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Vancouver, Canada

You know you’re living a glamorous life when you find yourself standing in your kitchen in your cosies with a monster hangover, cutting up Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, shoving them into a bottle of vodka before bunging the lot into the dishwasher to ‘infuse’. Yep, I’m living the dream!

After my swim and successful completion of my inaugural bottle of Reeses Vodka (making it, not drinking it – I’m not that ‘glamorous’!), I headed downtown to meet Laura for a shopping expedition at Sephora. I do love being a personal makeup shopper with someone else’s money! Much fun was had playing with the products before settling on a decent selection that ought to see Laura through to my next visit!

We had a coffee, made plans for the evening and parted ways. Although the weather wasn’t great, I decided to take my chances and do that lap around Stanley Park I had been putting off for a perfect day. With so few left, I thought it better to do it with clouds overhead than to not do it at all. I set off around Coal Harbour which I found much revitalised since I was last here, until I reached the 0km mark denoting the beginning of the Stanley Park seawall.

At first I had my headphones plugged in before acknowledging how utterly distracted I was by my own thoughts and how much better a soundtrack the lapping of the water against the wall was to my saunter. Unplugged, I felt at peace as I took in the views as they changed from city scape to mountains to open sea to beach and back to the city again. Along the way I passed geese, ducks, herons and a raven that was definitely following me for at least a kilometre! Passed the Girl in the Wetsuit sculpture (and currently a Canucks jersey), the Totem Pole Park, the Lions Gate Bridge, Salish Rock, second beach pool (with a capacity of over 2,500 people at one time!) and before I knew it, I was at the 9km mark and in need of sustenance.

I headed to nearby Denman Street to Shima Sushi – an old favourite from back in the day where we would occasionally treat ourselves to freshly made yam tempura nori rolls – luckily the menu hasn’t changed so I was able to enjoy an edible trip down memory lane before heading home to await the arrival of my late night date.

Laura arrived around 9pm to pick me up and lead me astray down a dark and eerily named Blood Alley in Gastown. Once a no-go area, it is now home to several tucked away places-to-be, including Salt Tasting Room. Here we each partook of an artisinal wine and cheese flight and a couple of hours of enlightened and engrossing conversation. Of course, far from leading me astray, Laura’s wit and wisdom not only assured me that I am on the right track but helped pave the way to a brighter tomorrow.

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