A byootaful Life

Last Friday was a really nice warm, sunny day so we decided to make the most of the weather and head up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We haven’t been before and although we’d been told that Lynn Canyon is pretty much the same thing (but free) and that Capilano is nothing but an expensive tourist trap, Mum was keen to go and we hadn’t been yet, so we figured why not?

We caught the free shuttle from an extremely busy Canada Place and sat back for the (bumpy) 30 minute drive up to the park. There was no queue to buy tickets and we were inside within minutes, greeted by girls in heritage dress and a sound system pumping out some classic fiddle music.

Here’s an insider tip: After buying your tickets, head to the little shack on the left. Present a valid government-issue BC I.D and they’ll give you a free annual pass card, it’s as easy as that! I don’t have my BC driver’s licence yet so I took a copy of our lease and they accepted that. Did I mention it’s free? For the price of one adult admission, you can return as many times as you like for a whole year! We’re definitely going to be coming back once the newest attraction cliff walk is operational – that thing looked crazy!

Pretty much the first thing you have to do when you arrive at Capilano is walk over the suspension bridge, since the bridge is the only thing connecting you with the rest of the park. The bridge was very wobbly and it swayed a lot. If you’ve been to Lynn Canyon and crossed the suspension bridge there, don’t even think about comparing them – they are so different! Lynn Canyon’s bridge is like crossing concrete compared to the movement of the Capilano bridge, which can get a little… disconcerting… when you’re halfway across and feel like you’re stumbling drunk.

The bridge is 70 metres above the water and 136 metres long and did I mention it sways?

Once you make it across, there’s a few different paths to follow and some lovely scenery. There’s also a canopy walk, which was good (but I wanted to be higher!) There’s a lot of platforms to stop on during the canopy walk, which gives you the opportunity to take photos and pose with some of the biggest trees you’ve ever seen, like this one:

The walking paths are all pretty easy – there’s a few steep parts but nothing a little huffing and effort won’t get you up. For the daredevils, the cliff walk will be opening soon and we managed to catch a glimpse of part of it from the viewing platform and it looks awesome(ly scary).

Looks like fun, hey?

We had a really good day, but after a few hours we had pretty much exhausted all the walks and were ready to catch the free shuttle back to downtown at 2:30pm. It worked out well because we had planned to visit Granville Island that afternoon too, so we walked over Granville bridge and had a late lunch (Chinese for Phill and me, a burger for Mum) and walked around the market. Needless to say, we weren’t there long as our legs were about to drop off, but we still had enough time for a walk around the market and try some candied salmon (ew, just ew!) before heading home.

I know it’s expensive, but coupled with the free shuttle there and back, and the free annual passes, I think it was definitely worth it, and we will absolutely be back to check out the cliff walk!

I know everyone says it’s a tourist trap, but it was on Mum’s to-do list and it actually ended up being a fantastic day.

More photos to come…

Today is the day we hand over the keys to the old apartment. Because we’d had a lease starting halfway through the month, we were paid up until the 15th May, but we’d still started our new lease on the 1st May for the new apartment, because mid-month leases suck. It’s so much easier to find apartments ready to go on the 1st of the month. Mum’s been staying in the old apartment (which is literally one block away) and now we’ve got to get her some sort of bed to sleep on when she moves into the new place with us today.

I’ll be glad to only have one place again – two apartments at the same time is not as fun as you’d imagine. Our new place is now decked out with all the furniture it needs (except for outdoor stuff – we want to get an outdoor table and chairs, plus a BBQ) and we’re really comfortable over here, loving it. It took a while for the internet and cable to get hooked up but now we’re back online – it’s funny how quickly I missed the internet. I got used to being able to jump online on my iPhone whenever I wanted. Gone are the days of dial-up internet – it seems like a lifetime ago I’d be in Dad’s office at home, coughing loudly to cover the noise of the modem dialing so I could get on the internet to chat on msn, which was the height of weeknight entertainment for thirteen-year-olds.

It’s raining today and looking quite miserable so I’m not sure what our “touristy” plans will be. Luckily we’ve managed to do a lot of the outdoor activities on the few days where the sun came out, so I think we’ve planned our time quite well. Maybe today we’ll put on our wellies and go for a walk along the seawall. Mental note: buy wellies. Then we’ll have a lazy night watching the hockey game with a beer or three. Sounds perfect.

What will you be doing today?

It’s a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon and I’m curled up on the sofa in our new apartment with a lovely warm cup of tea, watching Australian Masterchef. That’s right, after viewing probably close to fifty apartments, Phill and I finally found the right one. We viewed it on a Saturday and moved in the next day, so it was all pretty fast. It’s a great apartment – a large one bedroom with two balconies, one of which is massive (actually, it’s the same size as some of the apartment we’d seen!) Although we’d originally planned to get a two bedroom place, we walked into this one and instantly threw that idea out the window – the view is amazing! We’re on a higher floor now and with constant warm, sunny weather *just* around the corner, the balcony will be great for entertaining and just lazing around in the sun on the weekends.

