Sunday, April 23, 2006

A Run in the Sun

This morning saw the 22nd annual Sun Run in Vancouver. Over 50,000 people registered for the race, 50,700 give or take a few! I volunteered at the after party at BC Place Stadium. Indoors, on the loveliest day of the year so far! I was able to sneak away for a few minutes to watch the first runner cross the finish line, then a second and third, and not too far down the line, the first woman. All top winners were Kenyan. Ad stationed himself on the Burrard Bridge with digital camera and bike in tow. Here's a few pictures he snapped, including the first place runner.


the winner…


busy…


and getting busier by the moment!

And yet another gorgeous day lead into a beautiful balcony sunset, looking out to Bowen Island, Vancouver Island and beyond:

Sunday, April 16, 2006

There's a Hole Lotta Waiting Goin' On



Yep, a shameless Courtney Love reference there… Don't ever, ever, EVER, EVER go to the Canadian/US border on a holiday weekend! Departure time Vancouver: 10.30 AM, Arrival time Seattle: 7 fucking PM. FOUR HOURS of a standstill line from all three border crossings. This SHOULD have been a three hour trip! The only thing that kept us going (besides the lure of Starbucksland) was the fact that our B&B two night deposit was non-refundable at this late (same day) time.

Between the wait time, we were entertained with the occasional rain or hail storm and a Tim Horton's Ice Cappucino on the way, in Abbottsford. While Ad waited in line with the car, I was able to enter a packed Timmy's and come out with our car only about 1 metre further along the road.

Once in Seattle, we found our beautiful B&B (The Salisbury House) in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, comparable to Brookline in Boston or Vancouver's Shaugnessey. We headed out to 15th Avenue, a section of Capitol Hill containing lots of restaurants, cafés and a very cool record store. Thai dinner extravaganza ensued, at Jamjuree's. We toasted Ad's new job and our arrival in Seattle, a new world record of nearly nine hours!

Saturday got us going early with a lovely home cooked breakfast, followed by a self-made downtown walk, taking in the Public Market, the first Starbuck's in Seattle, the gorgeous new public library, a gem of a creation by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and historic Pioneer Square. We'd hoped to ride the monorail to the Needle, however it was out of commission due to a collision last winter, between two monorail trains, a first in its history!

A bit of shopping therapy and a few coffees later, we were on our way back up the Hill. Enjoyed a seafood dinner and an early night in at the B&B's cosy common room. This morning, we headed out early to explore Volunteer Park's water tower, with a stunning view of the city on top, and the Conservatory, passing the Asian Art Museum on the way. A lovely Easter morning, the sky was actually blue this time.

We spent some time on Broadway, a lively section of Capitol Hill, eating sushi for lunch and stocking up on local wine and a picnic lunch for our trip back. A stop right under the Needle for photos, along with the Experience Music Project, and we were on our way home on the 5 North. We stopped briefly at the natural splendor of one of Washington's small lakes, close to Bellingham, before a very smooth 5 MINUTE wait at the Canadian border.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Spring Sunsets









Nothing much to report, just a few beautiful sunsets from our balcony taken over the weekend!

Ariane C

Monday, April 03, 2006

Daylight Savings



This photo was taken just a few hours ago, outside our front window, as I had just returned home from work. Now we've a rainy Monday evening in Vancouver, with the mighty Canucks trying one more time to approach the playoffs, against the LA Kings. We suffered two losses over the weekend, one quite embarassing (2-6) against the Anaheim Ducks. As there's only five games left in the season, each and every one is a 'must win' for the Canucks.

Work week three is going well, insanely busy start to the week, but a few interesting things coming down the pike. My colleagues are pretty friendly and patient but the workload is enough to keep us all busy and at our desks most of the day. As I'm sitting a lot more than before I started working full-time, I've taken to getting off at the opposite end of downtown and walking across to Gastown in about 15 minutes flat. This gives my legs some much needed stretching in the a.m. hours! I start at the most influential area of the city and wind up in funky Gastown, full of old brick lofts and homeless characters at every turn. The area is turning more urban by the month. Many a housing project is coming up and the rich youth are buying up beautiful condos close to the waterfront. I've still to take a photo of the view outside our window - hands down the most impressive view I've ever had at a job.

Ad and I took a walk along the seawall just after dinner, enjoying the clean air during the rain and watching a couple of herons make their way along the waterfront in search of last-minute dinner. The eagles are definitely out and about here, and we see them regularly. There's a couple of nests between Kits and downtown Vancouver - quite an eyeful when they're hovering above you!

On to watch The Office, an episode taped several nights ago…

Signing off,

Ariane C