Notes from BC - A collection of writings about life in British Columbia

February 10, 2010

Getting Ready For The Olympics

Well it's been a week since my last blog update so I thought it was about time I sat down and wrote about what's been going on for Lou and I over in the 'Olympic City'!

Last week I mentioned my back was hurting, following that I also had a bout of sickness which kept me off from work for two days. I really don't know what is causing this but I feel like I've been ill more times in the 7 months since we moved to Vancouver then I was in 20+ years I was in the UK. I'm blaming it on the SkyTrain germs but really I think my body has still got to build up it's immunity a little bit. Either way I didn't start feeling well until Sunday so the last half of last week involved nothing of great interest. I'm no longer feeling sick but my back is still bad and it's approaching two weeks since it first started. Strangely it's only hurting when I'm seated on a chair. I can walk fine, stand fine and even sit on the sofa without discomfort but as soon as I sit on any type of chair it hurts, but anyway that's enough of the moaning for now (hopefully it'll be better soon)!

Lou has finally finished her stint of overnight shifts and is now back on the evening / day rotation. It took her a few days to recover from the spaced out feeling but she is feeling almost back to normal now (thanks for the melatonin hint Meaghan!). On Sunday we went shopping as it was raining outside and we decided to go to Metrotown (known locally as metro-hell and the term's especially applicable when visiting on a Sunday)! Lou enjoyed getting some new clothes and a few other things and I was just happy to get out of the house after spending so much time in the apartment. We spent Sunday night watching some cool Blu-Ray films that we got with a Christmas giftcard (thank you Glyn!).

Yesterday Lou came to meet me out of work and we then went on a photo-walk around the city with our new camera. It's not long now until the games begin and the city has certainly changed. There is a really good atmosphere starting to develop around the city streets, and although it's way more busier than usual it seems quite relaxed (unless you are trying to ride transit anywhere). We walked around aiming to see what new things had appeared and there were certainly many things setup that are not normally there. Unfortunately after an hour or so our camera battery died so we didn't get to take any photos close to the water but we may venture back down there at some point (maybe even during the games if we're feeling brave). After finishing our walk we then went for dinner at an Australian owned and themed restaurant on West Pender Street. The place is located below street level and is appropriately (considering it's ownership and location) named Mooses Down Under restaurant. After our meal we walked to Waterfront Station and then caught the SkyTrain home which was incredibly busy but we thankfully managed to get a seat before it hit the busier stations.

There is a slideshow below of the photos we took but If you would like to see them full-screen you can do so by clicking on this link here : http://bit.ly/9hDxff

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February 2, 2010

Rained Off Days & Chill Out Time

On Friday night Lou and I began our weekend together by heading into the city for some drinks with a few of our friends. We headed to The Kingston which is located close to the Vancouver Public Library and not far away from Granville Station. We had a bite to eat and plenty of drinks and it was a really good night, however after being awake since 5:30am I was done by midnight and could last no longer than 1am. I had to put an end to the partying (at least for me and Lou) and make my way home whilst I could still keep my eyes open. As soon as we got home I was then feeling wide awake, I think the cold evening air that hit me after leaving the pub made me wake me up. For the novelty I thought it would be cool to ring my parents at that time (knowing that it would be late morning in the UK) so I did but then didn't end up going to sleep until 3am!

On Saturday we had intended to go out for the day but the weather put an end to our planned outdoor activity so we decided to relax and recuperate from a busy week (but mainly the night before!). In the evening we headed out to a local shop in Burnaby to buy a new camera case for the Nikon D5000 we got a Christmas. We then just stayed in and watched a film in the evening. On Sunday we headed into Downtown Vancouver to do a bit of shopping. The city is really starting to get ready for the Olympics now and the place seems much busier than usual already. There are many advertisements on some of the large buildings which were not there a week ago, many people on the streets pushing Olympic related things and many artwork installations have suddenly appeared around the city too.

