How was the weekend?

A lot of fun! Friday I went to a free Argentine Tango dance class at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza. It’s one hour of learning the basics and afterwards there’s time to dance and practice some more. If you are intrigued now let me tell you that there’s one more class for Argentine Tango this Friday at 6.30pm at the same spot! All you need to bring is some water. You’ve got nothing to lose, so I encourage you to swing by and Tango! Maybe we can do an INTERNeX Tango night soon? 😉

Saturday INTERNeX went to Queen Elizabeth Park (seems to be a theme this weekend) and played Disc Golf. It was everyone’s first time, but after a couple baskets we got the hang of it! The weather was nice and sunny, the court had lots of trees for shade, or throwing your disc in. 😀 Since our discs got caught in the trees multiple times, we decided to skip the baskets that stood behind the big pond. We had a lot of fun and decided to walk around Queen Elizabeth Park some more after our game to see the beautiful gardens and the lookout over the city. 🙂

A few of us visited the Conservatory where you can see lots of tropical birds and plants, others went to grab a bite on Main Street, which is a really cool and hip area here in Vancouver. They have lots of different cuisines and craft breweries along the street, as well as art and artisan shops. If you haven’t been there yet, I recommend you check it out. 🙂 Camilo and I went back home on our bikes and made a quick stop at Rain or Shine Ice Cream, one of my favourites here in Vancouver. They make their cones fresh in house, so good! Another thing to try this summer if you haven’t done it already.

How did you spend your sunny weekend? Let me know in the comments, or tell me at our next Pub Night, Wednesday 7pm at The Ballyhoo.

See you there!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

What to do on the weekend?

Yeah, weekend!!! Here’s some inspiration for you:

Next to the free outdoor cinemas, there is another opportunity to watch a show outside. “Theatre under the Stars” currently plays two different shows in Stanley Park. On the program for this weekend are “Cinderella” (Saturday) and “42nd Street” (Friday and Sunday). All plays begin at 8pm and the ticket prices start at $30. But here comes the special: Ask one member of the PR-Team and get to know how you can receive a discount!

Do you like Thai food? Then your place-to-be for this weekend is the Vancouver Art Gallery, North Plaza, where the 5th Thai Festival will take place. You can visit the culinary tent and enjoy some freshly cooked specialities. Or you can just sit back and watch Thai artists dancing. There will also be a marketplace and, for the first time this year, a fashion runway. Even more good news: the festival is accessible for free and takes place on Saturday and Sunday.

Our INTERNeX gang is going to explore Deep Cove on Saturday. After a small hike (not like last week, promised) to Quarry Rock, we can spend some time at the waterside and stroll through Gallant Avenue. If you want to join us on this day, meet us at 10.30am at Burrard Station.

The weather forecast predicts a hot Sunday. Time to relax, so that you can freshly start the new week.  Luckily, there are many beautiful beaches and parks in Vancouver. English Bay, Kitsilano, Jericho Beach, Queen Elizabeth Park… You name it, the choice is yours!

I cannot wait to hear all your weekend stories at our PuB NiGHT on Wednesday. Have fun!

– Kerstin

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Smart Saver Vancouver

Summer has arrived, so it is time to go outside and do some fun activities. Good news is that you don’t have to spend (too much) money to join the fun. Here are some ideas for your free time.

I am sure you have already heard about the famous outdoor cinema, which takes place every Tuesday at Second Beach in Stanley Park. We just went there yesterday and watched The Lion King, it was a lot of fun! Next week, Mean Girls is on the program. Just take a blanket and some snacks with you and enjoy the movie.

Do you always have plans on Tuesday nights? No problem, you can also watch an outdoor movie on Thursdays at the Waterfront Cinema at Canada Place. Movies are shown until the end of August. Tomorrow, from 9.10pm on, the movie COCO will be on the screen. You can find the entire movie line-up here. Make sure you arrive early to reserve yourself a good spot.

Another great activity for hot summer days is of course swimming or at least splashing. You can cool down in one of the five outdoor swimming pools that are spread over the city:

• Kitsilano Pool
• Maple Groove Pool (South Vancouver)
• Hillcrest Aquatic Centre (close to Queen Elisabeth Park)
• New Brighton Pool
• Second Beach Pool (Stanley Park)

You can check out all location details and opening hours here. Admission fee for one visit is $6.10, except for Maple Grove Pool – only $3 for this one. If you are planning to go more often, you can also purchase a 10-visit pass for $48.80. You get 25% off the regular price, when you show up with a group of 10+ people. So, time to gather your friends and save some money!

