How was the weekend?

Orcas, stunning sunsets and beautiful evenings with friends… Is there anything that sounds better to you? That’s exactly how our last four days went.

Let’s begin with Thursday. We met early for our pickup, got to know the other people that joined the trip to Vancouver Island and started our tour. After a short break at the grocery store – where we bought the necessary goods for breakfast and lunch – we took the Ferry to Vancouver Island and enjoyed the good weather on the deck and played ‘cards against humanity’. The 1.30h ferry ride passed by so fast and we started our journey to Tofino. On our way to Tofino we stopped at three different  locations. We went for a hike, saw  a waterfall, enjoyed our lunch in the sun and went swimming! Well, not everyone went swimming cause the water was freezing cold, but at least it was refreshing. As soon as we arrived in Tofino we went to a small restaurant and grabbed dinner. At the Hostel we moved into our rooms and went to the pier to watch the sunset 🌅. You would never believe what we saw there! It was an Orca family swimming really close to the pier right into the sunset, that was just unbelievable and truly magical. Afterwards we came together in a nice bar and had great conversations before  just falling into our beds after this long and exciting day.

On Friday we had some free time and we were able to book different tours like whale watching, bear watching, kayaking or surfing lessons. All of us booked one of those tours and really enjoyed it. In the evening we met at a restaurant where we started telling all the stories of our eventful day. Back at the hostel we played a few rounds of pool and some card games with the group to top off the second amazing day on the Island.

Saturday morning started early when we headed to Victoria. On the way we made some stops. One of them was Cathedral Grove Rainforest where we saw an 800 year old tree. We also visited the village of Combs with heritage constructions, gift and antique shops. Fun Fact: In the village of Combs goats live on the roofs. At the last stop on our bus ride to Victoria we were at a lake where we jumped into the clear refreshing water. Arriving at the Hostel we ate dinner and strolled through the city. Some of the group went to a bar, the others went back to the hostel for some awesome chats and card games.

The next morning started with a short optional bus tour through Victoria with our guide. The guide gave a lot of interesting historical facts about the city and places to go for our free time in the morning and noon. We definitely used our spare time by visiting the parliament of B.C., Beacon Hill Park (there are a lot of animals e.g. turtles, ducks, deers, squirrels and peacocks) and Chinatown. In Chinatown we ate something and watched the lions parade of a local group with traditional clothing and dances. In the afternoon we headed back to the bus and drove the ferry. At 8 p.m. we arrived in Vancouver and everybody started their way home.

It was such a beautiful weekend. We’re still impressed by the stunning things we were able to see. What did you do on your weekend? Tell us about it next Pub Night 🎉. We hope it was as great as ours.

Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂

What to do on the weekend?

Yippie, the long weekend is knocking on the door! 🎉 And there is so much to do in Vancouver!

Our first recommendation is going with other INTERNeXers to the Colour Fest which is part of the Holi Festival.
You don’t know what Holi stands for? That’s no problem, we’ll explain it to you!

“Holi is a Hindu festival that has been celebrated since ancient times. The Holi Festival is celebrated as a way to welcome in spring, and also is seen as a new beginning where people can release all their inhibitions and start fresh.”
You throw coloured powder in the air to represent the bright colours of spring and the bonfire from which Prahlad was saved.

The event will be on Saturday, May 20th in Town Centre Park, Coquitlam. There will be music, dance performances, a certain colour zone and multicultural food trucks (We’re sure there’s something for everyone). It starts at 5pm and ends at 8pm.

We’re also visiting the Richmond night market on Sunday. It’s the largest night market in North America and offers over 110 food baths from different countries! So there is a huge variety. 🌯🍱🍜

Another thing to do to take advantage of the great weather is kayaking☀️. There are a lot of good places where you can rent a kayak, for example at Deep Cove, Jericho Beach or the North shore. Renting a single kayak costs about 45 CAD for 2 hours, a double kayak about 69 CAD. Some of them also offer guided tours where you can enjoy the most beautiful spots around.

If you’re interested just go on their website, search for a free time lap and feel free to book it!

Last but not least our third recommendation for this weekend is going to the Aquarium🐠🦦. It is Canada’s largest aquarium and is located in the beautiful Stanley Park. Besides just watching animals there are different touch pools where you get the opportunity to get hands-on with giant sea cucumbers, green anemones and starfish. If you want to visit this beautiful place you have to reserve tickets online. The prize of the ticket depends on the day you want to go there. It costs between 39 CAD (during the week) to 48 CAD (on the weekend). If you’re a student with a valid proof you’re able to get a discount for about 5 CAD.

Hope to see you on the weekend! It’s going to be a great one. 😁

Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂

Vancouver Island – Weekend Recap

What a weekend trip!

Some of us got to experience such a nice weekend on Vancouver Island! We went there with Moose Travel Network, with whom we’ve done many trips together in the past!

We were meeting on Friday morning to head towards the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. After enjoying the natural hair dryer on top of the ferry deck from the blowing wind we arrived in Nanaimo and got some groceries for lunch. The spot at Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park let us take in a beautiful scenery while having lunch.

