Who needs a vacation? Well you don't have to go much further than Canada Place and hop on board the new Soar Over Taiwan ride that is on now just in time for the Lunar New Year!
It's a beautiful journey into this corner of the world, where you'll witness open waters, mountain peaks, endless fields, and big cities. It really did feel like a mini escape from the rainy Vancouver day we were experiencing.
You can check out the newest adventure from the Flyover group now until February 17!
Everyone says to visit Vancouver in the summertime, and it's true that is probably the best season to be here and the most touristy. However, Christmastime has just as much to see and do, if not more. Considering that theatre season is usually quiet in the summer months, December more than makes up for it with countless shows. So why not make Vancouver a tourist destination for the holiday season? Not only can you visit the local mountains for skiing with all the other ski bunnies, but there are shows and so many holiday-time events taking place!
One of those events is the Goh Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. I had never seen the show before either live or on TV. I've always wanted to do it though, and was familiar with some of the music, specifically the Sugar Plum Fairy dance.
Wow, I was blown away! This was a gorgeous beautiful production, and even though I don't really ever attend the ballet, this was so easy to watch. It's probably a great way to introduce newbies into the ballet world, since there's a bit of a storyline that can be followed. And the production value that the Goh Ballet has put into this show is just phenomenal.
The Nutcracker plays at the Center in Vancouver until December 22nd!
As an admittedly rather jaded person I went into my Flyover Canada experience expecting some amusement and some cool visuals, but came out giggling like a small child and using far too many “so”s to explain just how much fun I had to everyone who asked.
Flyover Canada, located at the back of Canada Place, is a flight simulation, which I described to friends as “part amusement ride, part cinematic experience.” The incredible organization of the team at Flyover Canada made every step of the process quite simple and fun. We got to enjoy the Christmas version of the ride, which starts when you enter the first room, decorated with a beautiful winter scene, and an introduction from Santa Claus who enlists you on a mission to find his elves. The scene ends and we were surprised to find it snowing! In Vancouver! I guess the fact that we were indoors should be more shocking to me, but I figure that’s almost the only way I’ll see snow out here!
The ride, or flight simulation, or whatever you’d like to call it, was one of the most dazzling and exciting things I’ve ever done! I had a blast trying to place all of the locations we were swooping over. The ride made it feel like we were on a roller coaster while we were safely jostled around in our seats. The visuals were stunning and who could complain about the landscape? Canada is such a beautiful country and it was fantastic to have a fifteen minute tour while following Santa, searching
for elves, and crashing through the clouds!
One small warning I do have, after the ride had begun I hilariously discovered my companion on the trip’s extreme fear of heights. Thankfully she was a trooper and we came out giggling. If you share this fear, you may want to bring a hand to hold because it can at times feel like you’re about to fall off the side of a mountain, but rest assured, you are completely safe!
I was lucky enough to be invited back to try out the Illusions Room at Exit Canada on West Broadway! (Thanks Patricia!)
This was my second time at one of their escape rooms and boy was it fun!! I would say the Illusions Room is the perfect entry level room for anyone who hasn't done an escape room game before. It's challenging, but definitely within the realm of being solvable! We managed to escape the room with about 2 minutes left on the board! It came down to the wire!
The staff there are super friendly and were very helpful this time around with their hints that we called upon a few times. They've recently revamped their Illusions Room, so if you have done it before, it's time to return and check out the changes!
I can't wait to go back and check out their other rooms such as: Butcher Shop and Circus! And then there are the other locations to visit, too! Not to mention the handful of other escape room games that are popping up in our awesome city! Yay! Thanks Exit Canada for adding more FUN to Vancouver!
It's Labour Day weekend and what are you gonna do with it, Vancouver?!
Why not visit the PNE? It's the last 3 days for your chance to go see the fantastically modern Dream Home that's up for grabs, maybe catch in a showing of SuperDogs or watch the evening's performance of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby?
I went last night to try to get into the Hall & Oates concert, but alas, it was jam packed! We ended up across the way at the beer garden watching them on the screen. Let's just say, we were... Out Of Touch.
Your choices for headliners this weekend include Canadian favourite Loverboy, country star Brett Kissel, and Platinum Blonde. There's also an EDM (electronic dance music) festival happening. More info on the concerts here.
There's also the Show Mart if you want a Sham-Wow or a mop to bring home. We wandered through Playland and I took a photo of the swings because they used to scare me at one point, but now that the new ride The Beast is there, it's been completely dwarfed and I thought I would capture it on camera as a reminder of how simple things used to be. Did I go on The Beast? Hells NO. But you can, and you can tell me all about it.
I ate my mandatory PNE Corn Dog, then visited the barn and looked at all the animals including the pigs who made me feel bad about eating a corn dog, but then all was good when we came upon a bunch of BABY BUNNIES!!!