Why spend the evening in the gym when you can also work out in the fresh air? Just dance the night away during free Zumba classes. Canada Place is again the place-to-be for this activity. The one-hour classes take place every Monday until August 27 and start at 5.30pm. And no worries – you don’t have to be a dance pro. Everyone is welcome to join the fun workout with a view.

Next to Zumba, you can also enjoy free Yoga classes. Mat Collective Yoga offers outdoor classes at diverse great locations in Vancouver. You can either join a class downtown in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in East Van, at Kits Beach or even on Granville Island. Different kinds of classes are offered every day until the end of August. So you could even go daily without even spending a loonie. Check out the live schedule here. Keep in mind that you need to sign a waiver before you join a class. However, you don’t need to sign up, just get in your sport clothes and take part in the class at unique locations!

I hope I could help you save some money! See you tonight at The Relish – where you get a beer for $3, by the way ;-).

– Kerstin

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Smart Saver Vancouver

It’s November. That means a lot of rainy days are waiting for us. Of course you don’t want to sit inside the whole day. Because most of the indoor activities cost money, I wrote a blog how you can save some money and still have a lot of fun.

The Art Gallery

Go on Tuesday nights from 5 pm to 9 pm to The Art Gallery. This night is a “by donation night” which means give some change you have in your pocket. Every week there is a new artist showing his work. If you are lucky, you will see some cool arts inside.

Gordon MacMillan Southam Observatory

If it’s a clear evening in the weekend, you can go to The Observatory. Watch the stars with a big telescope. Or look up when the next meteor shower is coming, so you will have front seat spots. The Observatory is open on Friday and Saturday from 8:30pm and also here you pay by donation.

Hiking

You can do a lot of beautiful hikes in and around Vancouver. Even if the sun is not shining, these hikes reward you with some nice views. Do for example the BCMC trial, Grouse grind, Capilano Canyon, Lighthouse Park, Stanley Park, Lynn Canyon (with the free suspension bridge) or the Quarry rock.

Nightclubs

Nightclubs during the weekend are packed. They ask for a cover to get in. During the week the club is emptier. To attract more people during weekdays, these evenings are cover free. That means free entrance and if you are lucky also a free shot.

Watch a movie

If you want to see a movie, but after looking in your wallet deciding it’s too expansive, go on Tuesday! At Cineplex the movies on Tuesday are $7 dollars. Is Cineplex too boring for you? Spend $3 dollars or more and go watch your movie in the Morgue. A morgue is a building where dead bodies are kept before being cremated or buried. What’s scarier than watch a horror movie here? Every second Tuesday of the month you can watch a movie. Bring your own blankets and pillows for the best cozy experience. Or spend $8 dollars for watching a movie in the RIO theatre. They play a movie nearly every night, check it here.

Granville Island

Go take the bus and get off at Granville Island. You can spend the whole day here walking around. Even when it’s raining, you can find a big indoor public market where you can taste some local products or go shopping in one of the many little shops.

Movie sets

As you maybe already know, Vancouver is the Hollywood from North America. A lot of movies are filmed here. Try to spot your favourite celeb by going to one of the sets. Decide which set you want to visit and if you are lucky, you can see your favourite celeb in action.

Whatever you decide to do, have a lot of fun! The last free thing you can do is coming to the PuB NiGHT tomorrow! Hope to see you there!

– Bart

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Experience IT Review – Vancouver Folk Music Festival

Last night we went to Vancouver Folk Music Festival. It was great to share this experience with all of you! Thank you for coming!

Vancouver Folk Music Festival is a yearly festival held at Jericho park. This year the festival was organized for the 40th year. To celebrate this they added an extra day to the festival, which was free entrance.

We started off at our meeting point and walked from there to the festival. Once we got to the festival, some of us were surprised about the way the festivals are organized in Canada. There were special areas for sitting, dancing and walking. Besides that there were also a lot of people who were taking chairs to the festival. We immediately went to the Beer garden where we got a free wine taster, foot scrub and a key chain. When a few of us went to the bar to get drinks, they even gave away sunglasses. After that we just chilled out in the beer garden while talking and listening to the music. It became really busy in the beer garden and after a while and there was even a line up for the bar till the entrance. When it got darker, there were people walking around with lanterns, which made the atmosphere really nice. At the end there was also an artist that started to sing the song “Hallelujah” and a lot of us sang along.

We hope you all had a great time at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. See you at next week’s PuB NiGHT!

– Iris

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com