Tag: canadian

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 7: Vancouver, BC – First NHL Game!

Kim & Curtis Hale

Haircut

We left pretty early in the morning and walked for about 25 minutes to the hairdresser which Kim was getting her haircut at.

Kim had her hair cut, which took about 45 minutes.

Curtis had a free coffee whilst he waited, too!

Home Time

We walked back home to the apartment and chilled out whilst we waited for our friend to arrive!

A Bar

Our friend arrived and we walked for 20 minutes down to a bar to get some food and drinks.

The bar had free wings, providing you purchase a beer.

We had sweet and spicy wings as well as Guinness BBQ wings.

We sat there until 17:00 and then walked to the ice rink.

Leafs Game!

We got to the area and walked in. When we got in, we just walked around and checked out what they had.

We got to our seats and watched the warm up and then waited for the game to start.

We watched the light show, which was pretty good!

The Leafs went up by 2, after the 2nd period, but lost in overtime. The game was great fun! We had an amazing time and loved the atmosphere. There was about 70/30 Leafs fans, considering we were in Vancouver.

Post Game

We went for a drink at a bar about 15 minutes walk from the area, and it was snowing!

We got a drink here and then we met some of Brodie’s friends and they had a drink.

We walked back to the apartment via the supermarket and got some garlic bread.

We got back and chatted whilst we ate potato smilies, chicken and garlic bread, then it was time to sleep.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 6: Vancouver, BC – Just A Walk & Chinatown

Kim & Curtis Hale

No Plans

We had no plans this morning, but we got up earlier than we have been and took a random walk.

We left the apartment and went to a waffle house for breakfast.

Waffles

We each had a waffle and a cappuccino.

Curtis had whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate and Kim had chocolate mousse, strawberries and chocolate sauce.

Our cappucinos were more like lattes, but they were very tasty!

Le Petit Belge | Vancouver,BC

Rating:- 8/10

We walked down to the conference area, which is where both the ice rink and football stadium are and had a look around.

We then walked across a bridge to another place which just so happened to be Chinatown, which we didn’t even know was there!

Chinatown

We walked around Chinatown for a while, just going down each street. There wasn’t many food places, which is what we usually think of when we think Chinatown, but it was still a cool looking place.

We saw a cool looking place, which was a ‘Chinese Culture Centre’.

Next to this, there was a small entrance way. This led to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese park.

We entered the park and it was incredibly tranquil as soon as we entered. It got us right out of the hustle and bustle of the city into a calm, peaceful park.

Across the way, there is a Chinese Garden, but we couldn’t find the entrance so we didn’t go in there.

We left Chinatown and went for more of a walk and got a bottle of drink before we walked back to the apartment.

Apartment Viewing

We went to view an apartment for if we come back to Vancouver.

It was alright, but wouldn’t be our first choice.

Leftovers

We had leftover pizza and well as more chicken, potato smilies and salad.

We watched a few different TV shows and then went to bed.

We had an awesome day planned tomorrow…well, more like evening.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 5: Vancouver, BC – Gastown & Steam Clock

Kim & Curtis Hale

Gastown

We walked down to Gastown today.

Gastown is an old town area with Victorian-style buildings.

This area was just a 30 minute walk from our apartment.

Unfortunately, we had to walk again as the elevators are still not working!

There isn’t really anything to do, as such, but it’s a great place to wamder around and peruse the architecture.

‘Gassy Jack’ – The founder of Gastown – From Hull, England

Coffee

In Gastown, there are many ‘hipster’ coffee shops to visit, so we had to give one a go.

The first we went to didn’t do a normal sized cappucino, only a small (again, for some reason!), so we moved on.

We almost didn’t bother, but then find a place called Buro.

The service wasn’t great, but when our drinks were presented to us, they looked phenomenal!

Unfortunely, that was where the amazement stopped.

Curtis’ cappuccino had an odd taste and Kim’s hot chocolate even more so.

We were not impressed, and it was expensive!

Buro | Vancouver, BC

Rating:- 3.5/10

Steam Clock

The main attraction of this area is the steam clock.

One of just 3 in the world, this clock is ran by steam, but also had a special feature;

As seen in the video (ignore the man), the clock strikes and puffs out steam, making it make chime sounds! A prettu awesome invention. More people should have these in their homes.

Pizza!

We came home and watched some TV and then Curtis had hockey to watch.

We ordered pizza after the 2nd intermission, from Domino’s, and Kim went to collect it.

Whilst she was out, Curtis greeted the host of our apartment who was dropping off some spare bed sheets and a towel for our special guest on Wednesday!

We ate our pizza – Curtis’ was tasty but Kim’s wasn’t great – and watched more TV.