If you can't get into the latest screening of Jurassic World, then head on down to Science World for an even better experience: the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit!
Meet T. Rex’s bigger, badder cousin in an exhibition that highlights
the unique dinosaurs of the Southern Hemisphere. Step into the role of a
paleontologist and be a part of the story that took millions of years
to write.
Not your typical dinosaur exhibition, Ultimate Dinosaurs introduces
you to new and unique dinosaurs that evolved in isolation in South
America, Africa and Madagascar. The exhibition combines rarely seen
specimens with augmented reality technology that transforms full-scale
dinosaurs into flesh-covered animated beasts right before your eyes.
Ultimate Dinosaurs is on now until September 7 at Science World!
If you haven't already seen the PNE summer concert series, here it is. I usually post this more immediately, but I guess I'm just not too excited about any of the acts this year? Boys II Men are back, and I saw them last summer, and they were good.
There's also the Beach Boys, Colin James, and Loverboy.
I'm semi-excited for Pat Benatar.
And Hall & Oates
But otherwise, I'm kinda meh about the whole thing. I mean, I would love it if they could book the likes of Debbie Gibson & Tiffany, or even Martika (who'll be playing Seattle Pride next weekend!)
Check out the list for yourself at the PNE website for full details, performers, and dates!
This morning I went to the Greenheart Canopy Walkway at UBC Botanical Gardens. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. WHAT THE HELL DID I GET MYSELF INTO???
First of all, I'm sure it's lovely. But as someone who is afraid of HEIGHTS, it was all I could do to keep from running through the course as quickly as possible without looking down. Oh My God.
I guess I was imagining a nice little Ewok village with wooden walkways above the treetops. Alas, it was a terrifying shock to my system to discover it was a lot of suspension bridge action, where I found myself gripping the edges and basically screaming throughout much of the walkway. I'm basically a chickenshit. Here's a photo of me looking relatively happy to be there, but if you look closer you'll see the look of maddening fear in my eyes!
Anyhow, if you're not scared of heights like I am and you love nature and the outdoors and all that wonderful stuff, then definitely go to UBC Botanical Gardens to check out this awesome summertime activity! It's fun for the whole family! And even if you are afraid of heights like me, then why not do as I did and go and conquer that fear?!
I was inspired to do this post after attending the wrap party for the ABC show, Once Upon a Time, this past weekend.The wrap party was awesome! Several of the cast members were on hand, including Jennifer Morrison who plays Emma Swan, Jared Gilmore who plays Henry, Colin O'Donoghue who plays the sexy Captain Hook, Sean Maguire who is equally as sexy as Robin Hood, and several of the dwarves were around too including Lee Arenberg (Grumpy) who was pointed out to me as also being Mike the Bookie on Seinfeld! How cool is that?
In line at the bar was Rebecca Mader, who was the gloriously awesome Zelena, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, and whom I totally fanboyed over. I told her I loved how she portrayed Zelena and that I also liked her work on LOST (she played Charlotte!!). She was VERY nice and talked to me for a few minutes, and even gave me a Wicked Witch cackle to remember! :)
Anyhow, some of you might know that they film this TV show here in Vancouver, or more specifically out in the town of Steveston, which is a 30 minute drive away. I had visited the location a summer or two ago and took some pictures, but never did post them up. So here they are! Scenes from the actual Storybrooke!
I think I took some more photos but they weren't very good, and these are the only ones halfway decent. Things look a lot cooler on TV, that's for sure! But Steveston is a very quaint little town with fun businesses to check out, including fish and chips stores, ice cream shops, and my friend's wine and cheese restaurant, Gudrun. Check it out!
I'm heading back to school in the Fall and will be on campus up at UBC, which means I can't wait to go visit the Museum of Anthropology while I'm up there. They currently have some intriguing exhibits going on, including
Without Masks: Contemporary Afro-Cuban Art:
Claiming Space: Voices of Urban Aboriginal Youth:
and Spotlight Taiwan:
Find out more about the Museum of Anthropology at their website!
Are you feeling curious? Just a bit? Then scratch that itch by heading out to New Westminster to discover one of the coolest events in town. It's the Curious Flea Market! The next one takes place May 24 & 25!
"The Curious Flea is a social flea market…a new way of ‘fleaing’ . We’ve curated an incredible collection of vendors selling spectacular wares ranging from antique to Mid-Century Modern to 50′s kitsch to upcycled furniture and decor. This isn’t your usual bargain basement flea market, but rather a treasure hunter’s dream."
And don't forget about the Battle of the Curious! "Do you have the weirdest, strangest most curious thing in your closet? Bring it to Curious Flea! The most curious object will be immortalized forever in our Curious Hall of Fame, and the winner will receive a fabulously curious prize!"
