We woke up this morning, and on our way to work, we saw some snow on the mountains. Finally…
Snow capped mountains, even though the weather is still very nice and temperatures are often mid twenties…
But we’re leaving Fall behind for summer again.
I am looking forward to our holiday. We plan to relax, go surfing, sea kayaking and of course do some hiking.
We’ll probably be able to write some things on the blog, but it won’t be on a regular basis…
Have a good week and weekend!
We woke up yesterday morning, and made another last minute decision: we were going to Mount Baker.
It’s been a little bit less than a year since we’ve been there, and the weather was nice so we decided to head out there.
Last time it started snowing, so we were unable to see how far you could actually drive up. We made it to up the ski area but that was it.
This year we first stopped at the Visitor Center and the park ranger told us that we definitely needed to go to Artist Point. On clear days there are stunning vistas of some of the most breathtaking scenery in northwest Washington. There’s a very accessible path around dazzling Picture Lake with views of Mt. Shuksan brilliantly reflected in its waters. On the other side you can see the top of Mount Baker.
Artist Point’s elevation is 1600m while Baker is about 3286 meters high in total. Definitely worth mentioning, it’s an active volcano… It is the second-most active volcano in the range after Mount Saint Helens.
Below a little video of Mount Saint Helens. This what could happen to Baker…
We definitely had a wonderful day, and Grizzly loved the lakes and the snow! Some pictures we took on our hikes:
Fun fact:
Mount Baker Ski Area is one of the snowiest places in the world. It set the world record for snowfall in a single season, 95 feet or 28.96m
Yesterday we made a last minute decision to go for dinner to celebrate our “1 year in Canada” anniversary.
We’ve changed our plans several times. Lots of restaurants were completely booked and others where just not really what we wanted. Finally, Kris made reservations at EBo restaurant in Burnaby.
It’s part of The Grand Villa Casino, and we always drive passed it on our way to work, but for some reason we’ve never checked it out. We entered a very nice building and it only took a minute to feel like we were back in Vegas. I really loved it. (sigh, the sound of the slots:))
After being guided to our table by a very friendly waitress, we both got a Strawberry daiquiri which was one of the best we ever had!
Kris ordered Wuxi Braised Beef Short Rib, potato
puree and fresh Horseradish. Served with garlic fries
I had the Seared Halibut, crisp Chorizo, potato puree,
and sautéed Spinach. Some tapenade and olive puree were added as well.
Even though I’m on a diet, we decided to check out dessert:). We ordered “Le ballet”. It was a chocolate mousse which tasted very similar to Belgian Chocolate mousse.
(The pictures are taken with our mobile phones, so it probably doesn’t look as tasty as it actually was, sorry about that:))
Lots of restaurants in the Lower Mainland offer similar entrees, but because EBo pays attention to details, it became such a fine dining experience. Not only the food was beyond expectations, but the service was excellent as well.
I know, I said this before, but this restaurant was definitely one of the best I’ve ever been to!!
If you ever decide going there check out their website www.eborestaurant.com.
A year ago, today, we were on a plane to Vancouver.
I know some people would like us to say: It’s not what we expected, let’s go back to Belgium:).
Sadly enough, I’ll have to disappoint those people (I know you all wish us the best of luck and of course you hoped we would be happy 
).
Anyway, it has been a crazy year with lots of different things, but only one big conclusion: We really like it here.
We’ve seen and discovered new things and we’ve met some amazing people, people I wouldn’t want to miss for the world! But of course we do miss everyone in Belgium!
Those that decided to come over for a visit: Thank you so much! We really hope you enjoyed your stay.
Those that didn’t have time or weren’t able to come by just yet, know that you are always welcome and that we are really looking forward to seeing you.
Anyway, so far for the emotional part of this post.
I was actually thinking to write something about the thing that was most exciting for me in the last year. But I wouldn’t really know where to start… So I think I am going to save you from a list of “cool stuff” because it’s going to be too boring:).
In general I can say that the things that stick to us the most are all our hikes (especially the one in Golden Ears), our new home, all those friendly people we’ve met and of course our new family member mister Grizzly.
Currently, we are really looking forward to our holiday (starting late next week). After that it’s going to be Halloween, and I am so ready to participate in the trick or treat game in our community.
The holidays will be coming very soon and yes I know, it’s early but I can’t wait to put up my Christmas Tree:).
So I guess that’s it, there’s only one thing left to say: Thanks everyone for all the support you gave us throughout this year!
