Author: Wim

Dinner for Two

A new month, a new idea !

After trying to blog blog every day of the month of April (fail) about my travel adventures I feel like I am getting side tracked from my inner voice and turning into a disabled Harry Potter version of Trip Advisor.

That’s why I’m changing my blog into more of a personal experience blog instead of a summary of local attractions to visit.

I don’t know if it will be interesting enough to keep reading but I feel like I am not writing to my full potential when I am just recommending stuff. That’s why I will try to also blog different topics on my website.

Like this one.

This one is about silence.

Awkward silence.

The kind of silence you want to avoid. The kind of silence that is louder than anything.

I worked as a bartender for a while and I can tell you I was surprised by the amount of young (or older) couples that came to the restaurant and seemed to have nothing to talk about. They just sat there across from each other and staring into the infinite distance while they were anxiously waiting for the food to be served. There was this certain type of painful silence between them. Nothing to talk about. Everything seems said and done. Or both parties were looking desperately for a subject to talk about. Sometimes it was a first date going wrong, but often of the time it was a married couple that lost all passion. At least, that was the impression they have me.

Or maybe they just had a bad day. Bad week. Bad year…

The idea of being in relationship like that repulsed me.

And it still does.

Relationships scare me. To me, they are equivalent to stagnation, somehow.

But I know we all will have to open ourselves to someone, someday. Or we will end up like an old man or woman in the corner of the restaurant dining by ourselves. And I don’t know which one is worse at this point.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe in love and finding your other half and I do believe the perfect significant other is out here for all of us but I also strongly belief that I don’t want to settle for less.

Neither should you.

And Steve Jobs would agree.

If you feel trapped into a relationship that doesn’t make you happy, end the relationship. There is always a way out. Even with a financial attachment, even with kids around,…

My parents divorced when I was 15 years old. I won’t say it’s an easy thing to do, but there is always a way.

And all I can say, don’t give a damn about what other will say or think about you. Because it doesn’t matter at all. It’s your life and you should not live it in spite of others.

Live and do what makes you happy.

While in Vancouver : West-Vancouver

The cost of not following your dreams, is spending the rest of your life wishing you had

After exploring Downtown and North Vancouver it’s time to stretch our legs in beautiful West-Vancouver. I visited West-Vancouver only a couple of times during my stay in Vancouver but every visit was memorable.

What I remember from this neighbourhood is a hike in Ambleside Park on Christmas morning with my roommates, a perfect Christmas start if you ask me, especially after that Christmas Breakfast with omelettes and eggnog. Not such a fan of eggnog but if you spike it enough it will be enjoyable at some point.

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On the last day of the year a good friend of mine took me on an adventure. We started the trip with a stop at Whytecliff Park, a popular place for divers and a great place to take some pictures. If you climb around the rock like a little monkey, make sure you pay attention to the slippery rocks ! No lifeguard around here to save your ass. IMG_3541

In my last week I was living in Vancouver I went to West-Vancouver twice. I already told you I am procrastinator and I had a bucket list to check off. And the list was still pretty long. I lucked out and was able to scratch two more things off the list before I left.

The first one was hiking up to the Eagle Bluffs. The hike starts at the Cypress Mountain parking lot. The hike has some switchbacks but once you get up there it’s a fairly easy hike. The hike itself is not the greatest but the view from the Eagle Bluffs is worth all of it.

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On my last day in Vancouver I went to visit Lighthouse park with two sisters from Belgium. I went to school with the oldest sister and didn’t see her for years. Funny to think that sometimes you need to be on the other side of the planet to meet people from your own country again. They showed me around and I absolute loved it, especially with Pippa, the mountain dog as company. There are a bunch of hikes to do in the park so I will definitely go back !

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While in Vancouver : North Vancouver

There are years that ask questions and years that answer

Only a sea bus away from Downtown Vancouver, North Vancouver is quite conveniently located for those who love to ski and stroll along the beach on the same day.

North Vancouver has two of the three ski hills in Vancouver. Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour. The third one is Cypress Mountain and is located in West Vancouver.

