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Published: March 17th 2006
Canadian Flag
My whole time in Canada i didn't see one maple leaf!As we drove to the border of Canada and USA I started having one of those "I can't believe im doing this sort of moments." Driving over the Canada/USA border, light snow falling, I was getting really excited about the next part of our journey. We got to the border control and had to go to the immigration office to get our passports stamped. The woman at the desk was looking really frustrated as she was trying to get information out of a chinese guy who couldn't speak english. It reminded me of my days at monash talking to international students - im so glad i dont have to do that again! She finally gave up on him and we we're next. She wasn't a nice person at all. She asked us where we going and Kate answered Canada. "Yeah i know you're going to Canada, where in Canada!?" Kate whimpered out "Vancouver...." Then we had to go and get other travel documents and for a minute there i thought she wasn't going to let us in. After a few questions and sceptical looks, she stamped our passports and we were free to go. I was hoping we'd at least get
Vancouver
The view driving into Vancouver a "welcome to canada" or at least a smile, but nothing.
Anyway, so we drove into Canada determined to not let that experience bring us down. As we drove into Vancouver I tuned into a canadian radio station because we were desperate to hear someone say "abooot". We listened for ages and no one said it! But i soon forgot about it as we came to the top of a hill and saw Vancouver city spread out beneath us. It was simply beautiful! The city looks just amazing, it looks a lot like Melbourne with the tall skyscrapers and blue waters of the bay but with amazing snowcapped mountains in the background.
We had arranged to stay with Dominic and Andrea (friends of friends again) who live in a beautiful little apprtment in downtown Vancouver. The location couldn't be better! So close to clubs and bars which we were quick to sample on our first night in town. Most people around the world know that in New Orleans they celebrate Mardi Gras, a huge festival in honour of......well i dont actually know. I also didn't know that most cities around North America tend to have their own Mardi
Bay
Looking out over the bay, check out the mountains! Gras festivities. They dont have the huge parades that New Orelans have, but pubs and clubs do celebrate. So our first night out in Vancouver was the Thursday before Mardi Gras, the pub we went to was packed with party goers. The tradition with Mardi Gras is that you buy coloured beads from the bar, and then if a woman wants to get your beads, she needs to flash her boobs. Well by the time we got there, they had sold out of beads (however Dom managed to get a few by flashing his rack) but we still had a great time drinking away and getting involved into the spirit of things. Kate and I both won t-shirts in the raffle - woo hoo that saves us spending money on crappy souveneir t-shirts! I was amazed though how some girls were quite open to flashing their boobs to anyone. This one girl spent most of the night without a top on. Needless to say, she won the prize for most beeds collected!
Friday and Saturday night were spent out on the town. Dominic and Andrea really know how to have a good time and we joined in with no
Polar Bear
Vancouver's mascot "Can we take him home Katie?" qualms at all. On sat night we went to this really cool club called Celebrities, but when we got there a huge queue had formed. No problem, Andrea put on her charm (and put out her bribing hand) and got us in straight away. It was very cool. The night was spent drinking away and dancing on podiums. The only problem with the night is that we had planned to go snowboarding at Mt Whistler (very famous ski resort and home of the 2010 Olympic Games) the next day and we were having such a great night that we didn't want it to end. So we didn't! We stayed out till about 6:30am, had a few hours sleep and then went up to tame the wild mountain.
For those of you that don't know I've never been snowboarding, and only skiing once. That was about 10 years ago and i'm still suffering the emotional scars. I was just so frustrated I couldn't get up on the skis and when i did get up on the skis I skied right through a barrier and down the side of the moutain. It was then that i decided to hang up my
Granville Street
You look down the street and there's the mountains! skiing boots forever.....until now. So like I said, I had never snowboarded before so I was determined to conquer this. The drive up to Whistler was full of nerves and excitment. We were all really tired but after a quick recharge at mcdonalds, i was ready to go. The drive up to Whistler was simply stunning. Snow covered mountains, tress and deep blue lakes, with snow gently falling - the photos just dont do it justice. After 2 hours we finally got there. As Kate and I jumped out of the car, the first thing we had to do was have a snowfight. It lasted for about 10 seconds before we realised how friggen cold it was! So enough of being kids and time to become hardcore snowboarding legends! Dom had lent me his snowboard so after renting some for Kate we hit the slopes. The ski lift, or gondola as they call it at Whistler, took about 20 minutes to get to the top of the slope but the view was incredible. It was a little foggy, but still breathtaking. So we got the top and I tried to put my board on, I couldn't even do that without
Squishys
Mucking around with squishys on my head help, what chance did i have of boarding? Dom gave me a crash course in snowboarding, where you put your weight, how you use your feet and body and I was ready. Kate stayed behind with Andrea and I set off with Dom by my side. I knew that if i was too hesitant and cautious it'd be a repeat of 10 years ago and i'd never get going. So off O went, and for the first 30 seconds I was doing pretty good, until i started going a bit too fast, freaked out, tried to stop, but instead crashed in a heap!"Im okay!" I shouted as I got up covered in snow, and then set off again. It continued this way for about an hour, me doing good, then crashing in a heap. At least I provided some entertainment for other skiiers who had a good laugh. I have to say though, I did some spectacular crashes. One of my favourite crashes was when I was going pretty fast and tried to turn, but instead I just ended up facing uphill. I then fell backwards and because I was going so fast I ended up shooting down the slope
Inside Lucy Mae's
Kate, Me, Andrea and Dom on my back head first for about 10 metres! My second favourite was when Andrea was a few metres in front of me coaching my along, and then before I knew what was happening I was heading straight for her, I tried to yell but it was too late, I crashed in to her and we went rolling down the slope! And my most spectacular of crashes would have to be a time when i was going really well, really fast and looking very cool, almost like a pro. There was a little bump in the snow ahead, i figured i could go over it and land smoothly on the other side - idiot! I hit the bump, was airborne, my legs kicked out behind me and i crashed onto my kness! i lay in the snow for about five minutes after that, i couldn't move. I thought I was paralysed and that my snowboarding career was over, all my dreams of competing at the next olympic games were shattered! Then I stopped being such a drama queen and dragged my sore and sorry ass up, to face the slope again. We finally got to the end of the slope
Andrea
Twirling pois inside her apartment - okay im lying, not really the end, the half way mark, but me and kate were so tired and sore that we couldn't possibly go on. So we jumped on the ski lift and met the others at the bottom of the slope. The day ended as usual with a drink and dinner, then the tired and weary drive back to Vancouver.
