How was the weekend?

What is better than two days of weekend? Right, three days of weekend! We definitely enjoyed the long weekend with lots of fun activities.

Friday evening some of us came together to start the weekend properly. We played some games and had some really good conversations. What did you do on Friday?

On Saturday there was the Holi festival🎉. Sadly none of us got a ticket for it but we still went to the Town Centre Park in Coquitlam. Have you ever been there? It’s definitely worth going, the park is beautiful! On that day there were three different food trucks. Some of us tried the food and had some drinks. Luckily we were able to see the people throwing colours in the air and the coordinators taught traditional Indian dance performances. After we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the festival we all became hungry and decided to grab some burgers. We found a good spot not far away from the park and stilled our hunger. We all learned something new as we wanted to pay cash: you can just leave the money on the table, instead of giving it to the waiter like in Germany. Fortunately the waiter clarified the misunderstanding.😉

After the actual weekend event with the sold out tickets for holi festival didn’t go as planned. We decided to do another weekend event on Sunday. We went to the largest night market in North America, the Richmond Night Market. The weather switched the whole day from sunny to cloudy. It seemed very dark but luckily there was no rain. After we entered the market we were surprised by the variety of the booths and the mass of people there. First we checked everything out to have an overview of the offered food🍱. As you might all know this was not an easy decision! Everybody grabbed their food and met at our table to eat together. After a little dessert we decided to go through the rest of the market and visited the gaming booths. At about 10pm we went to the train station together and went home. To sum that up we can definitely recommend visiting the Richmond Night Market with its interesting food and entertainment options

On our third day of the weekend some of us visited the Vancouver Lookout. After we bought the tickets we took the elevator all the way up. The elevator there is a special one because the front door consists of glass, so you can enjoy the view of the city the whole way up – not really suitable for people with fear of heights. The view on the top was amazing and the weather was great. After we walked around we headed back down. In our opinion Vancouver Lookout is also worth visiting, so go check it out when you have a chance. 🙂

We’re excited to hear more about your weekend at the upcoming Pub Night tomorrow!

Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂

How was the weekend?

Was your weekend packed with activities, like mine, or did you take it slow?

For me there’s been a lot of things going on! It all started with INTERNeX going to the Vancouver Fashion Week. I’ve never been to a Fashion show before and didn’t quite know what to expect. To be completely honest I actually first thought it might get a little boring watching models present the designers clothes, but I was wrong, the experience exceeded my expectations.

Let me start from the beginning. What I loved from the start is that this event gives the perfect opportunity to dress up and present yourself in fashion you like, that might represent part of your personality, or is just a fun way to brighten up your day. To me, fashion doesn’t necessarily means wearing expensive designer pieces, it’s more about seeing it as a form of art that helps you express yourself and I could really see that at the Vancouver Fashion Week, not just in the audience, but also in the designs that were presented. Every of them had a unique style that was representing the art work of the creator. Fashion as I saw it was expressive, fun, and divers. Just like you can spot certain painters, or movie directors patterns that show how unique they are, you could see the same for the artists at the fashion show. What also made it extra fun was to see and learn about fashion represented by different nationalities, incorporating parts of their culture into the designs. 🙂 The models mirrored the styles by their way of presenting it which made it super entertaining to watch! I would say none of the styles equal each other and I really started to appreciate all the work and art behind the designs. On top of all that the atmosphere was amazing. There was the possibility to get a touch up for your make up, have a few drinks, and network in between the shows. Overall I think we all really enjoyed the experience and learned something new about Fashion, I’ll definitely come back for the next Vancouver Fashion Week! 🙂

Friday night, some of us girls had a little girls night with themed drinks, pyjamas, Italian food, including a Tiramisu for dessert, lots of music, dancing and singing, good talks, face masks and more food as you can see on the picture. 😀 I haven’t had a sleepover in years and I must say I really enjoyed it. It was nice to just hang out and do all the fun selfceare things in a large group. 🙂 So, this is your sign to grab your friends and organize a big sleepover party, it’s what we all need from time to time. 😉 Saturday was then a big rest day, or mores a preparation for the Vancouver Sun Run on Sunday!

