Hello friends, hello family, hello strangers! It’s been a minute since I posted. As you may know from past experience, that doesn’t mean we have been sitting still. Though it definitely has been a bit slower than last year in terms of trips and activities, we have been keeping ourselves busy! Here’s how we got ourselves through the dark winter season.
Salsa classes
In January, we started new salsa classes. As beginners, we first started a class last year, but the teaching style did not feel like a match. This year, we tried a different studio, and it was sooooo much better! We felt so much more comfortable and had way more fun with it – so much so that by now we’re into our second series. (Hold on, this doesn’t mean I’m a good dancer!).
Candlelight concert
One night in February, Tom announced a secret surprise date night. He almost couldn’t keep it a secret until the end 🥲 but with some (repeated) encouragement not to tell me anything, I blankly followed him downtown and found myself walking up the stairs to the Christ Church Cathedral. Shaking out and closing my umbrella, I looked around, and the moment I saw the colour of the lighting inside, I knew what was happening here. I had seen photos and videos of these events so many times and was always interested, but never went!
It was a Candlelight Concert, and it was sooooo beautiful! When the violin quartet started playing the first song, it turned out it was a Beyoncé-themed night. It was lovely hearing her songs in a classical version and in such a special place. On your next city trip, definitely check if one of these are organized where you are!
Go for walks
When we say we live in Canada, people go “doesn’t it snow for months on end there?”, and when we say we live in Vancouver, people go “doesn’t it do nothing but rain there?”
Situated on the coast, snow is not that common in the city of Vancouver. And the rain, eh, it’s really not that bad – but then again, we’re Dutch, so maybe we’re just used to rain. That said, if you want to, you can find yourself in a winter wonderland just by driving about 30 minutes. More about that later.
So yeah, winter is really not that bad. Grey days and sunny days take turns, and meanwhile nature is just always at our doorstep. Whenever we have a chance, we go for a walk or hike in the area. We haven’t really been on ‘winter hikes’, but I’ve enjoyed exploring some trails in Stanley Park, as well as the Lynn Canyon Park, Golden Ears Provincial Park, and Capilano River Regional Park.
Rugby sevens
I’m anything but a sports fanatic (and this is an understatement), but since last year’s impromptu visit to the Rugby Sevens event, rugby has become my favourite sport to watch! This year, I absolutely wanted to attend again, and so there we were on 25 February! BC Place was full of energy, and lots of people followed the tradition of dressing up silly. Us included! We cheered loudly for Canada, and supported the teams from the countries our friends were from. A very entertaining day, from around 10 AM to 6 PM.
car shopping
One evening after a hike, we made our way back to the city in our rental car. Not looking forward to the practicalities that come with returning a rental, Tom suddenly said: “what if we got our own car?”
This is how we had been doing it for a year: 1) reserve a rental car for the day, 2) walk/bus to the rental business, 3) endure the inefficient process that most of these rental companies have in place, 4) drive out to our activity, 5) drive back, 6) fill the tank, 7) return the car, 8) walk home. I know, it’s a bit of an ordeal, isn’t it? Outside the summer season, and especially in the winter season, renting a car is very affordable, so it’s alright. And I do still recommend it, actually – there are several options out there, and depending on what you’re doing you can choose what makes the most sense. Regular rental, Turo rental, or a quick Evo ride.
But for us, with the plans for this year and our activities, we did the math, and it made sense to start looking around. We hopped on Facebook Marketplace to get a sense of what’s out there. Fast forward, we now have a car!
skiing
Time to return to the topic of snow! After a lesson out on Big White in the Okanagan in March 2023, and then another lesson just back in December 2023 in Whistler, it was time to really work on our skiing skills. Throw in the fact that we have a car now… 😎 Vancouver is surrounded by three ski mountains: Cypress Mountain (30 minutes away), Grouse Mountain (15 minutes away), and Seymour Mountain (35 minutes away). Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a disappointing season in terms of snow (come on El Niño arrrrrgh). But thankfully, in recent weeks the skiing conditions have gotten better, and so we made our way up there to practice.
After an evening on the bunny hill in January, we moved to the green runs at the start of March. One and a half days of practice gave us a nice and steep learning curve (pun intended 😁). Next time we go, perhaps we can try the blue? If there will still be any more snow, that is… The weather forecast for next week shows 15 degrees, so I’m not sure how things will be up the mountain then. But at least it feels like we’ve succeeded in added a new skill to our personal repertoire!
Planning
What else gets us through winter? Planning stuff! Gotta have stuff to look forward to! I’ve got some running events to train for, visitors to welcome (can’t wait!!!), our first camping trip to mentally prepare for, and more. Excited for the clock to change this weekend, evenings to become longer, cherry blossoms to bloom, and the sun to come out more often… Spring, we’ve been waiting for you! Please come soon!
1 Comment
Wat een mooi verhaal weer. Fijn om te lezen dat het jullie nog steeds goed gaat. En knap van al jullie sportieve bezigheden.
Veel geluk en plezier voor de komende tijd….liefs van ons