Dear readers, it has been 5 months, 1 week and 3 days since my last blog post…
I have been a rubbish blogger this year. Absolutely terrible. Someone much smarter than me once said ‘never ruin an apology with an excuse’. Well I’ll be happy to forget the apology as I have a full blog post of excuses waiting (also read: shit I’ve been doing this year). In fact, my last post was all about the weirdo aspects of Vancouver, which I’ll still stand by, however it does leave the whole thing on a bit of a negative note…which would just be a terrible and completely inaccurate reflection on the past two years. Also known as The Best Two Years of My Life. Yup, you read it right. The Best.
So what exactly has been so important that I spent so long away from the blog that I actually forgot the password?
I’ve always tried really really hard to NOT be one of those travel bloggers who bores poor, uninterested souls with walls of text detailing every second of every trip in dry, I’d-rather-be-having-my-eyeballs-poked-with-hot-needles-right-now detail. Kind of like a post-social media version of being subject to hours of Auntie Nora and Uncle Alec’s holiday snaps of grass and such.
So here’s the deal. A quick (really!) list of where I’ve been/what I’ve been doing this year with a few snaps here and there for that extra dimension of ‘whoa I really feel like I was there!’. Okay. Go!
January – March: Lot’s of snowboarding!
Much in the style of Reservoir Dogs.
April: My friends Sandy and Dan came to visit me in Vancouver.
And then we went to…
And lastly…Vegas!!
May: Camping at Cultus Lake. The kind of camping that involved Domino’s Pizza.
May/June: Packing up and saying goodbye to our little Vancouver home. Far too many goodbyes. Obviously lots of alcohol was required.
I should also add if the following photo looks as though it may have been taken at 2am by a homeless man who was paid generously in loose change for his troubles, then that’s about right. Seemed like a genius idea at the time.
June 12th – June 16th: A final adventure with the crew. First stop…
And then final call, San Fran.
June 17: Vancouver Airport…bahhhh!
The soppy bit.
So you’re still awake? Excellent. If you can last through this next part without dry heaving the you’ve done a stellar job. What a pro you are.
So yes, as stated, my (almost!) two years in Vancouver have been pretty much the best two years of my life. So far that is. Despite what my mum keeps trying to tell me, I believe that I am in fact getting ‘any younger’ and there are still many years of fun and giggles ahead. Anyway yes, Vancouver. Wonderful, beautiful, amazing city. I couldn’t recommend it enough, if you ever get the chance make sure you go. I’ll be back there soon enough, but more on that later…
Nonetheless Vancouver will always be there. That is unless the threat of ‘the big one’ that has grown adults sitting under their desks in offices all over the Pacific Northwest for five minutes every year on account of the annual earthquake drill actually comes into fruition. But all things going well, Vancouver will always be there.
However the friends that I made and the memories and experiences that I had with them will not. It’s not like leaving home, when you can usually more or less count on the fact that most people will still be there when you get back, and that things will pretty much be the same. The transient lifestyle will attract those that are similar, and as a result the majority of my friends in Vancouver were like me, just passing through. A few are still there and probably will be for a while yet. But not forever. And yes it’s wicked to now have friends from all over the world that I know I’ll see again at some point. But the circumstances that brought us all together for a year or two and created the little life that we loved are no longer there. It was an existence that’s now a memory. An awesome memory. A really, really awesome memory.
Oh man up woman. So what now?
Well I’ve been back across the pond for almost a full month now. Lots of catching up with family and friends, and yet more drinking required. Good job I’m so bloody good at it!
I did spend last week in Sorrento, Italy as a bridesmaid at my cousin’s wedding. She was beautiful, the day (and week) were gorgeous and the location was stunning. So all in all I’ve not been fairing too badly. I’ve also had some good news on the job front. With effect from the 5th of August I will be working for a company called Audley Travel as a Country Specialist for Canada! Two very exciting things I’ll mention about this job (of which there are many).
1. They will be sending me back to Canada next month for 3-4 weeks to experience some of their tours and hotels as part of my training. Not too shabby.
2. I will be working at their new London office. So this means a move to London. A whole new city to explore and get excited about!
What about your poor wee blog?
Well you may or may not have noticed that I now have a fancy new domain (aka web address) that does not have ‘wordpress’ or ‘flookr’ (not really sure what I was thinking with that one) in the title. I’m right here at http://www.herethereandmostlycanada.com for now and for always.
Although my lack of output may have led you to believe otherwise in the past few months, I really enjoy writing this blog and I’ve been thinking of taking it up a notch for a while now. The only issue was I had no idea what direction to take it in. I knew I was leaving Canada, so there was no point in keeping the current title and I had a few ideas about future travels but nothing solid. But now that my actual job title is about to be ‘Canada Specialist’ then I think that the current title is more than apt.
So my plan now is to draw a line under this old basic, yet effective format and relaunch the blog under the same title but with a shiny new face lift and a little more focus and direction.
So thank you very much for reading/following/commenting. If you are about to embark on a working holiday visa in Canada, then please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. I have plans for a ‘FAQ’ for the new website, so this would help me and hopefully be of benefit to you.
Well that’s all for now. It’s been a blast! I’ll see you on the other side folks!
Lots and lots of love,
Caroline x
Here, There and Mostly Canada 