My favourites spots in North Vancouver (so far) are :

Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

Not as big and spectacular as the Capilano Suspension Bridge but less busy and for free. This bridge is located near the Lynn Canyon parking lot. You can do some easy hikes around here.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

The admission for the Capilano Suspension Bridge is not cheap but you do get access to the bridge, the cliff walk and the treetops. All cool adventures to go to with the family. Please note if you a permanent resident from British Columbia you only pay admission once for the whole year.

Make sure you bring a visit to the park during the winter holidays when the ‘Canyon Lights’ season is switched on (somewhere end November till begin January). The whole park is then lit up with thousand of christmas lights.

Capilano Lake and the Cleveland Dam

Very scenic spot to make awesome photos. Also a starting point to do some easy hikes in the area.

Lonsdale Quay 

A nice spot to hang out with friends or to go on a date. Stroll through the indoor market, enjoy the view from the deck or go up the red ‘Q’ staircase and have a great view of downtown Vancouver. Nice restaurants and bars nearby. Definitely give Raglan’s Bistro a try (poutine, burgers, yam fries,…).

Need more food ? 

For a hangover breakfasts (or any other meal) Eighties is your heaven on earth. Trust me, on a Saturday or Sunday morning you won’t be the only one looking hungover. The place is a little bit outdated but the food is great !

For delicious Thai food Krua Thai is always a winner !

While in Vancouver : Downtown

The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead. 

After a summer in the mountains I arrived in Vancouver for the ‘winter’ season. Six months I made one of ‘the most liveable cities on earth’ my home. The most liveable city if you keep in mind that it is also one of the most expensive cities on earth.

Nevertheless, Vancouver is and stays a great place to explore.

If you visit Downtown Vancouver then you should start your morning stroll along Kitsilano Beach Park. After the morning walk make a stop at Granville Island for lunch or coffee. If you want to be a true tourist you can take the aqua bus across to continue your walk through Sunset Beach Park. Here you’ll pass the giant Inukshuk and the famous English Bay before you enter Stanley Park.

You can walk all around the park if you have a lot of time and love the walking, it takes you about 2 to 3 hours to complete the whole Seawall around Stanley Park. Make the ‘detour’ to go up to the Lions Gate Bridge and Prospect Point for some cool views.

Want to keep going ? Sure, you unstoppable wanderer !

Keep going until you hit Coal Harbour and Canada Place for some nice snaps. If you keep going east from Canada Place you’ll end up in Gastown, a touristy and funky neighbourhood to wander through. Lots of restaurants (The Flying Pig, Steamworks,…) and bars (The Lamplighter,…) to go to.

Make sure you go check out Chinatown and its wonderful Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.

My walking tour stops here. Don’t go too far east or you’ll end up in the poorest and not so safe neighbourhood of Vancouver (stay west of Columbia street).

Just turn around and head to the Waterfront Station and take that sea bus to North Vancouver.

More about that in my next post.

Waterton Lakes, Alberta

Your life is an occasion. Rise to it. 

Last year I went on a road trip through Alberta, Montana and Wyoming with my good friend Gordon. Lots of driving, lots of breathtaking views and a good amount of hiking.

One of our stops on our road trip was Waterton Lakes. A Canadian National Park that is lying just on USA/Canada border. Everything on the USA side is Glacier National Park.

We parked our car at the information center and because we had ample time to spend in the park, we got the suggestion to hike the nearby ‘Bears Hump‘. It’s a pretty short hike that starts at the visitor center and offers you an awesome stunning view. Be aware it can be windy up there so make sure you keep your personal belongings and loved ones close.

Other things you want to do is visit the Red Rock Canyon and walk the short loop around the canyon. On our drive to the parking lot we saw a bear chilling on the side of the road. From Red Rock Canyon we made our way to Blakiston Falls, a 45 minute hike.

Drumheller, Alberta

Growing up as a kid I always have been a fan of Jurassic Park.

I never knew there was a place in this modern world where dinosaurs marched through the streets.

Until I heard about Drumheller.

Curiosity made me go all the way from the Rocky Mountains into the lonely badlands of Canada. The drive isn’t the most exciting one so make sure you have good music and cool friends on board.

Once you arrive in Drumheller you’ll see dinosaurs are king of the streets. And the citizens of Drumheller have adapted to this unique selling point. Hotels, restaurants, gas stations… they all have a reference to these extinct animals.