Mum is visiting us for a little holiday, so it’s been great having her around. We hired a car last weekend and did the touristy thing, going to Lynn Canyon and Deep Cove on Sunday, then heading to Whistler on Monday. Whistler was great, but unfortunately the Peak to Peak was closed for maintenance, which was really disappointing. We were looking forward to taking Mum on it because the view is amazing. Last time we rode it with a bunch of our friends, we saw four bears (including a cub!) and even though it’s not the right time of year to see bears now, we were hoping there would be one stumbling around somewhere… or at least it would have been fun to try to spot one! Always the optimists…

We had lunch at Whistler, then drove further up north to Nairn falls which was really lovely. Be warned, it’s a bit of a hike to get to the waterfalls though, from memory about 1.5kms, but it was well worth it. At the end of the hike you’ve got to walk up a slippery rocks that are quite steep in areas – even with some helpful railings around it was challenging in parts. An easier waterfall to get to is Shannon Falls, which we stopped to see on the way back to Vancouver – it’s just a short walk to the waterfall. I thought Shannon Falls was actually more impressive than Nairn falls, but maybe that was just because I hadn’t had to walk so far to see it (haha). We also stopped off at the Cypress Bowl lookout since we’d stopped there a couple days before while the weather was wet, cold and miserable which obstructed the view for Mum. This time around, it was much clearer and nicer (but colder!) and we were able to take in the view of downtown and Stanley Park without the fog and clouds.

Mum’s here for two weeks in total and we’ve managed to get a little bit of time off while she’s here – a couple four day weekends which is a good amount of time to hire a car and do some sightseeing. We went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge this morning (more about that later) and then Granville Island and now we’re home, exhausted and ready for a relaxing evening.

So much to do, so little time!

So much has happened in the past few weeks over here, most of it good. I only have a few minutes before I have to head out but I wanted to do a quick recap, so here goes…

* Phill got a job, which is really good news because of course, we were getting a little worried about him not finding work and two wages is always better than one. Also, he was going slightly crazy being home all day. So the great news is that he’s now working full-time in a job he’s enjoying. The bad news is, now that both of us are working, the housework doesn’t get done as regularly. So, yeah. I enjoyed having a house-wifey, but alas, he’s a house-wifey no longer and now I actually have to do the dishes sometimes.

* Two of our friends who came over with us unfortunately went home to Oz. They traveled around Cuba for a week and then popped into Vancouver again on their way home to say their final goodbyes. I was really sad to see them go – they are great friends and I’m going to miss having them around. They are just kind, genuine people. I was super disappointed that it didn’t work out for them, but their Visas are still valid for another year and a half, so I’m hoping they’ll come back!

* We’re looking to move out at the end of the month, so we’ve been apartment hunting like crazy. I hate the whole process (it’s fun for about a week, then becomes frustrating) so I’m hoping it’ll be sorted soon. I’m going to see about six places this afternoon, which means I’m going to be running like a crazy person all over Vancouver, but hopefully one of them will be right for us. There always seems to be something that we don’t like about the place – it’s too low in a noisy area, no balcony, tiny apartment, too expensive. I find that I can talk myself into living in pretty much any place, whereas Phill is a little more picky. I’d see a massive hole in a wall and figure, hey, I can work with that! Anyone got a poster and some tape? whereas Phill would be outta there.

* My work is going really well. I’m enjoying it and am actually considering applying for one of their permanent positions that has just been advertised. A couple of my colleagues cornered me near the photocopier and strongly suggested I apply. They said they would put in a good word for me with management. I thought that was really nice, especially after coming from a dead-end job in Australia where nobody cared about anyone else. I love feeling like I matter and being able to work with people who genuinely care. I am a different person now and much, much happier.

* My Mum is coming over to visit in about three weeks! I’m excited about seeing her and being able to show her some of Vancouver’s sights. I haven’t really been too “touristy” since moving here, so it’s going to be fun. I’ve managed to get a few days off work while she’s here so there’s going to be a couple 4-day weekends that I’m planning on jam-packing full of activities. Look out Mum, no rest allowed!

* The weather here is getting really nice. The sun is out more often than the rain now and even though the shady areas are friggin’ freezing, you can feel the warmth of the sun when you’re in its sights. It’s feeling a lot like BBQ weather, hence why we want our new place to have a balcony. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to sit outside and enjoy the warm weather, so bring it on!

Okay well it’s time to go look at apartments. Fingers crossed one of these is “the one”!