While in Vancouver we also went over to Vancouver Island for the day to check out the capital Victoria. Well it was more effort then it was worth! We had to get up really early to catch the ferry, but because we were both so tired and exhausted neither Kate or I paid much attention to where we were going. So we got lost and by the time we figured out where we were we had missed the ferry! So instead we slept in the car for 2 hours and waited for the next ferry. The whole day was a disaster though, when we got to Vancouver Island, we had to get the bus into Victoria which took an hour and then in order to get back for the ferry we only had about 1.5 hours
Inside the lift
Dom, Derrick, Andrea, Kate and I on our way out there. So we looked around, had some mexican (we do love our mexican food!) and then left. Just stupid! But our spirits were lifted for our last night in Vancouver when Dom and Andrea took us out to see some stand up comics, i've never seen live comedy before and i definitely want to go again. It was a great end to our time in Vancouver.
So it was with heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Andrea and Dom and Vancouver. We had such a great time with them and Vancouver is definitely on my "place i would like to live" list. Next stop Calgary, Alberta.
The drive to Calgary was absolutely gorgeous. We drove through the Rocky Mountains which was covered in snow and ice, a pure winter wonderland. The snow was constant which made driving a little difficult, but Kate's a great driver so we were fine. We got to Calgary tired and exhausted and freezing and checked into a hostel. The next day we checked out downtown Calgary but the snow was coming down thick and we were just so cold. The streets were empty which i thought was really weird, but then we
Podium Dancing
The things you do when you've had a drink! went inside a shopping mall and it was packed. You can tell we were tourists, these people are obviously clever enough to stay indoors. Calgary was the host of the 1988 Winter Olympics so we decided to head up to Canada Park to check out where all the action took place. It was pretty cool, and it made both Kate and I contemplate havind a second go at snowboarding. But then I remembered the purple bruise i still had on my stomach and decided against it. Calgary is a really nice city, too bad it was unbearably cold outside. We did however behave like children and have a massive snowball fight in the park. It was so much fun! Kate tried to make a snowman but failed miserably, hopefully she'll get another chance soon.
So I was pretty happy to leave Calgary, the cold was too much for me. The morning that we left however, the car was covered in snow and ice. It's funny, coz i've never had to deal with something like that before. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was. First we had to brush all the snow off and then we had figure
Dom, Kate and I
I love taking selfies! out how to get the inch thick ice off the windscreen. The guy at the hostel said not to use warm water (seems like the obvious choice for me) and instead told us to use anti-freeze, radiator fluid. So here we are pouring green gook all over the windscreen and then using random objects to scrape off the ice - i used my license, i knew it would come in handy one of these days! And sure enough, it worked! So off we went back to the US of A. Before we left we made a quick stop at Tim Hortons (Canadian chain that serves coffee and the most drool worthy donuts!) and then nearly died. Whats that you ask? Well we were driving on the freeway which was covered in ice and the snow was coming down thick. All of a sudden, the car in front slammed on its brakes, Kate slammed on ours, and we went sliding down the icy road. I was so scared, we both screamed (well it was really only me but i dont want to sound like a woos), my life flashed before my eyes, and then just as we were about to hit
the car in front, Kate swerved to the side and we came to a stop. It was very dramatic.
I was ready to leave Canada. But of course, it wasn't over. When we got the border, the official asked us to pop the boot. Okay so its a random check, no big deal, its not like we're smuggling canadian children over the border to work in a sweatshop or anything, what could go wrong? Then it hit me, there's an open bottle of tequila in the boot! In North America its illegal to have open alcohol in the car, so i was crapping myself. I looked at Kate, we both looked scared, and just as I began to wonder if i'd look fat in an orange prison jumpsuit, he came round to the window and gave us the all clear.
Phew! We made it..............goodbye Canada!!!
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silvana
non-member comment
heaps of fun
Hi Robbie, whatever you do you are not a pro skier, I'm sorry!! You seem like you neally killed your self. I bet you were sore the day later. Good to hear you are well and having lots of fun. We r well and, yes I am getting bigger. My stomach has started to pop out. Keep in touch, speak soon. Love Aunty Silv. XXXXXXX