Afterwards, we got to see some of the biggest trees in Canada at the MacMillan Provincial Park! One tree is 75 metres high and some trees even 800 years old. Guess they survive all of us =). A true highlight was the stop at Wally Creek, where you can see one of Canada’s most beautiful nature places. Rivers and sources who go through rocks and a big valley of trees around it. Such a vibe! After seeing the big trees, we headed towards Long Beach on Vancouver Island, on which parts of the Twilight Saga were filmed, how cool is that? 🙂

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In the evening we arrived at our first destination: Tofino is a nice little harbour city with a quiet, calm, but at the same time overwhelming atmosphere, caused by the surrounding nature of the sea, the mountains, and the forests. We all had a nice meal at a restaurant in the evening and a little gathering at a pub with some live music!

With the tummy full of a great breakfast we went to the beach to go surfing on Saturday morning. The fresh air, the 4 metre tall waves, the cold salty water, and the sun shining through the trees was definitely an experience we will never forget! Some of us chose a calmer option and went kayaking instead. 🙂 Luckily, due to our super tour guide Terence, we get to experience not one, but two events on Saturday! We drove with a boat out on the sea to see some grey whales! It’s a super extraordinary feeling to see such an enormous animal in the depth of the blue ocean! Some of us got to experience bear watching, which I heard was also amazing. To finish up the day we gathered together at a beach with a clear sky for stargazing and a cozy bonfire where we made classic Canadian S’mores, right after we watched the sunset. That was a whole day of events there!

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Early in the morning on Sunday we left Tofino with everlasting memories and drove back to Nanaimo. We stopped at Sproat Lake to see old fossils which could be seen in a stone wall. Slowly bumping up our heartbeat, we headed towards the Nanaimo Wildly Park to go Bungee Jumping! I can tell you, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. Overcoming your fears gives you so much energy! The bridge over Nanaimo River was 150 ft (45 meters) high and they were doing bungee jumps since 1990! I guess we can be sure the bungee doesn’t tear apart =). With adrenaline still in our veins from the bungee jump, we went to Mount Douglas. This mountain is right before Victoria, our second destination on the trip. From this mountain you can even look over to the United States! Such a breathtaking view! Arriving in Victoria, we ended our evening with a tour from our bus driver Terence and a Pub Night in Victoria.

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Waking up in Victoria gives you many options on what to see. We decided to go to the Royal BC Museum which has an exhibition about Natural History and the animals there. The animals were displayed in their original size. Can you imagine how big a mammoth is? Me neither until I saw it there. One exhibition was also about how the climate change can affect the biodiversity and the vegetation in British Columbia. They even believe that with the year 2080, the degrees climb up by 8! Walking out of the museum you can see the parliament building and next to it the Beacon Hill Park with access to the beach. After seeing the beach and the sea, we went to some souvenir shops and to a restaurant to grab some food. Sad that the trip came to an end, but also grateful for the many experiences, we took the ferry from Sidney to Tsawwassen to go home to Vancouver. On the ferry, we got many chances to spot some sea otters in the water and see the beautiful islands around us.

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To conclude I must say that this experience and the whole trip will last forever in my heart because I got to see so many things and make memories every day. I’m very glad I joined this trip and I’m so excited for the next one.

We hope all of our participants in this trip could enjoy the Island just like I did. Maybe we can talk about it during the next Pub Night? =)

See you there! Have a good one!

Tino =)

How was the weekend?

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 🙂

Smart Saver Vancouver

The past couple of days, it has been over 25 degrees Celsius in Vancouver. AKA: Summer is coming! Therefore, I thought it would be the perfect time to tell you about some great, affordable summer activities you can do during this time of year.

Do you enjoy being on the water? Summer is the perfect season to go kayaking in False Creek! Groupon currently offers a 40% discount on two-hour single kayaks and a 44% discount on tandem kayaks. This means you can enjoy the beautiful view from the water, the calming sound of the waves and of course, improve your kayak skills, for only $24! The promotional value expires August 31st.

Would you like to do something less standard? Go paddle boarding! You can do this at Kitsilano Beach as well as Granville Island. From Granville Island, you can paddle down to False Creek or to English Bay and enjoy the beautiful views you will pass by on your way. If you’re lucky, you might even see some seals! Groupon offers a discount for this activity as well: two hours of paddle boarding on a weekday will cost you $17 instead of $33 and two hours of paddle boarding on any day will cost you $21. Tip: bring a friend and rent a paddle board for two people. Why? Well, Groupon offers a 51% discount, meaning you and your friend only have to pay $33 in total! This promotional value expires September 5th.

Not into water activities? No need to worry! If you enjoy movies and being surrounded by nature, I have the perfect activity for you: watch an outdoor movie at Stanley Park! Every Tuesday, between July 3rd and August 21st, you can wrap yourself in a warm blanket, eat popcorn and watch your favourite throwback movies, all while breathing in fresh air. The best part: it’s completely free! You can find the line-up here.

If you would just like to do something simple; organize a barbecue with your friends and divide the preparation among the people who join. A fun day guaranteed! I hope the weather stays nice enough for you to do all these activities. If it does: don’t forget to wear sunscreen and take water with you!

See you all tonight at the Lamplighter for PuB NiGHT!

– Angy

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