On Sunday afternoon I went to pick Lou up from Vancouver Airport after her two week break in the UK, it couldn't have come soon enough. It was only for 2 weeks but it was the longest time we'd been apart in 7 years and towards the end of the 2nd week we were really starting to miss each other, as corny as that may sound to others! Lou's flight was delayed by two hours and her flight back was an hour longer than usual (because they had to fly around the Volcanic Ash). By the time Lou touched down in Vancouver she was feeling very tired, she'd spent 12.5 hours on the airplane alone not counting the time it took getting to and from the airports. Despite this though she managed to stay awake until 10pm (to try and limit the jet-lag) before getting a well deserved good nights rest.

The weather in Vancouver has been glorious for the past 4 or 5 days, it's been in the 20's most of the time and I've been in shorts and t-shirts most days. We're really starting to think we should look at getting that previously mentioned air conditioning unit sooner rather than later incase it gets as hot as last year. On Monday we decided to head over to North Vancouver on the SeaBus for a look around, it was a good excuse to get out and enjoy the sun. We'd been there twice before and each time it had rained so this time it was third time lucky! We had a relaxing walk around the streets and the seafront area, got a few things from the shops and then went to the Lonsdale Quay market. We had lunch there too as we had spotted a fish & chip place whilst walking about and although we waited a while it was delicious. After a couple of hours we made our way home and spent the night catching up on all the programs which had accumulated on the PVR whilst Lou was away.

On Tuesday Lou was back to work but she started in the middle of what would have been a 4 day shift pattern so that meant she only had to work that day and today (Wednesday). On Tuesday evening we watched the hockey on TV but unfortunately the Canucks were knocked out of the play-offs by Chicago, it was a big disappointment. There's a tradition amongst hockey fans here where all the men don't shave during the play-offs. My beard is starting to get quite long but I guess I can now shave it off, it was getting a bit annoying but I'd rather have kept it if it meant the Canucks were still in the Stanley Cup.

Today I watched Leicester on TV in their play-off match second leg against Cardiff. I was lucky the game was broadcast over here, but I wasn't so lucky with the result. For those who don't know already, we got knocked out on penalties after 120 minutes of intense football. I won't write a match report but the team did really well and put in 100% effort, we just didn't get the luck in the shootout. I was totally immersed in the match and forgot I was 4,400 miles away, it didn't stop me cheering them on that's for sure. At one point Leicester were leading the game 3-2, I couldn't help but shout at the top of my voice with joy each time we scored, luckily I don't think our neighbours were home! I'm absolutely gutted for the team, it's been a great season for the guys and it's a shame the dream is over but I'm still proud to be a fox and hopefully we can build upon this next season. I was hoping we'd get to the Premier League not only for the obvious reasons but also because it would mean I would see my beloved team on TV a bit more. I've now got my hope on England doing well in the World Cup so that at least one of my teams have some glory this year!

       

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This weekend started off well. After finishing work on Friday me and two of my mates went straight to The Lamplighter in Gastown. Arriving in the bar early paid off too as we got given a free pitcher of beer. This was because the staff believed everyone should have a beer in their hand at 5pm and we were just finishing the one we'd been drinking, perfect timing! We ended up leaving Gastown around 8pm and then I went for a bite to eat with one of my friends at an Earls Restaurant (I'm not quite sure where, I was lost and was solely relying on my mate CJ's directions!). I even tried a martini for the first time too (I know, manly hey?) those who know me well know that's not usually something I'd touch. Imagine it - two blokes sitting on a private table and drinking martini's together - I joked about what people might have thought about us! By the time I was making my way home Lou had finished work (evening shift) and we both got back to the apartment within about 10 minutes of each other.
Unfortunately Lou had fallen at work after tripping over the wire of a bed alarm and she was in quite a bit of pain when she got home. Lou has a bad left knee after an injury she had a few years back and the fall made it feel really sore and her hands and arms which she'd landed on were really hurting too. The next day she wasn't able to work and she already had Sunday off so we managed to get the weekend off together which was nice, it was just a shame the way it came about! We didn't do a great deal on Saturday, I wasn't feeling raring to go after the drinks I'd had the night before and Lou was in pain from the fall so we just relaxed. Apart from going to get some photos for her permanent residency application we didn't do much else except stay at home and watch a movie which we'd brought during the week.

Sunday was a busy day with there being many birthdays on both sides of our families. We spent most of the morning having video chats with everyone which was nice, then in the afternoon we headed out on the SkyTrain and SeaBus to North Vancouver. We'd planned on taking some more photos and hoped we'd get the chance to walk around more of the North Van area because the previous time we'd been it was very wet. However almost just as we got on the SkyTrain the weather turned and it started to rain this time too (how "Vancouver-ish" haha)! We still persisted though and thought at the very least it would give us the chance to get out of the apartment for a few hours and we'd still be able to go to the Lonsdale Quay market. There is a tea shop in the market which Lou had found on our last trip and she was quick to head back there again this time stocking up on some "White pearl of Fujian". I hadn't had my coffee fix in the morning and was starting to feel the need for one (it's becoming a necessity, it's bad!) so we took a break after an hour of looking around and I grabbed a cookie and coffee (Lou opted for a cocoanut bubble tea of course). After that we looked around the rest of the market and we then made our way home because Lou couldn't be persuaded to walk around in the rain! We got home in time to watch the Canucks on TV beat Calgary 3-1 and that rounded off a good weekend overall.

         

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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. 

               

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