I think the homeless people have also ramped up there numbers because there seem to be even more around the city now (there's at least one or two on every street). I got approached by 5 beggars in the space of 10 minutes whilst on my lunch break last Thursday, needless to say I didn't give them a dime. So much for the governments plan on trying to sweep them up off the streets and out of the sight of the tourists! I'm pleased about this in a way though because people will see the true poverty that exists in the Downtown area. Hopefully the government will be shamed into addressing the issue properly if the eyes of the word also notice our huge problem here - because whatever they're currently doing it's blatantly not enough. We plan on heading in to the city again this week (after work) to take some photos, we need to do it now because (apart from when I head there for work) I'm planning on avoiding the area as it will be chaos when the games begin!

My back has been really hurting me since late last week so I've not wanted to spend too long sitting down hence the short post today. I'm not sure what has caused it but I may have done whilst playing football during the week (If I did do it then I didn't actually notice at the time). I'm starting to think I should probably register with a doctor at some point!

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January 25, 2010

Visiting Lynn Canyon Park

On Saturday evening Lou and I went downtown together for the first time in a few weeks. I head down there everyday for work during the week but it's so much better when your heading across for fun! We decided to go for a nice meal and we opted for The Keg which is a nice steakhouse chain located a few minutes away from Burrard Station. There are actually four of their restaurants in the city, we previously went to a different one when it was Lou's birthday back in August. Our meal was great, we both went for the prime rib which came with garlic mashed potato and fried onions it was all very tasty but difficult to finish! We've actually had 4 meals at The Keg chain now (including when we went there on holiday in 2005) and each time it's always been good, I would definitely recommend it to anybody and everybody. After finishing our drinks we then headed back, joining the SkyTrain at the same time as all the Canucks fans who were leaving the stadium after seeing a great 5-1 win. We managed to get seats so it wasn't too bad and within 20 minutes we were home with our feet up watching a movie.

We were both had the day off work on Sunday so we intended to make the most of the day. However, it was harder to wake up Lou than expected and we didn't end up leaving home until almost mid-day, oops! We went over to North Vancouver to Lynn Canyon Park which is a place most people visit to cross the suspension bridge and see the waterfalls which are known as twin falls. The park was opened in 1912, is home to mainly 2nd generation trees (between 80-100 years old) and it covers an area of 617 acres. Apparently the area was used for filming some of the Stargate SG-1 television series. I personally enjoyed the walk and fresh air but overall I think there are better parks in Greater Vancouver.

The suspension bridge is fun if you're into that kind of thing but it's not as large as the one in Capilano. I'm not particularly a fan of heights and squeezing my way past hordes of families on a narrow bridge (especially when being so tall meant more than 40% of my body was above hand rail) is not my idea of fun. The twin falls are nice but it's a shame some of the nice photo spots are cut off from use. There were warnings of peoples lives being claimed by the falls and the fencing didn't look like it was done at the same time (I guess I would prefer it to be that way if it's done for safety reasons). The walk is not really a relaxing one, it's all downhill one side and an uphill trek the other but it's a good workout for the calf muscles. A lot of the walkways have been prone to rain and a lot of pedestrian traffic which has resulted in many tree roots being exposed, it looks interesting but it can be tricky to walk across when it's wet. There is a really good virtual tour of the park online which you can see by clicking here. After leaving the park we headed over to the Park Royal Shopping Centre as it was nearby. We had some lunch there and a look around the shops before heading back home. We timed our departure from the park and shops well because soon after getting in the car it started raining heavily and continued to do so for the rest of the night.

Last but not least the bathroom work has all been completed and the shower is back in use now. There's been no real formal apology or offer of compensation for the inconvenience though. They did leave without turning the hot water back on but that was soon fixed on Friday afternoon. After having a shower at 5:50am this morning though I can confirm that all the work has not made the slightest bit of difference to the bloody water temperature, it's exactly the same as before! I still think the real issue is with the boiler(s) in the apartment block just needing to be turned on earlier because it's fine at 9am. I'm sure this situation is far from over, I know Lou too well!

Below are some photos from our visit to the park on Sunday.