May 2013

Well we're 3 months into life in Vancouver, the weather has changed from raining and cold to long and sometimes sunny days and it is quite spectacular. The ocean, the harbour, waterways, the snow capped mountain backdrop and the city itself. Manicured green lawns and gardens, it's all very modern, clean and completely livable.

If anything it may be too neat and does lack the culture of some other cities. Everything is pretty tame and we haven't yet found the real heart and vibe of the city - after spending a year in Latin America it's quite a contrast. The most popular thing to do is walk, run, cycle or do yoga - everyone seems very healthy and fit.

We have moved twice and are now getting settled after spending the first two months in a short term share house. We've stayed with people from Japan, USA, Switzerland, Germany, UK, Colombia, Korea, India, Canada and Italy! One of our faves was a 60 something year old French Canadian Orthodontist who we cooked up big Sunday roasts with - a food and culture we've missed!

We've both got ourselves a bike - the best way to explore Vancouver which is a very bike friendly city. We've taken some time out from the job hunt, which for Paul has included time back behind a coffee machine pumping out Canadian style latte's (BIG!) and some freelance marketing. There's a great coffee culture here, more than any other Canadian city and similar to our hometown of Melbourne.

We had a great trip to Vancouver Island over Easter, where we were put up in a beautiful hilltop apartment by a friend we met travelling (thanks Marie). The scenery is a world apart - rugged pebbled ocean fronts, towering green pine trees, we were only 100kms away from where the Twilight movies were filmed - so imagine that sort of scenery, I felt like I was about to come across a vampire or ware wolf in the misty forest!

We have, of course, visited the Canadian mega chain café Tim Hortons - who can say no to a tasty soup and bagel on a cold day? This chain along with Starbucks is on almost every other corner of downtown! The accent?? Well I think we've almost got used to it, and the fact that Vancouver is made up of a whopping 52% of foreigners means we've got to meet people from loads of other cultures.

As the year progresses we hope to explore more of this new country and we're looking forward to popping over the boarder to Seattle to experience our first time on American soil in the coming months!