How was the weekend?

As expected the weather was a blast! It went up to 31 degrees with loads of sun, so of course we took advantage of it.

On Friday we explored more of the beautiful Vancouver, created some social media content for you and enjoyed the great weather. Stay tuned for what’s coming next😉

Saturday morning started calm when we met at the English Bay Beach. After a bunch of INTERNeXers came together we started preparing the beach volleyball field and set up the net. After that ‘hard’ part was finished we just built two teams and finally it was time to play😎. At first we just played around for fun and explained the rules for those who haven’t played yet. As soon as everyone got used to it we started playing our first little match while actually counting the points. All we can tell you is that it was a very close match😉 and that everybody had fun. After that intense match we took a short water break in the ocean where we went for a swim to cool down from the heated game. One thing we have to mention: the water was super cold but at least refreshing. We continued to play a few more rounds but as the time passed by we all got really hungry and decided to grab some food. Luckily there are enough options close to the beach 😍. We decided it’s gonna be a Burrito day. Some more friends and former INTERNeXers joined our group and we decided to switch and explore Sunset Beach. We brought some snacks, drinks and of course a good mood with us. Then, we spotted the perfect place to settle down and enjoy the sun. We also brought some German culture to Canada and played a typical German  card game with an inappropriate name. We definitely used the sunny weather for a perfect beach day and collected some really good memories, but also a sunburn😬.

Now let us tell you more about our weekend event at Lynn Canyon. First of all we definitely have to mention: It was a success. For us it felt like a little school trip 🚌 because nearly half of the group already met on the bus on the way to our meeting point. With a group of 12 people we started the adventure and walked the trail. Our first stop was the Twin Falls Bridge which has an amazing view over the waterfalls. We continued our hike with beautiful nature, the sound of the waterfalls and a lot of stairs. Next destination was the suspension bridge which was so stunning but very crowded, followed by the highlight of our hike: the 30 ft pool. As fast as we dipped our feet in the water they came out again. Yes, that’s how freezing cold it was! Some of us were brave enough and did some cliff jumps (tbh there are bigger and smaller rocks to jump off😉). We did an open end event so everybody had the opportunity to stay there, go for another hike, or do whatever they wanted to do. Most of us decided to go home, so we took the same bus and our fun ‘school trip’ came to an end.

We definitely recommend that beautiful hike. What about your weekend? Let us know more about it at the upcoming Pub Night this Wednesday!

Cheers,
Anna & Chiara 🙂

What to do on the weekend:

This weekend is going to be super warm, up to 30 degrees. So the A/C has to be turned on, for sure.

Here are a few great things to do on the weekend.

Of course INTERNeX planned a cool activity for you.  On Sunday we are going on a hike at Lynn Canyon. The trail contains waterfalls, beautiful nature and clear turquoise water. You also have the option to jump off the cliff into the ’30 foot pool’, as long as you are brave enough! The name ’30 Foot Pool’ is a reference to the depth of the water which varies with flows and by location. After our cold plunge we’ll finish the trail and might get some good food as a reward. We think that’s a great opportunity to escape the daily routine and enjoy the great weather.

You can’t go wrong with going to the beach, right?
Especially English Bay Beach! 🏖 That’s a great spot for young people to meet especially when the sun comes out. Just take a towel with you, go for a swim, relax with a book, play volleyball or enjoy the sunset, maybe you’ll even make new friends.

Another cool activity you can do is renting a bike and riding through Stanley Park, it’s a 10km ride if you go around the seawall. You can rent a bike e.g. at Spokes Bike Rental or Jo-E Cycles right on Denman Street, next to the park.
If you’re lucky enough you can see some seals, otters, or beavers on your way through the park. One of our INTERNeXers even saw an Orca once! When you need a little break you can go for a swim or have a picnic at one of the beaches or grass areas. So, better bring your picnic stuff with you to strengthen yourself for the rest of your ride.

Whatever you want to do, just enjoy the coming summer! ☀️

Cheers,

Anna & Chiara 🙂

How was the weekend?

Was this summer? Is it over already? The past weekend Vancouver was blessed with sun and temperatures up to 23 degrees. The first taste of summer which unfortunately already passed, but we used our time wisely I’d say!

