Bright Lights

Last night as I walked home from our annual Superbowl party I was waiting to cross the street and happened to look up at the Hotel Georgia sign and just loved this angle.  Hope you like it!

Lucky

Sometimes we all need to be reminded of how lucky we are.  Not only have I had the chance to travel to some absolutely amazing places but I also happen to live in the most beautiful city in the world (not that I am biased or anything).

Whenever I need a reminder of how gorgeous it really and truly is here in Vancouver I have to look no further than the ocean.  I took these two photos last summer on a day when the sunset was particularly lovely.  This sunset reminds me of the sunsets I used to see in Indonesia when I lived there briefly as a kid - all reds and oranges.  So gorgeous!

Vancouver, Vancouver

Yesterday my friend Bridgette and I took a trip down to the Vancouver Convention Centre to check out the EPIC Expo - the sustainable living expo featuring fashion, food, home decor, and much more.  On the way down we had to stop at JJBean for coffee and as such wound up taking the long way on our walk to the Convention Centre.  It wasn't the greatest day (i.e. rainy and gross) but it was nice to get out into this lovely city.  Here are some photos from our walk:

PS my two favourite EPIC booths were the Luscious Creations booth (amazing amazing vegan cupcakes) and Andrew Briggs' art (both Bridgette and I picked up amazing pieces).  Check them out!

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Revisited

February 12th marks the one year anniversary of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.  The Olympics were an absolutely amazing experience, especially given that my apartment is right downtown - in the heart of the action.  This Saturday (the 12th) there will be a huge event happening on Granville from Smithe to Dunsmuir from 12-9pm to celebrate the one year anniversary of the games.  Check out updates here.

I've been feeling reminiscent about the experience and started flipping through my photos.  Here are some of my faves!

The Olympic Cauldron in the lovely Vancouver sunshine.

 The Olympic Cauldron at night

I was lucky enough to get to go to one of the very first medal ceremonies of the games.  The whole night was great but my favourite moment happened before the event even started.  As people were filing in and finding their seats word started to spread through the stadium that Alexandre Bilodeau had won Canada's first gold medal of the games.  Soon enough everyone was screaming with excitement.  When they announced over the load speaker at the beginning of the ceremony that Canada had its first gold the whole place erupted with cheers all over again.  Such a great night! 

The Olympic rings - loved seeing the colour change to gold every time we won a gold medal :)

One night while out with friends we got a text from one of our friends telling us to come up to Granville because he and some other guys had started a pick up game of hockey.  By the time we paid our bill and made our way up there a huge crowd had gathered.  It was so fun to watch a game of street hockey in the middle of Granville St. 

From one hockey game to another... This photo was taken after the Canadian Men's Hockey team took home their gold medal in a nail biting game against the Americans.  The moment Sidney Crosby scored that "golden goal" all of downtown went nuts - people were spilling out of buildings to celebrate on the street with everyone else.  I honestly have never screamed so loud in my life!  The joy was palpable that day with everyone coming together to celebrate what was really an amazing Olympic games!

There's Nothing Better...

than a sunny day in Vancouver.  I feel so fortunate to live in this gorgeous city.  I think that most Vancouverites tend to forget how amazing this city is when the rain sets in and we go days without seeing the sun but as soon as it comes out like it did today everyone is out and about enjoying it.  This afternoon I grabbed my camera and set forth to enjoy the beautiful day on the seawall.

Love this building

Inukshuk - English Bay

This is my favourite residential building in Vancouver - one day I will have a place here.  It reminds me a lot of the buildings that you see in Europe.  It also happens to look amazing all lit up at night.

Mmmm sunshine!

One of my favourite Vancouver moments involves this statue.  One night I was running the seawall late at night and as I ran past the statue I realized that someone was sitting inside with a guitar.  I removed my headphones and sure enough, the person was quietly playing the guitar inside the statue.  It was beautiful.

Love the bridges and the water in Vancouver.

More bridge shots

Yet another...

In my grade 12 photography class I took an entire series of photos of boats - I guess my love of boats hasn't worn off.

Ferry boats

Nothing like an inspirational phrase at the end of a long walk :)

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend!

R