What to do on the weekend?

No question, you should celebrate St. Patricks Day! But before you immerse yourself into this experience, let me give you a little bit of background knowledge.

Saint Patrick lived during the fifth century and is the patron saint of Ireland. His death is believed to have been on March 17, 461 which is the day of the celebrations. The probably best-known legend of St. Patrick his explanation of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) by using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

Fun Fact: The first St. Patrick’s Day parade didn’t take place in Ireland but in America in 1601.

1772 homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in New York City to honour the Irish patron saint. From then on the enthusiasm for St. Patrick’s Day parades grew. Today, people of all backgrounds celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, especially throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. Popular dishes include Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage and champ. In some places you find green beer, green rivers and of course people dressed in green black and gold.

If you’re really interested in the history, meaning and background there’s more stuff on the internet like articles, videos etc. 🙂

INTERNeX is obviously going to an Irish Pub here in Vancouver to get the full experience. 😉 Are you coming? Or do you have other plans to celebrate?

A good idea is to buy tickets on pre-sale or come early since it’s going to be super busy and it might be more expensive to get tickets at the door. But nevertheless there’s lots of things going on around the pubs as well. I recommend checking out the place in front of the art gallery or just wander across Granville street to take a peak of what St. Patricks Day might be like, but be aware there might be some intoxicated people along the way.

You don’t like partying? I’ve got another idea for you this weekend that involves cultural program. I heard a lot of you like dancing, so how about checking out the Vancouver International Dance Festival? There are performances this weekend in different locations and the tickets range from $20-35. If you want to find out more check out their website: https://www.vidf.ca/

Another good thing to do if you like to be more active outside and are into winter sports is spending the day at a local mountain like Seymour or Grouse for example. Enjoy the last days of the season before spring arrives and the slopes won’t be as good to ski or snowboard anymore! Right now mountains are easy accessible through a shuttle or public transit. A lot of gear can be rented on the mountain as well, so really there’s no excuse for you not to go. If you are lucky you even get an amazing view over Vancouver when you’re up there!

As always, I can’t wait to hear about your weekend at our next Pub Night!

See you then!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

TOTAL RECALL 2022 – Part III

Here it is, the last week of 2022! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I’m always still in the holiday spirit a couple days after, so I’d love to tell you about our most recent Pre-Christmas events to let it last just a liiittle bit longer. 😉 If you haven’t read the first two parts of our year review here are the links for you:

Part I: https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/12/14/total-recall-2022-part-i/

Part II: https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/12/21/total-recall-2022-part-ii/

So, here we go:

The closer winter came the more our Halloween activities shifted into Christmas/Winter. 😉 Have you been on the Christmas Market, or to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Festival of Light? I love these kind of activities to get me in the mood for Christmas, they light up this dark cold winter time and help me stay sane. 😀 Or have you been to a Canadian Ice Hockey game yet? I can highly recommend it, even if you’re not too familiar with the sport it’s a great experience and who knows, maybe you’ll walk out of the arena as a new Canucks fan. 😉

Our last bigger trip this year was to Whistler, but this time for ski season! We had a nice hotel with a jacuzzi in every room which was really nice at freezing outdoor temperatures of -14 degrees! The weather was cold, but beautifully sunny. The first day we went on a stunning snow walk around the golf course, it looked like a real winter wonder land. The main event was obviously the skiing on the following day and for real it looked amazing, plus Whistler is also known for its great Apres Ski parties which many of us enjoyed. 🙂

Now 2022 is coming to an end and to conclude, the year has definitely been challenging with all the changes the pandemic has brought with it, especially in the tourism industry, but we can proudly say we had a great year with lots of adventures, learning curves, and most importantly awesome people.

We are grateful to be back and we want to continue helping you grow through your experience here with INTERNeX in 2023. Off to a new chapter! We wish you all the best for the next year and all the years to follow!

Did you set yourself any challenges for the next year? How has this year been for you? What was your favourite event/trip this year? I recommend sitting down for a minute and really think about what you’ve achieved and how much you’ve grown, it makes you really excited to see what’s coming next, doesn’t it? 🙂

Lots of Love,

Laura 🙂

How was the weekend?

A new week has begun and I can feel it’s going to be good one.

My weekend recap is rather boring, since I tried to cure my cold. I was resting a lot and couldn’t take part in any cool events, but I know some of you did! Since I haven’t done much, I will tell you about Marcel’s weekend instead. 😉

Guess where he went – Yes, he went to Ottawa. The flights were super cheap, so he decided to check out Canadas capital. From what he’s told me it’s a cool place!

Fun Fact: Ontario just lifted their mask mandate last weekend.

One thing he noticed is that it’s more bilingual than here in Vancouver. Everybody first starts speaking English AND French, and then chooses how to continue depending on your preferred language. For example, they’d say “Hello, Bonjour”, and see in which language you reply to proceed with the conversation. We think it might be because it’s so close to Quebec, the province in which French is the official language.

Compared to Vancouver, summer already arrived in Ottawa and Marcel took the opportunity to cruise around the rather small city, he says. His favourite thing was the view over Parliament Hill with its historic buildings and when I see this picture, I know why. 🙂

More things to do in Ottawa are a free tour through the Parliament building and a visit in one of the numerous museums the city has to offer. He thinks, there’s something for everyone. Since it is a smaller city, you can see all the main attractions within 2-3 days, so it’s a perfect destination for a weekend trip.
Pro tip: Go in summer, rather than in winter. Ottawa is very lush during the warmer months, whereas it can get very cold and grey in winter.

Another personal highlight for Marcel was the fast food chain Harvey’s. It’s Canadas second largest fast food chain, after Tim Hortons, and mainly present on the East Coast. He explained that it’s kind of like Subway, but with Burgers. And now I’m hungry. You might wonder why that’s a highlight, but he told me that he’s doing some sort of challenge, where he’s trying many different fast food chains, that are not existing in Germany, to compare which one’s the best. I already asked him to make a list based on his experience, so I could share it with you guys. 😉

What about you? How was your weekend? Would you go to check out Ottawa? Any plans for next weekend yet?

INTERNeX is going to do the Grouse Grind on Sunday, June 19! Are you up for the challenge?

Let me know if you want to join this workout with rewarding views at Pub Night this Wednesday, 7pm at Mahoney’s at the Convention Centre.

See you there!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