If you make the effort to go all the way over there you should definitely visit the Royal Tyrell Museum and the Hoodoos.

Jasper, Alberta

After making several stops along the Icefield Parkway, you arrive in Jasper.

I visited this cozy little town on a cold and quiet day for the first time last year in March.

After driving all the way from Lake Louise to Jasper in almost one go (since most of the rest stops and viewpoint areas were still closed at that time of the year) I arrived exhausted at the Marmot Lodge, my accommodation for the night.

I visited the town of Jasper and learned that people can’t buy a house in Jasper as their second home nor can they build new houses in Jasper.

I also learned from a local waitress that a hike to Patricia Lake is definitely worth the effort.

So I hiked it the next day.

The full two hours.

And I found a sign that said ‘Patricia Lake’.  And the lake itself, covered under meters of snow.

I promised myself to return to this place in summer and later that year I did.

This time I drove.

The Epic Icefield Parkway : Exits

Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.

A good friend of mine once told me that it is important to learn what matters in life. To not focus on the short term instant moments but to concentrate more on the longterm satisfaction. Because if you focus too much on the short term things you might loose sight of what happens in the long run and you might miss out on the big picture.

That advice stills sticks.

The Icefield Parkway is maybe a little bit like a chapter of your highway of life.

Lakes can be your ideas, fresh and pure.

Trees the infinite breaths you can take

The wildlife can be your loved ones. Ever present but not always visible.

Other cars on the road to remind you that you are not alone on this road, especially when the going gets tough.

There are the stops to let you take a break and reflect on what’s been and what may come.

The viewpoints to make you realise how amazing this journey can be.

And then there are the exits.

Exits that lead to other highways with other life adventures.

Or maybe they are leading you nowhere.

Or they lead home.

Although I know everyone needs to take their exits in their life at some point, I am having a hard time taking my exits. It’s like I don’t want to miss out on what’s beyond the exit. What I may miss out on. But I also realise that doesn’t matter anymore, because it’s not part of my journey at that point. And the exit I took can lead to an even more exciting highway.

It’s a risk to keep driving so know when to take your exit on the Epic Icefield Parkway.

You don’t want to miss yours.

The Epic Icefield Parkway : The Athabasca Glacier

Look at everything as though you are seeing it either for the first or last time, then your time on earth will be filled with glory. 

Next stop on the list is the Athabasca Glacier.

You will see this massive glacier appear on your left side.

Tickets and start of the tour are on the right of the highway.

Although a ticket to go up to the glacier with the Ice Explorer is not cheap, it’s well worth it.

First a bus takes you from the parking lot all the way up the hill across the highway. From there you transfer to the Ice Explorer, a sort of vehicle specially made for driving on glaciers.

Once you arrive at the glacier you got some time to explore and walk around. You can even taste the pure glacier water and you can see how dramatically the glacier has shrunk through the years.

Brewster, the company that organises these tours, also sell this cool experience in combination with the Glacier Skywalk. This attraction opened recently but is a waste of money, personally. You definitely can have better views for free in the area and  although the attraction is called Glacier Skywalk, there is no glacier in sight. So save your time and money and buy that moose sweater for your parents instead.

The Epic Icefield Parkway : Wilcox Pass

The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs. 

If you want to see wildlife during your visit to the Canadian Rockies then this hike offers you a pretty good chance to see some bighorn sheep. You don’t even have to look that hard to see them as they will be just roaming around the meadows you’ll be traversing.

The hike starts at the Wilcox Pass Campground a little bit south of the Athabasca Glacier. Turn right off the highway and park at the parking lot.

The first part of the hike is through a forest. Once you reach the meadows you’ll soon encounter the bighorn sheep. They just stare at you, not giving a damn what you are doing there.

After you took some snaps of the bighorn sheep you soon will have a great view of the Athabasca Glacier. Take your time here as there are so many great viewpoints to admire the majestic Athabasca Glacier.

If you like to continue your trail to Wilcox Pass please be advised that there is an infinite meadow awaiting you. The whole hike is a one way hike so if you have a car be prepared to turn around at one point.