114: WEDDING BELLS

Yvonne is my first friend to get married, and it was such a lovely wedding! The ceremony was outdoors and the weather ended up being very cooperative. I got a hair cut earlier that day at my hairdresser's house downtown - and it turns out the girl whose appointment was after me was also going to the same wedding, since she was Yvonne's coworker! What a small world.

113: BALLOONS

It was Carnival day at Kerrisdale and all the shops had things on sale along the sidewalk. Faubourg had a guy selling pain au chocolat and croissants outside, and I couldn't help myself from buying a pain au chocolat, even though I had a chocolate croissant yesterday. All these buttery pastries taste so good, but I always think about the butter clogging my arteries...I have a lot of guilt when I eat these.

112: DARK CLOUDS

I love the combination of dark clouds with a little bit of sunlight peeking through. Everything looks so dramatic when set against the looming, ominous clouds.

111: JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH

...of Meat and Bread!! I had the broccoli and carrot salad as well as the sandwich special - Fraser Valley Veal Breast Sandwich, Caramelized Onion, Cracked Pepper and Parmesan Gremolata, Dijon Aioli, Frisee Lettuce. YUM!

110: BLOSSOMS IN THE DARK

109: BLANKET

108: BEWARE OF FLYING BALLS

107: A GOOD FRIDAY

It was a beautiful day, filled with sunshine, gelato, and one of my favourite restaurants, Meat and Bread. I had the special, which was turkey with gravy. My mouth is watering just thinking about their delicious sandwiches!

106: JOHN VANDERSLICE @ MEDIA CLUB

I had never heard of this John Vanderslice until I volunteered to take pictures for his concert, but I walked away from the show as a fan.  It was my first concert alone - doors opened at 8pm, so I arrived at 9pm and was told by the people working there that the main act wouldn't start until 10:30! I walked in and awkwardly stood in the middle of the room (it was an intimate show) until finally I eyeballed an empty seat and plopped down. I chatted up the guy next to me since he was also on his own, and it turns out he is doing his masters in BOTANY. I was intrigued, because Evy and I had just been talking during our hike to Admiralty Point about how we wished we could identify the different plants and trees in the park!

When the show finally started, I found out how audience participation plays a big part at John Vanderslice's shows. Every few songs, he would call out someone's name and have them come up to the stage to sing with him (his website invites his fans to do this and to contact him regarding what song they want to perform with him). One guy even brought a tiny piano and played the solo to a song. Then near the end, John went off the stage and into the middle of the room, and had everyone form a big circle around him as he performed on the floor. It was cool. I was meaning to leave early, since I was tired and sick and had work the next day, but he was so good that I stayed until he finished at about midnight.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Can't wait for the next concert. Taking concert pictures is hard work though - I feel like I need a better lens!

105: ADMIRALTY POINT

The town of Belcarra is home to Belcarra Regional Park, with trails that offer views of Deep Cove and Mount Seymour.

 

104: LOOKING UP

103: ZIPLINING

I went ziplining in Whistler! It was cool. There were 4 lines, and the fastest one can go up to 100km/hour, if you don't slow yourself down.

I enjoyed the scenic drive along the Sea to Sky highway. British Columbia is just so beautiful. I couldn't capture the snowcapped mountains with my camera because my pictures just didn't do them justice, but these mountains and trees and ocean are really just breathtaking.

102: PIZZA, GELATO, AND BIKING

What is better than a day full of eating and biking in the sunshine? Not much, except maybe a day where I find out that I've won the lottery, but that hasn't happened yet...

First, I biked with Jenny from my house to Nicli Antica, a pizzeria in Gastown which serves Neapolitan style pizza. I had the Bianca (extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano, roasted garlic, roasted onion, oregano, and gorgonzola) and it was soooooo good. Jenny had the Diavola (pomodoro, parmigiano, fior di latte, sopressatta, basil, chili oil) and that was good too.

Then we went to Bella Gelateria (whose owner attended Gelato University in Italy), where I had Philippine mango sorbetto (tasted exactly like Philippine mangoes), and Jenny had a chocolate cake from Giovane - both places are located by the Fairmont Pacific Rim. We sat underneath a cherry blossom tree to enjoy our treats.

I didn't realize there were so many bike lanes set up downtown. I know a lot of people don't like Mayor Gregor Robertson's expensive bike lanes, but I applaud him because how are you supposed to attract people to bike more, if they feel that it's too dangerous bike on shared roads? I feel that the perception of being able to bike safely on the streets is so important in getting people to commute by bike. It was my first time biking on the separated bike lanes on Dunsmuir as well as on Carall street, and I really enjoyed them. If I lived and worked closer to downtown, I would bike all the time!

Then it was time to bike the grueling way home, but not before having some fun with our bikes.

What a beast day - I live FAR AWAY from Gastown. As in very very south Vancouver. And Jenny biked all the way from Richmond!