I united my travel blog and random blog, so here's a repost ;) in English no less!
My friend Liesje decided to go to Canada for a while to do a Cambridge course there (she did exams in 2 different levels and obv passed both, yay!). I said something like: 'oooooh yesssssssss, then I'll come visit you!' and Liesje thought that was a great idea as well. So when she went to Vancouver this year, I kept my promise and went to visit her for almost 2 weeks.
My friend Liesje decided to go to Canada for a while to do a Cambridge course there (she did exams in 2 different levels and obv passed both, yay!). I said something like: 'oooooh yesssssssss, then I'll come visit you!' and Liesje thought that was a great idea as well. So when she went to Vancouver this year, I kept my promise and went to visit her for almost 2 weeks.
I flew Air Transat, a low budget airline that only operates during high season and after reading a couple of online reviews, my expectations were pretty low. Most reviews read things like 'cramped' and 'no personal tv screens' and 'you're only offered a few drinks and meals during a flight'. But I chose AT anyway, because they're so cheap. BUT, I can honestly say that AT was pretty great! My plane was recently refurbished (they're planning on slowly refurbishing all planes), so I did have my own tv screen (THANK GOD) with lots of new movies, I was offered a lot of free drinks, even got some free wine (you usually have to pay for alcohol when you fly with AT) with my meal, and there was plenty of food which was edible as well. Oh and it wasn't cramped at all, at least not compared to other airlines. Maaaybe when you're hugely overweight. So if you're considering flying to Canada, I would totally go for AT. It can save you up to 50% of the price compared to other airlines (say Delta or KLM). Just bring your own headphones and you'll be fine.
I have to admit, if Liesje wasn't doing her exams in Vancouver, I probably wouldn't have gone to Vancouver very quickly. Maybe I would rather go to Toronto or Quebec or something. I'm glad Liesje went to Vancouver though, 'cause Vancouver was awesome!
I have to admit, if Liesje wasn't doing her exams in Vancouver, I probably wouldn't have gone to Vancouver very quickly. Maybe I would rather go to Toronto or Quebec or something. I'm glad Liesje went to Vancouver though, 'cause Vancouver was awesome!
Vancouver has lots of weird native american statues & totem poles
We ate fries and some goooood hot dogs @ Granville Island. Granville Island is awesome, such a cool vibe and nice little shops they've got there!
The great thing about Vancouver? Cityscape vs Nature!
Capilano Suspension Bridge. You know someone dropped their credit card, jumped after it and died? Crazy. I mean, how do you drop your credit card? Why do you have it in your hand in the first place? And why jump after it?
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, which is pretty but in a rougher part of town. And not that impressive if you've already been to Japan and/or China.
And then we went to Vancouver Island by ferry and ate some delish crab cakes (and more fries) at a place called 'Trollers'...
...but bored ourselves to death afterwards in Nanaimo. Although it's beautiful and the people are friendly, there's really nothing to do over here. I'm talking empty streets and abandoned railroads.
Found out what my new favourite cocktail is in Vancouver: FROZEN PEACH BELLINI FTW.
Discovered another new favourite drink, hibiscus iced tea lemonade. And discovered that they can't spell my name in America either, even though 'Kristin' is a pretty common name over there.
Apparently you HAVE to wear a helmet when riding a bike. Great.
Ate some more fries (yes, we ate a lot of fries that week), now in the form of the famous poutine. It looks horrible (and is really horrible for your body probably :') with all that gravy and cheese curds), but it tastes better than it looks.
Anyway, I really liked being in Vancouver with Liesje! Here's a last picture of a pretty building.