Check out their Facebook page to keep informed! See you on the weekend of May 24/25 at the Curious Flea Market at New Westminster's River Market (810 Quayside Drive, New Westminster).
Can't wait to see this! Anyone else going to this show? The company Cavalia was here a year ago and I didn't get a chance to see it, but I ain't missing out on this one! More information on the Cavalia Odysseo site!
Odysseo rides into town on December 7th until January 5th!
The Proclaimers were singing last night for the nightly featured concert. But I wasn't too interested in seeing them for just that one song, and you know the song I'm speaking of.
I had a corndog and followed that up with some nice smoky ribs and beef brisket! Yay for RibFest!
Then there was the Genghis Khan exhibit, which was a bit underwhelming I found. Compared to last year's Star Trek exhibit, this was evidently not as popular.
I didn't check out the market this year, but some of my friends did. I guess I just wasn't feeling the need for a swiffer or a shamwow this summer.
Then a friend literally FORCED me on to the newest ride at Playland - Atmosfear!!! Oh my dear LORD. I can't believe I went on that and actually survived it. I kept my eyes closed the entire time, otherwise I would likely be having nightmares for the rest of my life.
There's still some time left to head down to the PNE and win a house win a car! The PNE runs until Labour Day before closing its doors for another year!
This weekend starts off the annual Celebration of Light fireworks display down at English Bay, beginning on Saturday night with the United Kingdom. What perfect timing, to coincide with the celebrations of the birth of baby Prince George!
July 31st brings us Canada's best in fireworks, while August 3 showcases Thailand!
Yay! It's that magical time of year again, when fairies and hippies and the most amazing paper lanterns light up the night at Trout Lake! That's right, it's Illuminaires and it's tonight! This free family-friendly event is one of the most perfect ways to spend a summer evening outdoors. If you haven't built a lantern yet, you've still got time to poke some holes into a tin can and bring it on down! This year marks the 25th anniversary of Illuminaires, so it's bound to be an awesome night!
Last week, my friend Andy was visiting from Chicago and we decided to check out Vancouver's latest tourist attraction, the Fly Over Canada experience at Canada Place.
Andy works in the airline industry, so he was amused at the whole process that replicated boarding an airplane. The wait time isn't as bad as an 8 hour layover in Minneapolis - trust me, I know. First you walk into a pavilion to take in a deluge of images of Canadiana that whets your appetite for what's to come.
Then it's time to get on board, where you are placed into a row of theatre-style seats and seat-belted in. We were then whisked away on a journey over this great country we call home. We witness the hills and mountains of the West Coast, wild horses galloping across the prairies, all the way to the jagged cliffs of the Maritimes and up to the Northern Lights of the Arctic.
I had wished that there was more of a linear storyline or something to inform the viewer where exactly they were flying over. There were some parts that were simply gorgeous, but we didn't know where it was. I guess that's incentive to get out there and explore our country!
The cost is about $20 (cheaper if you buy your ticket online) and the entire experience lasts about half an hour, with the actual ride being only about 15 minutes. It's fun, and definitely something tourists can enjoy!
According to the World Airport Awards, Vancouver's YVR ranks in at number 8 in a list of the world's top 100 airports! This makes YVR the only North American airport to even make the top 10!
And it is true, YVR is a very nice airport to hang out at if you're waiting for a flight or to pick someone up. Have you been to visit recently?
Just because the holidays are over and the cold is settling in, doesn't mean we have to hunker down and stay indoors for the next few weeks! Nope, not at all! In fact, it's that time of year again: Dine Out Vancouver!
It's a great way to go check out some restaurants in town that you may not have before!
Here's a list of restaurants participating this year, and it's a long one! For more information and to make reservations, check out the Dine Out Vancouver site!
With my Vancouver Inspiration Pass, I was able to go and visit the Vancouver Aquarium.
It's a definite must if you're a visitor and you're making your way around Stanley Park and checking out the seawall. The Aquarium is a beautiful place and has awesome exhibits and shows for people of all ages. I opted to take my mom with me as she's never been before. Here she is taking in the breathtaking beauty of the beluga whale:
Then it was time to step into the Amazon, a newer exhibit that I had yet to witness. It had butterflies flitting about, giant blue birds, huge hissing cockroaches, other insects and amphibians from the Amazon rain forest, a mean lookin' crocodile, monkeys, and this giant ANACONDA snake!!
There is also currently a Luminescence exhibit being featured, which is "a celebration of aquatic light!" Fun! Check out these amazing jelly-fish:
And finally, the Aquarium's latest addition are these super cute penguins!!
There's also a Beluga show, a sea otter show, and a dolphin show, and much much more! Isn't it time you visit the Vancouver Aquarium?