And since you guys are always asking for pictures… Here are some of Kris’ recent photos of Vegas and our trip to Harrison Hot Springs:
A while ago, Kris and I were invited to go to a wedding.
Traditions here are slightly different than European traditions, that’s for sure!
It all started with a wonderful ceremony. While bride and groom were reading the vows and saying “I do” we had a magnificent view on English Bay and the North Shore Mountains. Probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to for a wedding.
After the ceremony, we went to the reception. It’s a little bit different than a European wedding reception though, in Canada the word “reception” stands for the actual dinner and party.
A ‘Musical chairs’ game decided which table could go to the buffet first.
And if you think that’s original, wait until the next part…
Read the rest of this entry »
Before you start reading:
“Today’s post contains mature subject matter which some may find offensive and it can contain nudity.”
We got back from Vegas last night. I feel like I would be able to talk about it for hours. But for those that really don’t want to spend time reading this blog post…
Here’s a recap: Hot, fun, booze (lots of it), pool, sunshine!
For those that do want to hear about our “adventures” in the gamble capital of the world, here we go…
Read the rest of this entry »
I feel like I have to start all my blog posts with: “I’m sorry we’ve been so busy we didn’t really have time to write something on our blog…”
Having said the previous thing I can start with the actual post!
We did the Whistler Mountain bike thing and it was amazing! It was really intense and a very good exercise for pretty much all your muscles. We got to ride down a mountain:) A fairly big one even!!!:)
No, definitely worth the energy and it’s a good deal, not too expensive!
We started of getting some basic instructions about stances, braking, steering,…
After that we did some trails, downhill. I have to admit that I didn’t really expect it to be that intense, because up until now I only did some mountain biking in “de Ardennen” and I have to say it’s quite different:). Downhill was new to me (since we don’t really have hills in Belgium). We got into a chairlift with our bikes and that took us all the way up the mountain. And I wouldn’t be Ine if I didn’t hate the chairlift part. Not because I’m afraid of heights, not at all, it’s acutally the part where you have to get your bike on one of those things. Kudos to my sweet husband who offered me the easiest spot to get that bike on the rack!
The video below, made with a helmet camera, is from someone that did the same trail (a little bit earlier in the season): B-Line
Anyway there’s not too much going on right now. Summer is almost over, work is slowing down a little bit so there’s time to enjoy some spare time.
So like I said, it’s less busy, our last visitors have left (at least for a while) and we are really looking forward to tomorrow when we head to Vegas! We’re going to stay in Treasure Island.
We’ve been there before and I absolutely love it! The pool is amazing (you can drink alcohol in it:)) and they have a DJ playing all afternoon! What’s not to love about that?
I’m pretty sure we’ll do some shopping, clubbing and tourist stuff besides drinking beers and cocktails:) We’re going to meet Koen and Tanja in Vegas so it promises to be a very exciting trip!
Mister puppy is going back to the breeder for a while and mister Freggels is getting his own babysitter (thanks Sabine, we owe you big time!).
We hope everyone has a good time and we won’t be able to update our blog until we get back so, again, you’ll have to wait for a while.
I know I haven’t been updating this blog frequently, but lately I didn’t feel like blogging/taking pictures/… so I didn’t
I won’t be writing a lot in this post, just wanted to post some pictures from the last month and a half.
The first picture is a panorama from Canada Place, Vancouver, which is the main cruise ship terminal in Vancouver. It also hosts the Vancouver convention and exhibition center, the Pan Pacific hotel and the 3D Imax theater.
If you look closely, you can see the “Island Princess” cruise ship docked in the middle of the picture. If you ever want to do a cruise to Alaska, Vancouver is your starting point
The next three pictures are taken during a visit of Fort Langley, “The birthplace of BC”, a former fur trade post of the Hudson’s Bay Company. It is called the birthplace of BC because it played a key role in the establishment of the 49th parallel as the international boundary with the U.S. and was the staging point for prospectors heading up the Fraser Canyon in search of their fortune.
The fort is now a museum explaining the history of the fort and showing life in and around the fort. They have presentations of weapons used during the 1800’s, explanation on the fur trading routes,… Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
The last picture is taken during a hot day in Lynn Canyon. After a short walk over the suspension bridge and down some rocks, you hit this small natural pool with a waterfall in the back, which is very popular with locals during summer.
That’s it, hmmm… I guess I talked more than I planned to…
Ine | 
