Do you know any restaurants in Vancouver? Of course Yes! , don't you? There are lots of restaurants and also any kind of food. You might be able to eat all kinds of food in Vancouver. Afrikan, Bulgarian, fast food, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Spanish, Thailand and anything you want. When I came here, I was surprised it. Even Tokyo we might not have many types of restaurants so much. I don't think that every food is totally same as thier original food like we hardly eat "California rolls" in Japan. It is very common as Sushi in Canada though. So the food may be changed a taste and a style as canadian like. But it happens in Japan, too. So we can sometimes discover that there are some difference between canadian and other countries. That's interesting. We can enjoy eating the food in Vancouver.

★　★　★　★　★

By the way, do you know what canadian food is? Fish and chips are from England, Hambergers are from USA... Is there any traditional canadian food? I was often thinking about it when I came here. And some people said that they don't have any traditional food because the canadian history has not been long. It's still young. However others told me about a Poutine. I think that it seems a Poutine is a real canadian food.

What's is a Poutine?

Poutine is a dish consisting of French fries topped with fresh cheese curds and covered with hot gravy (usually brown gravy) and sometimes other additional ingredients. The curds' freshness is important as it makes them soft in the warm fries, without completely melting. It is a quintessential Canadian comfort food, especially but not exclusively among Québécois.
Poutine is a fast food staple in Canada; it is sold by many fast food chains (such as New York Fries and Harvey's) in the provinces, in small diners and pubs, as well as by roadside "poutine trucks" and "fries stands," commonly known as "casse-croûtes" in Quebec. International chains like McDonalds, A&W, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King also sell mass-produced poutine across Canada, especially in Quebec.





It was so yummy. I like it very much but it must be unhealthy though haha. Be carefull eating it too much.

By Yukiko

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Hiking

There are many wonderful hikes to do in the Whistler area. An excellent day hike, for those in good physical condition, is to hike to the Joffre Lake glacier at Joffre Lake Provincial Park, which is located north of Whistler. Although the hike is fairly steep, the views are amazing! Be sure to take adequate foot and drink. haha

The Joffre Lake

Firstly, we looked for the person who drive to the Joffre Lake for hiking on web site. You can find hiking enthusiasts and can ask them to take thier destination with them. Because my friend did everything at that time, I'm not sure in detail or if there are some way to get there like a rented car. But if you could find a person, it would be very nice. Because he or she might have lots of knowledge about a mountain and hiking. Actually, the guy who went hiking with us knew plants very well. So he often explained us about them on hiking. It was so interesting.

Unfortunately, the day we went hiking rained slightly almost all day so I was cold before hiking. However even though it was rainy, I was getting very warm as I climbed the Mt. The guy said that this hiking course level was midium. That's unbelievable. He climbed very fast but we were so slow. We didn't think it was midium level at all because there were many rocks and it was fairly steep! we were already tired in 30 min. I tried the same steps as the guy because he was good at choosing the best way. But I couldn't walked as fast as him so I couldn't catch him. We met some groups on the way and I was astonished. Even a dog climbed the rocks very well! I was impressed it. The hiking was very tough but I got amazing views during the hiking. Also the air was very clear and fresh. I felt refreshing. After all, it took 7 hours to hike. It seems a long time but actually I didn't feel such a long time. Although it was extremely hard, it was also fun so much. If you have time in Vancouver, I recomend it to you.

Lets go hiking :)

the Map of the Joffre lake ↓↓

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114539546930082263002.00043569eef8d943e3075&ie=UTF8&ll=50.226124,-122.574463&spn=4.814866,10.217285&z=7&om=1

By Yukiko

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Rocky Mountain

Rocky mountain is one of the world heritages. However I was wondering that how is it different from other mountains. Because I thought that a mountain is a mountain. That's why it was commemorative that I went there. But now I really think it was very good that I took a trip to Rocky Mt. I was touched during a tour. There were so many sight which were impressive. It was a totally different scene what I saw on pictures. I was struck with the grandeur of Rocky Mt. Also there were lots of lakes which were clear and bueatiful. So I could have seen the mountain which reflected in the lake.

