Have been skiing with a group of 5 pommies. Our instuctor is a good bloke and loves to push us a bit out of the comfort zone.
Yesterday we went under the boundary rope in the search for some powder. Pretty exciting, once actually getting down the hill we had to ski through the trees to find the piste again.
Next up was a cliff! (Well it looked that way from above.) I made it down pretty well I thought, so did the next guy, then the crashes started. One guy slid most of the way from top to bottom on his back!
Anyway, my skiing has improved a lot just in the last two days, so it’s looking good. Having said that I’m glad of a rest tomorrow!
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Got to Whistler on Sat night. Settled into my little abode and when I woke up in the morning it was snowing! Conditions not the best yet but still pelenty of snow and fresh powder to play in some mornings.
I am now the proud owner of a season ski pass to Whistler-Balckcomb resort! Extra bonus is half price food from all the mountain eateries. Makes the food reasonably priced!
The part of the village I am staying in has progressed a lot since I was here last. Most shops are across the road from me so makes it much easier to get everything you need. I have to walk maybe 100 metres to the gondola which is a bit of a stress but there you go 
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Sunny in downtown Vancouver this morning. All packed up ready for the bus ride up to Whistler.
There is a great influx of footbal fans this weekend for the Grey Cup. The Canadian Football League’s grand final (I think). Everyone is walking around with replica match shirts and all the pubs a geared up for some heavy drinking sessions. Learned a new phrase the other day: “bar hop” which translates almost exactly to “pub crawl”.
As everybody knows, the only good thing about American style football is the cheerleaders and they’re wandering the streets in packs too! Friendly little things If you’re going to a game, don’t forget your binoculars…
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Finally caught up with my new best friend tonight for dinner A real live Canadian chick no less. Hope she doesn’t read this! Nice girl, down to earth. She’s moving to Australia around the time I’ll be in Whistler!
Now, don’t bother leaving any comments for this one OK, ’cause I’ll just delete them. Not mentioning any names.. Sue Howell!!!!!!!!!!!!
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Yeah, I know, every big city has a china town. But I’ve never been to any of them. (Except once when I got lost in Sydney.)
Now I know why. There was an over supply of derros here, even for Vancouver. They weren’t too fussed about sleeping on the wet concrete either. And that stuf they sell in all the shops? What is it? I need a haircut and could have got one for $7.00, but the barber was asleep in his chair…
Came across a Film Production in progress, well, on lunch break by the looks.
Few blocks away a suspicious black car on the footpath drew the attention of the police. I guess they weren’t too happy about it because they strode into the building with hands on their sidearms. I guess they were going to ask the guy to move it?
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Being an unemployed bum hasn’t put me off my tucker yet so have been looking hard for some good places to eat. A bloke can only handle so many pancakes for breakfast.
Had someone recommend “Cafe Sil Vous Plait”. Turned out to be a cafe with a French name that served not especially French food. Run by a little Asian man and they had Men at Work playing “Down Under” on the radio. Nice breakfast. Coffee better than Starbucks.
Lupo’s is a block down from the Hotel Vancouver. Best coffee in town. Their lattes are what I would call a flat white (you can’t order flat whites over here.) The smallest cup is the size of a soup bowl so one a day does the trick.
There’s a place two blocks from my hotel called Centro that has a writeup in the Lonely Planet guide. Went there for dinner. The food and service was outstandng. Tapas is very popular in Vancouver and this place is one of the best. (Says me who has only tried one of them!) Go there, you won’t be disappointed.
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Oh yeah, in the pub. So I arranged a date last night via email. Due to unforseen circumstances we didn’t catch up. More on that story later.
In the mean time, found a pretty good pub. Bar tender looked after me (as they do when you’re tipping) with Kilkenny by the pint. All the beuatiful people were there. Never thought I’d see so many tanned bodies in Vancouver!
Got talking to a dude from Iran, interesting bloke. Everyone’s a snow boarder, so might see him in Whistler one weekend.
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Got a real cup of coffee into me with lunch and then checked out the Vancouver Art Gallery. They just happened to have a Picasso exhibition on. Being such an art Philistine I didn’t really know many of the works. They mainly had some older etchings and drawings. “Weeping Woman” was probably the most well known. It’s pretty intense close up. Old Pablo was pretty handy with a pencil, you could take 3 or 4 paces back from some of the pieces and the shading looked like a black and white photo.
He had some dark stuff in there too. A series called “The Rape” is pretty much what it says. Old news to non-philistines I suppose.
No photos allowed of course.
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
Had a little recreational walk in Stanely Park this morning. Helped to clear the jet-lag fuzz out of my head!
The park is huge! Bounded all around by water, with a walk/bike track at the perimeter. It’s criss-crossed by internal walking paths through the trees. A lake in the middle is home to plenty of wild birds and duckies. There’s three or four restaurants in there too. (In the park, not the lake.)
There is a section telling of the native history, particularly their totem poles. Totem Poles are unique to northern British Columbia and Alaska by the way. (I read the tourist info, so now I’m a ex-spurt!) They are nothing to do with religion but more like a coat of arms, telling a story. Got some pics to post later. Some of the totem poles in the park are the real deal, carved in the 50’s and 60’s, others are copies of older originals that are in museums.
Got some pics of the Lions Gate bridge. About the size of the Sydney Harbour bridge, but taller and a cable suspension design. The main drag to the mountains from Vancouver uses this bridge to cross the harbour (Burrard Inlet). It seems a busy shipping area and I noticed some big logs (i.e. trees) floating around so the ship’s pilots must earn there keep.
Cold today. 5 degrees I suspect. Looking up any major street to the north you can see mountains and snow…
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
And some fog.
Delayed arrival into Vancouver due to fog but the view from the air turned out to be quite exceptional. Unfortunately I was to tired to bother taking pictures but basically there was bright blue sky, snow covered mountains stretching to the horizon and a low blanket of fog that looked like a river flowing through the valleys. Very pretty.
Did you get that Staggy? I said “snow covered mountains as far as the eye can see!!!”
Supposed to be 5 degrees here today. I was comfy in a t-shirt and jacket. Probably a different story when the sun’s not out.
Vancouver is similar to Sydney. Lot’s to see and do, and tomorrow after some sleep I will be reporting on some of it! Pub next to my hotel has Kilkenny on tap and serves reasonable food so we are off to a good start.
too tired must… get… sleep…
Matt Ski Trip '05 / '06