Black Mirror

We ended the night with some more black mirror. We still aren’t sure what’s going on, but it’s good.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Vancouver, BC

Place 72 – Day 4: Vancouver, BC – Downtown Vancouver & Broken Elevator

Kim & Curtis Hale

Exploring Downtown

We got ready in the morning, watched a YouTube video as per usual, had some breakfast and got showered.

After that, we headed out to downtown Vancouver to see what it’s all about.

We got downtown and really just walked. The mountains can even be seen from the city centre, which is really cool!

We looked at a few shops, went into some, but mostly just walked for a couple of hours, figuring out where things are, what shops there are etc.

Kim went into Lush to browse around and then we stopped for a coffee.

Blenz Coffee

We saw a Blenz Coffee, which is a chain we have been meaning to try for a while.

Firstly, when we went in, we saw the price which was much more expensive than other coffee shops.

Secondly, the staff were not very attentive and weren’t really listening during the order.

Kim got a hot chocolate and Curtis a cappucino and we sat and people-watched whilst we drank them.

Unfortunely, the cappucino didn’t really have any flavour and the hot chocolate was ‘just ok’.

Not sure we’ll be eager to visit any time soon.

Blenz Coffee | Vancouver, BC

Rating:- 4/10

Evening

We walked back to the apartment via the supermarket. For dinner, we had chicken strips with smiley face potatoes and a side of ceasar salad…a very odd dinner but a childhood favourite!

We got back, did some laundry and relaxed before we had dinner.

Broken Elevator

Before we got back to the room, though, we had to wait a while as all elevators weren’t working and we didn’t have an extra key to be able to walk up the stairs to our floor!

We had to call the host to come and bring us the key and let us in…all fun times!

We watched some YouTube videos whilst we ate and then for the rest of the evening, we started watching Black Mirror which is odd but interesting.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 20: Victoria, BC – Final Royals Game

Kim & Curtis Hale

Lazy Morning

We did nothing when we woke up this morning. Whilst eating breakfast we watched some YouTube videos and then after we showered we spoke with Kim’s parents.

Afternoon

Kim had an appointment for 15:00 so she went to that and arrived 30 minutes early.

Once Kim was done, she walked back to the apartment just as Linda was getting back from her day out.

Dinner

We relaxed for a bit and chatted with Linda before heading out to get some dinner before we watched the hockey game.

We went to a place called Frankie’s Modern Diner and had some good hearty food.

We each had a 3 course meal. Curtis had tomato soup, mac & cheese and key lime pie. The soup was ok but lacked a bit of flavour.

Tomato Soup

The mac & cheese was similar. It was ok tasting but lacked a bit of flavour.

Mac & Cheese

The key lime pie was pretty delicious, though.

Key Lime Pie

Kim had a caesar salad, spaghetti meatballs & a chocolate cake. Kim’s salad was pretty good, but nothing crazy.

Ceasar Salad

Kim’s spaghetti meatballs was pretty good actually, they seemed to be homemade, too.

Meatballs

Kim’s chocolate cake was good, too.

Chocolate Cake

Frankie’s Modern Diner | Victoria,BC

Our Rating:- 7.5/10

Final Royals Game

We watched our final Royals game here in Victoria in the evening.

We got to the rink at the perfect time, grabbed our seats and Kim finally managed to get a video of the team coming out onto the ice!

The game was a very good one and physical, but the Royals dominated for a lot of it and won 6-2!

A great game to finish on.

We left and came back home where we had to pack a bit as we are off on an adventure for a few days!

We’ll be up early.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 19: Victoria, BC – Packing Again

Kim & Curtis Hale

Back To Packing, Again

We were up at 10:00 and we had some breakfast.

When Curtis showered, Kim started to pack. We need to pack one of our bags to take with us on one trip and another bag to leave here during that time.

We spent a couple of hours packing and getting it all sorted.

A Brief Walk

We went for a brief walk so we could get some air.

We went to the supermarket, but before that we went for a drink in Starbucks.

Curtis had a flat white to try it and see if he can get a coffee he likes from Starbucks. Kim had a hot chocolate, as usual.

Surprisingly, the flat white was great! We sat around for a bit and then left Starbucks.

Pizza!

We saw the pizza place when we walked out of Starbucks, so we just HAD to have it!

We had a large slice each, of just a cheese pizza, which hit the spot perfectly.

We left here and went to get orange juice from the supermarket.

We walked back to the apartment and just relaxed in front of the TV with Linda until dinner.

Dinner

We had leftovers for dinner from the roast chicken the other night, which was excellent, just what we needed.

Another Brief Walk

We walked downtown again, planning to get a bit of dessert.

The chocolate shop we went to for dessert wasn’t providing the dessert we wanted, so we left and just walked back. It was nice to have an evening walk.

