Was your weekend as busy as mine? I feel like I need another one just to relax. 😀 But all the action was totally worth it!
It started on Friday after work. INTERNeX met to watch the Opening Night of ‘We Will Rock You!’ at Theatre Under the Stars in Stanley Park. Yes, the show was outside at the Malkin Bowl, so we enjoyed a bit of sunlight and later the night sky above us while watching an amazing show. The Musical features songs of the famous band ‘Queen’ and invited people to sing, clap, and interact which was really fun. We made our stay extra special by bringing some blankets and snacks for a picnic on the little hill. When it got dark the scenery lit up for a great ending! If you missed out on that, don’t be sad, there’s a lot more shows going on, so you have time to enjoy it yourself! I would definitely recommend it. Maybe you like their other show better? Next to ‘We Will Rock You!’, TUTS is also showing ‘Something Rotten!’.
On Saturday we had several groups go out for kayaking and paddle boarding at Deep Cove in North Vancouver. The weather was perfect with a cloudy sky and some sunlight shining through. It was the first time for most of us and in the beginning we were a little nervous to fall into the water, but we ended up staying dry(ish). I really enjoyed the peacefulness of the ocean and mountains with trees around us. We kayaked around little Islands and even saw a seal very close to us! It was a fabulous start into the day. Two hours of kayaking flew by and before we headed back downtown we strengthened ourselves with some coffee and doughnuts. 😉
Of course the day wasn’t over after that. In the afternoon we met to go to the Khatsalano street festival. A whole road was filled with vendors, food trucks, beer gardens and live music. It was really busy, but super exciting to walk around and check out all the different booths. After a while, we needed to go somewhere less crowded though, so we went to Kitsilano Beach where we had some food and drinks while watching the sunset.
The last day of the weekend was probably my favourite. INTERNeX went on a day trip to Victoria, BC’s capital on Vancouver Island. We were a small bus filled with 14 people and met very early in the morning to get as much time as possible in this beautiful city. On the ferry our tour guide Mike introduced us to a game called ‘man hunt’. One person is the hunter and has to count to 60 while the rest tries to hide. Then the hunter has to find everyone and catch them (no running though, only speed walking) to make them an ally and find more people together. We played this game on the ferry and it was super fun! Also a great way for waking up and killing time. 😀
Once we arrived in Victoria we did a small city tour on the bus, went to the colourful Fisherman’s wharf, then to a large pier where you have a wide view over the ocean and you don’t even feel like you’re in a city anymore. The highlight was on our walk back when we spotted an otter family walking around the logs on the sides of the pier. From here we went to grab lunch and enjoyed it at Beacon Hill Park which was beautiful. In our free time to walk around the city, Tim got a fun sketch of himself form a street artist. Camilo and I ran into a Mexican festival with traditional dancing on the street and then went on to see the little ally’s in Canadas oldest Chinatown. It was so pretty and very different from Vancouver’s Chinatown. In general Victoria seems more like a European city than a North American city. It has buildings in Victorian style, no high skyscrapers, lots of cute individual shops, pedestrian areas, etc.
If you haven’t been there yet, you should definitely go. The journey is long but it’s worth it. We were lucky to have Mike with us, to show us the nicest spots and drive us around. 🙂
How was your weekend?
Let’s chat about it next pub night!
Cheers,
Laura 🙂
On Friday, I had another fun day ahead of me. I went to Victoria! Antonia and I took the ferry to Swartz Bay and from there; we took the bus to downtown. Once we arrived, there was one word that described the city perfectly: cute. We spent the day strolling around the city. We saw the BC Parliament Buildings, Fisherman’s Wharf, the beautiful coastline and many cute shops. Taking the ferry and bus for a couple of hours was definitely worth it.
Saturday, it was time for our INTERNeX event: Deep Cove. We went on a nice hike in the forest and had lunch with a view when we arrived at Quarry Rock. Since the weather was amazing, we relaxed at the beach for a while when we finished the hike. After that, we got ourselves some delicious ice cream and headed back to Vancouver. When I arrived at home, I took a shower, made dinner and then it was time to leave the house again. This time, the destination was the Bourbon in Gastown. I spent the evening dancing and playing beer pong and giant Jenga with some of you.
On Friday, we started the weekend in the best way possible: we had a barbecue at the beach! Sunset Beach was the location to be. The grill was ready from 6pm on. The smell of burger patties and sausages filled the air fast. This is how summers are supposed to be. I enjoyed my food, played Frisbee and had many laughs and talks with many of you. And let’s not forget the beautiful sunset we could all admire!
After a few hours of sleep, it was time to get up again. At 5:40am, my alarm went off. I obviously wasn’t very energetic, but it was time for me to leave the country. A day trip to Seattle was ahead of me. Yay, my first time in the US. Unfortunately, crossing the border took longer than expected, but the sun was shining for us in the city. So, being a total tourist again for one day, I did what I had to do: visiting the Gum Wall, eating Beecher’s Mac and Cheese (soooo good, by the way), strolling over the Public Market, walking through downtown and enjoying the view over Seattle from the Sky View Observatory. When we came back to Vancouver in the evening, we ended the day with a few beers.
If you would rather learn more about British Columbia, then you could go to the Royal BC museum. Royal BC museum is a pretty big museum with several First Nations’ collections. Besides that you could also visit the British Columbia Parliament buildings. Here you can either go on a self-guided tour or join a guided tour. The guided tours are free and take around 45 minutes. The buildings are also really beautiful and definitely worth checking out!
INTERNeX Canada 