On Friday I spent some time on my balcony enjoying the sun and relaxing before going out to a concert at night followed by a great ending at the Roxy with some of you guys. In case you don’t know, the Roxy is a night club on Granville Street that offers amazing live music every day of the week in combination with a DJ playing the best tunes. I really love coming to this place. It’s always a fun night where you can sing your lungs out, dance your butt off and make new friends. They also have a pool table and photo booth, what else could you ask for? – That’s right, affordable drinks! There’s nothing this bar lacks in my opinion. 🙂 We sure had a good time and stayed until the lights came on and the bar was closing. If you haven’t been out in Vancouver yet, I highly recommend you try it and see how different it might be from your home country. Here’s a party guide I’ve put together in case you need some inspiration on where to go: https://internexcanada.wordpress.com/2022/06/03/vancouver-party-guide/

Since we went out Friday night, Saturday started quite late, but not too late to enjoy more rays of sunshine. INTERNeX met at Jericho Beach next to all the cute bunnies (have you seen them yet?) to experience the feeling of a BC summer by the city. Lots of people came out for BBQ’s by the beach, volleyball and swimming, so did we. Ricky was brave enough to dive into the cool Pacific Ocean as a way to escape the heat the sun was forming upon us. After all this activity (;)) we started to feel a little hungry and checked out a rooftop patio restaurant right at the beach with views over downtown and the mountains. They serve food like burgers, fish & chips, tacos and ice cream. The price is not necessarily cheap, but I think it was really worth the experience. The portions were big and the food delicious, plus the view was great! There’s not really any other restaurant around the area that offers anything like this. Strengthened from our break we decided to go back to the beach and hang up our volleyball net for a couple of games during sunset. It was a lot of fun, but some people got quite competitive. 😀 We made new friends who joined our games and in the end just sat down and talked about life with music playing in the background, debating on what to do next. The sun disappeared more and more, it got a little chilly so we decided to leave the beach. A bunch were planning on going out that night, I still have to ask how that went. 😉 I was just happy to go to bed because I could still feel the consequences from the night before. 😀

Let’s hope summer returns soon to Vancouver and we’ll have many more of those amazing beach nights. 🙂

What was your highlight of the weekend? Did you like the sun? Or were you hiding from it?

Tell me about it at our next Pub Night!

See you then,

Laura 🙂

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 🙂

Meanwhile in Vegas…

You might wonder why it was so quiet on the Blog this week. The answer is, INTERNeX went to Las Vegas for the 4th of July celebrations and I obviously couldn’t miss out on that. Still tired, I feel the last couple of days in my bones while sitting back at my desk in Vancouver. It was my very first time in the city that never sleeps and I understand now, why people say that. Here’s a little POV from our trip.

We’re on the plane early in the morning, excited to arrive at the shiniest place on earth. The city is so big you can see the flickering ads on the buildings from up in the sky. After refreshing ourselves at the hotel we decide to take the Monorail (kind of like a skytrain that runs parallel to the Las Vegas Strip) and go down to the famous ‘Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas’ sign to take a nice group photo. The last station of the Monorail however, is a bit further away, which means we have to walk quite a bit to get to the sign.

At first that seems totally fine, but it is 42 degrees pure sun shining on us, so it gets harder with every minute of walking. I really feel that I’m in the middle of a desert. In the distance we see something… is that a Fata Morgana? A yellow ‘M’ appears on the horizon and it whispers ‘Air Condition’ and ‘food’. Thankfully we are right, it’s a McDonalds that was going to save us. It feels really good to cool down, eat and drink an iced beverage before continuing our journey.

Surprisingly we all made it to the sign, just to find out that there’s a long queue of people waiting in the heat to take a photo. We find a way to sneak to the side and skip the line by taking a photo there instead of right underneath the sign. If you are ever planning on going, keep that in mind! Another thing we’ve come to realize, it’s cheaper to take an Uber or Lyft when you are travelling with a group than it is taking a bus, plus it’s more convenient as well.

After spending some free time we all meet again at a nice Mexican restaurant to have dinner and drinks together. The tacos are amazing! The first day has been successful, but tiring. Matt plays a round of Black Jack at the Casino but gives up pretty fast, I guess it’s time for bed. We decide to keep it chill and save our energy for the next day.

A few of us are going to a pool party, the perfect place to be on a hot sunny day, and indeed it is so much fun! I’d recommend buying tickets in advance as well as eating and drinking lots before going because prices are insane; $57 for a cocktail… Everything else is totally worth it though, we’re having a blast! Another group of us is taking the day to explore the city some more.

In the evening everyone is out to see the Independence Day fireworks! My favourite view is from the Bellagio Fountains. There’s a fountain show with light, music and the fireworks in the background. Even at night it’s nice and warm in the city. I actually prefer the night over the day in Vegas! Everything is sparkling in bright lights, and the sun doesn’t burn you. 😀

There’s definitely always something to do and the time of our departure came too fast. After two days it’s time to say Goodbye to Vegas. We all agree it’s a very unique place. It doesn’t seem like a regular city, it’s its own little world. I still feel like I need to process the past days, so much happened in such little time, and with barely any sleep. But I guess that’s how it is when you visit Las Vegas. 😉

Have you ever been to Vegas? Would you go? What do you think of it?

I’d love to chat more about it at tonight’s pub night, 7pm at The Blarney Stone! See you there!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