Only a handful of INTERNeXer’s were up for the challenge of running 10km in the pouring rain. A lot of you might question the name of the run after hearing that most of the years it’s actually raining at the Sun Run, but we thought maybe it’s less about running IN the sun, and more about running FOR the sun. Since this is a pretty big event with road closures and thousands of people participating, all the good energy gets channeled and send up to the sky pushing the clouds aside, making room for the sun to break through. At least that’s what I’m hoping.:D We all know we’re in Raincouver, but I’m optimistic the sun will show within the next few weeks, you’re welcome. 😉

As mentioned it was very wet, so within 10 minutes we were soaked through and running with puddles inside our shoes. On the bright side we were warm and no one could tell if we’re sweating or just wet from the rain. 😀 It was a great feeling running collectively with so many people. Every couple meters there was live music playing and people cheering everyone on to keep going which made it possible for us to run the whole 10km without breaks in only 71 minutes. For some that might be slow, but let me tell you we are all not regular runners, so even just to finish the 10k was an accomplishment, doing it in that time felt even better. It was incredibly rewarding and I can recommend it to anyone who’s kind of thinking about it to really try it. Take some time to practice before and most important: hydrate! Grab a team partner and go for it.

After our run we went to the beach and took a cold plunge in 9 degree ocean water which also felt hard at first but very rejuvenating afterwards. All the pain from the run went away and it gave us new energy. Of course we also needed to treat ourselves after this tough day. For us it was a nice big breakfast and a visit at a pool with sauna and hot tub. You can imagine we all slept very well last night. 😉

If I’m doing a run again? Maybe. Am I going to become a regular runner? Probably not. 😀 Nevertheless this was a great experience and I’m glad I did it. 🙂 Maybe I’ll try biking next? What about you? Do you like being active? Do you like physical challenges? Or are you more of a homebody? And how was your weekend?

Can’t wait for you to tell me at Pub Night!

See you then,

Laura 🙂

How was the weekend? – Artsy and wet

The long weekend is over and a short week lies ahead. How did you spend your time?

Were you with us at the art walk on Friday? Even though it was a classic Raincouver winter night with breezy temperatures and light rain I really loved what I’ve seen and learned on this guided tour, e.g. some mind blowing AR installations which you could access by scanning a QR code on your phone. My favourite was one that let you see some paintings around you and as you walked closer it seemed like you were IN the painting! I saw beautiful skies with Northern Lights even though I was just standing at Canada Place. Another one of my favourites was a mural which itself already is impressive, but if you scan the QR code next to it and point your camera you’ll be able to see the mural move! There were many more interesting facts and stunning art along the way, if you haven’t been I’d recommend you check it out! It’s by donation, so make sure you show your appreciation by at least $10 for the guide which is super inexpensive for what you get. 🙂

After the walk some of us grabbed a drink and some food at the arts hub located at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The entrance is free and there’s still lots of events going on.
To top it off we danced at the VMF After Dark x AfroQueer YVR: Black Rave which had an all woman DJ line-up with taste makers of the Vancouver Drag scene. I’ve never been in a space with so many cool people at once and I loved every second of it, you could tell the energy was nothing but positive. 🙂

Saturday was a rest day for me and Sunday I met some friends for brunch at a restaurant on Commercial Drive. If you look for good food in a cool area that’s the place to go to! Commercial Drive offers a lot of great restaurants, especially amazing Italian Pizza and Pasta, but really you’ll find almost anything there! Afterwards we went bowling and of course had some more food. 😀 In order to get rid of all those extra calories we went to go snowboarding on Grouse Mountain early Monday morning. Unfortunately it was raining a lot resulting in us being completely soaked after a couple of hours, not the most fun I must say and really cold! After a hot coffee we decided to go back home, take a hot bath and just prepare for the week ahead of us. I will try again another time with better weather. 😉

I hope you stayed nice and dry while enjoying your weekend activities! Can’t wait to hear about it at Pub Night.

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

What to do on the weekend?

Winter weekends are not the most fun in Vancouver due to the rain and cold weather, but that shouldn’t keep you from having a good time and making the best out of your stay here!
Let me help you find things to do on this weekend.

First I’d like to invite you to come with INTERNeX and experience the STRIDE Burnaby Arts Festival! Explore Burnaby Heights with performances, community art displays, artist talks, and more. We’ll be walking around the neighbourhood, find cool art exhibitions, and end up at the Celtic Kitchen Party which offers lively tunes, soulful songs and compelling stories, inviting to dance with your friends. And how convenient is it that there’s a really famous pasta restaurant right in this area? 😉 For anyone who burns too many calories dancing there’s a chance to check out the restaurant after the event, how does that sound to you? The restaurant is known for its great food and big portions, I dare you to finish it all at once!

