I’m ill this week, but the arrival of these made me feel so much better.
A boy and some blooms, I’m a lucky girl.
At the weekend we finally made it to the Vancouver Aquarium. Situated in Stanley Park it is Canada’s oldest and largest aquarium and it displays a truly stunning variety of wildlife.
I’m never sure what to think of zoos and aquariums believing really that animals would be much happier in their natural habitat, rather than living in a glass tank where people come and stare at them everyday. I was convinced though by someone I work with (who researches marine mammals) who told me all about the great things that the Vancouver Aquarium are doing in terms of research and conservation, and she encouraged me to go. Throughout the shows and talks the staff at the aquarium also emphasise the research work they are doing, and highlight the effect our actions have upon the natural habitat of these creatures. It’s actually a really effective way of making you think about the footprint you are leaving on the world.
One of the highlights for many of the visitors is the dolphin show, and whilst it is incredibly impressive it wasn’t my favourite.
Because look at this:
That’s right, it’s a sea otter and it’s so cute. For further evidence of their cuteness check this out.
We also saw beluga whales, this was a first for me, and I couldn’t get over their incredible colour.
They also have a really playful nature.
The array of jellyfish is also quite something. Also lots of their tanks are lit which makes it easier to take good pictures, and they don’t move quite as quickly as a dolphin!
I’m just back from a week in Scotland. It was so lovely to be back, to catch up with family and friends and to watch these two say “I do”.
Apparently I only took one picture of them together, and they both have their eyes shut!
It was so lovely to be back. Scotland more than anywhere else feels like home. It was where I lived for six years whilst I learned to live independently, embracing all that city life had to offer. There is no one place that particularly feels like home, in the six years I lived there I moved house 6 times and lived in two different cities, but it is the country itself that feels like home.
The trip was quick and exhausting, exacerbated perhaps by the fact I never actually recovered from jet lag, but I did get the chance to wander in the dell, spend time with my parents, including a lovely lunch with Mum at the Fruitmarket Gallery, see lots of friends, eat a burger at the Cambridge, visit a gallery and a historic tourist site and ceilidh dance. I couldn’t really have asked for more.
Actually the only thing I could have asked for would have been more time!
All will be quiet for the next week as I’m off to bonnie Scotland.
I can now count off the number of months I have left in Vancouver on one hand. This feels both weird and really exciting. I want to start using this space to record some of my favourite places in Vancouver. Some of them will be typical Vancouver choices, but I also want to focus on the little hidden gems that the city has, places that the visitor will miss and that it is only because I have lived here that I have been lucky enough to experience.
First up, Trees Organic Cafe. Trees is home to Vancouver’s best cheesecake. This is voted for by people, I’m not just making an assertion. Although it’s really good cheesecake.
It’s not actually the cheesecake that I wanted to concentrate on here though. On Friday nights Trees hosts live music, displaying some of the cities best singer, songwriters. Entry is free, with the expectation that you buy something from the cafe, they sell other things beside cheesecake, although I’d recommend the cheesecake! It’s a really pleasant way to wind down at the end of the week. Music starts at 8pm.