We watched some more TV and then went to sleep! We only have 1 more full day here.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 17: Victoria, BC – Great Bear Rainforest IMAX

Kim & Curtis Hale

The Morning

We woke with very little sleep, for some reason. Neither of us slept too well, so we slept a bit longer than expected.

We ate cereal for breakfast, had a coffee and orange juice and then got ready for the day.

We chatted with Linda for a bit and then left the house to go to the museum, again.

Great Bear Rainforest IMAX

We booked tickets yesterday at the museum to go back today for an IMAX showing.

The IMAX Screen

The screen itself is the biggest in British Columbia at 6 stories tall!

This IMAX is fully laser, so has much better quality and colour density, as well as high quality crisp surround sound audio and it was also 3D.

The Film

The film itself was around 40 minutes long and was regarding the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.

The 3D was incredible in this film and it felt like it should have finished much later than it did as it was so good!

The film followed a native man and his son who have been studying the rare ‘spirit bear’ for years.

This showed that bear as well as grizzly bears, brown bears, fish, seals & whales.

There was incredible cinematography and it was also commentated by Ryan Reynolds, which was odd but worked well, with him cracking a few jokes.

Great Bear Rainforest | Royal BC Museum IMAX

Price:- $11.95

Rating:- 9/10

Chocolate Shop

We went to a chocolate shop after the IMAX. Kim had seen the shop previously so we went there to get a drink and look at their chocolates.

Kim had a mocha, which are only ever made with melted chocolate and not syrup! It was delicious and worth the extra cost.

Curtis had a cappucino which was also perfect and the first good one he has had since New Zealand.

Chocolat Chocolatiere De Victoria

Mocha Price:- ~$5.95

Cappucino Price:- $3.65

Rating:- 8/10

Hockey Night in Canada

Curtis and Linda watched the Leafs game once we got back.

Whilst this was happening, Kim did some research and booking.

Dinner

We had a delicous whole roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli & stuffing with a delicious gravy.

After dinner, we watched the Vancouver hockey game and Kim did some further research before bed.

This Time Last Year!

Mr & Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 12: Victoria, BC – 2 Year Wedding Anniversary!

Kim & Curtis Hale

We have been married for 2 years, today!

When we woke up, there was leftover snow but no snow falling. We had breakfast and then got a few admin things done, some of which were blog admin as well as getting some forms we needed to get sorted.

We then wanted to head out, but it started snowing, so we put it off, but then went out anyway.

It was snowing a lot with a lot of snow on the ground also, as well as freezing temperatures, so we wrapped up nice and warm.

Linda had planned to take us out for dinner, but due to the weather we decided not to go, so we went to buy some pizza from the supermarket instead.

We stopped at a shop to get Curtis a neck warmer and then we went to McDonald’s to get a chipotle chicken snack wrap each.

After that, it was Tim Horton’s time for a coffee and doughnut and to see if we could win on their ‘roll up the rim’ game (when you finish your drink, you roll up the rim of the cup and it says if you win anything).

We each had a tiramisu doughnut which was ok and Kim had a hot chocolate whilst Curtis had a coffee.

Curtis didn’t win on his cup, but Kim won a free coffee! As we were leaving and didn’t want another coffee, we gifted it to another person who was buying one.

We went from here to the supermarket and got what we wanted and then chucked the pizza in when we got back.

We atea bit of the pizza, but it was pretty filling, and then struggled to stay awake and watch some TV!

thanks to everyone that has said congratulations to us today! We also have some cool changes coming to the blog and other things, so be on the lookout for that.

This time last year!

– Mr & Mrs Hale

Victoria,BC

Place 70 – Day 11: Victoria, BC – Big Group Lunch

Kim & Curtis Hale

We were up earlier then we have been, around 08:00, as we had guests coming over late morning so we had to prepare.

There was to be 9 of us for lunch, so it was a morning of setting up, peeling potatoes and setting the table.

We went to the shop to get some wine and orange juice and it wasn’t too cold outside.

Linda started cooking the food and then we waited until 11:30 when guests started arriving.

These people were friends and family from of Kim, some of which Curtis had met previously.

We sat and had a drink whilst the food finished cooking. Once the food was ready, we all sat down and tucked in. We had roast pork, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, brussel sprouts and sweetcorn. The gravy was delicious too!

We all ate and were quite full, but had a gap for some tasty cheesecake.

All the guests left and then we washed up, cleaned up and put everything back to how it was.

Shortly after everyone left, it started to snow which got heavier and heavier, along with the wind.

At 16:00, Curtis watched the Leafs game and Kim sat in front of the fire and caught up reading the blog posts she had missed.

We had some chicken wings and sausage rolls as mid evening snacks as we got a bit hungry.

We sat and watched a variety of TV shows and then it was bed time, we were very tired!

This time last year!

– Mr & Mrs Hale