzed down the entrance to crank it up just as I got a chance to thank him. So we followed his instructions and loved both ezi duz it and B-line then finally moved onto Crank it up (this trail had also been recommended to us by the gnarly Aussie who helped with our bike hire-age). It was so much fun we couldn't get enough. Even when that feeling of absolute tiredness came over us a two thirds of the way down, the urge to go for another run as soon as we hit the bottom took over time and time again. To top it all off we saw a bear. Andrew was in the wilderness for two days and got lucky with a bear sighting. It was literally perfect too. We were on the chair lift and passed directly over it. It was 15 meters below on the trail we were about to blitz down. Luckily we didn't meet it face to face on the way down. On another note Andy named himself the black panther early on in the day as his get up was mostly black. Lets just say the black panther took a tumble at one stage coming up with some hefty grazes to his upper arm hahahaha.
Upon our return back to Vancouver we still had several activities planned. We went to Lynn Canyon park which had a suspension bridge(perfect for selfies and facials). It was a perfect day of strolling in the wilderness seeing waterfalls and still green pools. We visited more breweries again drinking more beer and finishing the night with some amazing tacos from TacoFino. We visited the Granville island market which was something special with food stalls, amazing art and your usuals- fresh produce and buskers. We drank Caesers (Canadians take on a bloody mary) which turned out to be quite disgusting unless served underneath onion rings, burgers and chicken wings of course. We ate at Millies new favourite place Saj n Co which does the most amazing Lebanese wraps packed with so much flavour you cant explain it. Frisbee, Beers, and wine always found their way into the mix as well.
Before we knew it Andrews last day in Vancouver had come. His flight was in the afternoon and so we made the most of the morning by going paddle boarding in false creek. It was so much fun and such a cool way to see the city. Classic gags with pushing each other quickly took over and laughter rang louder than the downtown city traffic.
Thanks Andy for an awesome time and good luck in the UK and Europe. Hopefully one day we can come and crash on your couch and see explore London with ya.
Thanks also to Kane & Chloe for taking us to fresh fish under your wings. We look forward to more sweet adventures with you (and well get you over for dinner one night too - A BYO cutlery and plate party)
We will blog again soon after the Tall trees festival on Vancouver Island and another Mountain biking venture to Whistler.
Love Always
Ski, Millie (& Andy)
I just love reading these posts guys! xxxx Miss you
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