Feel like shopping? I have a great idea for you – the Valentine’s Arts Market which takes place on Sunday from 1pm till 5pm at 1448 & 1450 West Broadway. I know it’s called Valentine’s Market, but who says you need a Valentine to go? Why don’t you treat yourself this year with a nice present? The market offers beautiful locally made craft items and art reaching from candles, to chocolates, textiles and more. There’ll be great promotions and treats for you to enjoy and I’m sure you’ll find something quite unique there whether it’s for yourself, or someone special in your life. 🙂

Who of you is a chocolate lover? If you, like me, can’t get enough of the sweet delight then I’ve got the perfect weekend activity for you: The 13th Annual Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival. It’ll end on Valentines day so this will be your last chance to go around some cafes and try out their specialty hot chocolates (they are usually created especially for this festival and only available during that time). You can find 140 creations at 95 different locations and the great thing is you can explore a new neighbourhood while supporting local businesses and staying warm with a hot cocoa on a grey winter day. I recommend going rather early since the chocolates are pretty popular and sometimes sell out at some cafes! Also be aware that the price for a special hot chocolate might be similar to a price for a cocktail here, but trust me, it’s worth it. 😉

Here’s a link for you to see participating businesses: https://hotchocolatefest.com/virtual-map

I can’t wait to see you Friday, or hear about your weekend at our next pub night!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

What to do on the weekend?

This weekend is going to be a good one, the sun is shining, the INTERNeX events thriving. On Saturday we will go on a little hike to Lynn Canyon. People often say “that’s what I imagined Canada to be like” when they go to the area. The hike we’re doing includes walks over an impressive suspension bridge, along the river with small waterfalls, through lush forests and a natural pool to swim in, so make sure to bring your swim suit. 😉 It’s a free safe-guided adventure and a great place to learn about the North Vancouver eco-system. The hike is good for all levels, so even if you usually rather spend your Saturday’s on the couch, you can join us for this one. 😉 Make sure to bring plenty of water and some lunch/snacks with you. In my opinion a MUST-DO while you’re in Vancouver, and nothing better than hiking with a group! Meeting is 11am at Waterfront station!

On Sunday we’re going to celebrate the Pride Society, LGBTQAI2S+ communities, queer serving organizations, we’re celebrating diversity, vibrancy and people in Vancouver at the Vancouver Pride Parade! It’s a big celebration where all come together and party! 😉 If you ask me it’s THE event in Vancouver. It’s going to be hot hot hot in many ways, so make sure to put on sunscreen and drink enough water! Safeway Canada and Kwantlen Polytechnic University will be the fundraising flag-bearers for this year’s Toonie Brigade. The Toonie Brigade carries a giant rainbow flag where folks can throw in their toonies, which go towards making Pride what it is today, so make sure to bring a couple Toonies with you. 😉 Dress Code: colourful and fun! We’ll meet at 11am at the Esso gas station on Davie Street!

If you are not into the INTERNeX events this weekend there’s other things to do as well. Have you checked out the Londsdale Quay in North Vancouver yet? It’s a really nice area right by the water with a great view of the Vancouver skyline. There’s lots of artisan shops to browse through and nice restaurants to check out. For all the Germans out there, or those who like German food, there’s a restaurant in North Vancouver called ‘Jägerhof’ which offers some typical German meals like Schnitzel, or Rouladen, plus a broad selection of German beers (can though), while playing traditional music, sometimes even live! It’s a fun experience. But don’t worry there’s lots of different options, you’ll find something you like. 🙂

There’s also the last chance to see the fireworks of The Honda Celebration of Lights this Saturday at 10pm. Spain will be the last out of the three contestants. I recommend watching from Sunset Beach, unless you want to spend your whole day at English Bay, since it gets really busy there and it’s almost too crowded to enjoy the fireworks from there. Sunset Beach is a great option. You can still find a spot where you have perfect sight of the fireworks and more space around you. Of course you can go early anyways and enjoy the day at the beach, watch the sunset and then the fireworks. Have you seen the other ones before? Which one did you like better so far?

I hope to see plenty of you at our events, but if I don’t see you, have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