The Columbia ice field

When I arrived the Columbia ice field, I was at the climax of the tour. I have never seen a bueatiful piece of scenery like the Columbia ice field. We went there by a exclusive car. It was a big yellow car and had such a huge tire. There was surrounded by snow and ice as the name. However I didn't feel cold-in fact I was excited too much and I did't feel cold. So I was romping around. haha Also there was the murmur of a stream by melting ice. The water was very very clear. Some people drank it but I didn't have bravery to drink it. Because even though it was clear, there is no guarantee that it was clean. That is from my experience in Thailand. haha

Anyway, I really felt a nutural greatness in this trip.

Rocky Mountain made a deep impression on me. :)

By Yukiko

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Seattle

The border

Have you ever seen the borders of Canada and USA??

There is the gate and are two flags on the top of gate. Of corse it is canadian and american flags. Because we don't have a border in Japan, I was excited when I came here. Actually, there was a long long line up for a immigration at that time so we waited about 1 hour. That's why we had enough time to look around there.




Finally, we arrived in Seattle. Seattle is small city so we walked around without publick transport. You might go everywhere by foot. We went to Starbucks which is the first shop as you know. To my surprise, it was such an amazing situation there. I was not sure that it was the reason why there were lots of people in the store but I believed that they must have wanted to get something for a souvenir at the first shop. It's just like my friend. haha And then we enjoyed looking around the market. That was so big! There were many kinds of fresh food, fish, fruits, flowers and so on. It was colorful market. Although we spent a lot of time there, we didn't buy anything. Why?? Because the crowd made us tired, we didn't have enough power to choose things what we want among so many stuff... But still it was very fun!!! We went there next day again.







Last day, we went SAFECO FIELD to watch the baseball game (Espesially, ICHIRO) . It was the first time to watch the game at a stadium for me. The studium was huge and the facilities were very clean and I was soooo excited!!, and what's more, Ichiro hit a homerun! I was very happy. I recomend that you go there and watch a game if you have a time. :)

I had have a great time in Seattle.

By Yukiko

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A plan for weekends in Vancouver

Bowen Island

When you've had enough of study and life in downtown, here is many places that you can enjoy your holidays surrounded by fresh air.

Above all places, my favorite place is Bowen Island.

It's located only 15min from West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay by ferries.

Before arriving the island, you can enjoy cruising with looking at breathtaking sights of mountains.

If you want an active holiday, it offers hiking and cycling trails.

The nature in the island helps you to be relaxed. Also, The buildings in there are very pretty ! I heard many artists call Bowen as their home, and you can see their work in the markets.

Victoria

Do you have any idea where is the capital city of British Columbia?

To confess, I had no idea about that before I planned to visit Victoria.

As you can see, Victoria, a well-known tourism destination, is the capital city of BC. Because the city is in Vancouver Island, it takes a little bit long time to get there. For me, with friends, it doesn't matter how long it will take, though.

There are full of spots to visit like heritage architecture, museuns and shops.

The British Columbia Parliament buildings are one of the landmarks of Victoria.

You can join a tour at there while there is no assembly. It will be amused you a lot and is good for your listening exercise.

I like this British-like beautiful city. It really makes me feel traveling !

By Miki

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My favourite places in Vancouver

My favourite places in Vancouver

First, the place which I’d like to tell is “Kitsilano” where is known colloquially as “Kits”. There is a residential area in Vancouver and also are a lot of stores and restaurants etc. So that you can buy anything what you want and enjoy having every meal with your friend!! But these aren’t the reasons why I like “Kits”. Actually, I had lived there for 2 months since I came to Vancouver. At that time, I felt people who live here are so relaxed and expansive. First time I came there, they were friendly and kind to a stranger like me. Moreover, there is suitable for going for a walk. In 20~30minutes, you can go to the seaside. You can enjoy watching a wonderful sunset there.

From the Kitsilano beach

Next, I want to introduce to you “Capilano Suspension Bridge”. It is one of famous bridge in Vancouver because of its features. It’s so long bridge, which has over 130m long and 70m above the Capilano River. As you know, this bridge is suspended by wires and very swinging. Some people can enjoy the swing but others feel scary. In my case, it was so fun!! But you know, the enter fee is expensive a little. So I recommend you to go there with your friends, who are over 20people!! If there are over 20people, you can get discount on the fee. And it is located in forest, which is made as a park. And there is a lot of short bridge. You can enjoy walking in the forest and beautiful sight!!

By Naoko Oct 19 2007

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