Vancouver

Kate and Phill put me on the Greyhound back to Vancouver on Friday morning (thanks for waking up early...). While the scenery during the 2-odd hour trip was beautiful... It didn't prove as appealing as the inside of my eyelids - and so, I caught some sleep!

Arrived into Vancouver before lunch to incredible blue skies and not a cloud to be seen. After a quick hotel check in I ventured on foot to find some lunch and then get a bit of retail therapy. Hollister in the downtown mall proved a good source for some new shorts and tees, and also of that nonchalant retail attitude mixed with loud top 40 music and ridiculously dim lighting to lull you into a sense of retreat from the usual glare of metro shopping malls. I shouldn't criticize it, because i'm a fan of their clothes... But still, I like to be aware of their ploys to extract money from people's bank accounts...
"Ooh, Hollister-branded Jake cologne... Now I too can smell like a sexy Californian 20-something." (it's okay, I resisted this purchase and stuck to my shorts and tees...)

In the afternoon I walked over to Stanley Park (largest metropolitan park in the world... Kate advised me on my arrival on Monday). The views were nice, and I resolved that Vancouver feels like a nice mix of Sydney and Perth. And that's all I have to say about that. (what? If you want to know more just look it up on Wikipedia)

My Friday night in the city coincided with the start of Vancouver's annual pride weekend. The atmosphere was fun and festive, but after some dinner and a quick walk along Davie Street, I tired of all the pink, lilac and sequins and made my way home at the ungodly hour of 9pm (still daylight here). "25 going on 50" as my mum would say - and darn proud of it.

Now it's Saturday, and I am sitting at Vancouver International Airport waiting for my flight to Denver... Which leaves in... 3 hours... (Now you get the "Ah-ha" moment as to why I spent a whole paragraph talking about Hollister).

I'm thirsty... I wonder if there's a Starbucks here...