Year: 2017


Viva Mexico


May 10, 2017

Week Two of spring break saw us take a trip to the lovely seaside village of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast of Mexico.  This part of Mexico is sort of like what Fiji is to Australia – lots of resorts along the beach that serve all the food you can eat for one inclusive price as well as lots of poolside and evening entertainment – FUN!  It think we were the only Australian’s at the entire resort which made us a real novelty!  

We stayed at the Rui Jalisco – the rooms were clean and neat and big enough for our family of 5.  The food was plentiful but dare I say as is the case in most of these mass produced hotels very ordinary – there were 5 restaurants to choose from so we did not have lack of choice but you did have to  visit various restaurants to find the “good” things.  Alcohol was also part of this package so you had access to the bar 24/7 – I suspect they make the alcohol different in Mexico as it was incredibly watered down and I think we only saw one intoxicated person the entire stay!

The entertainment team was fantastic and had everyone involved in various games from square aerobics to zumba to bingo to beach soccer and volley ball.  The Mexican Pool Party that they held one afternoon in the main pool was so much fun – bubbles and floaties! What more could you ask for (see the photo below)  Every evening there was a different themed show and every night was “excellente”.  The kids really had a ball and were involved in lots of different things.   

Apart from plenty of relaxing, swimming, reading and of course eating, we did leave the hotel on two occasions to do some activities.  Our first outing involved a trip to a small local village to see how they live, meet the locals and play with a piñata before heading to a rodeo with traditional mexican games, horse riding, bull riding, dinner and dancing with the mariachi band.

Our 2nd outing was to celebrate Sofia’s 11th Birthday at the local water park where we swam with the dolphins – an amazing experience that the girls will remember for ever.

 We really did love our time in Mexico – the girls have voted it better than Fiji or Bali (I am still stuck on Bali as one of my favourite places in the world).  A big dose of Vitamin D was definitely needed after a Canadian winter and this place did the trick!

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Learning to Skiing


April 4, 2017

We have just had the girls first Spring Break holiday and while the Canadian version of spring is a little different to ours in Australia it provided us with the opportunity to learn to ski as well as take a really fun trip to Mexico.  

Today the skiing part!  The girls have never been on skis and Emilio and I had attempted the odd weekend of skiing 30 plus years ago so we were all total beginners.  

We have such amazing access to ski resorts from our home in Vancouver and after a bit of research we decided that our mountain would be Cypress Mountain.  It is a 35-40 minute drive from our house and we can even see the mountain out our windows from home!  

We booked for 4 days of morning lessons – unfortunately the Vancouver weather decided that it would return to rain during that week.  It didn’t make for the best conditions to learn in however it did mean the ski slopes were a little quieter!  

As to be expected the girls just got straight out there and after 4 days the instructor had them on the blue runs.  Emilio was doing well and could manage to get down the green runs while I was still on the beginners slope!  

We have been back again this past weekend and I am gradually getting better but just a bit too fearful of getting up too much speed and losing control!  Persistence will get me there however and I will get myself down a green run this year!!!  The weather was beautiful and sunny this past weekend so it was a lot busier but still fairly quite compared to some resorts!

With the ski resorts having had the best season in 10 years we hope to be able to get out there at least once more before the end of season!  Here are a few snaps from day one and this weekend just past.

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Mt Seymour – Snowshoeing adventures


March 12, 2017

This week I hit Mt Seymour in North Vancouver with a bunch of parents from Sienna’s school.  We have taken to snow shoeing on local ski mountains in the past two weeks as the snow is amazing and we need to make the most of it!  

It is supposedly spring here in Vancouver but with the temperatures still low they are experiencing some of the best snow falls for the season!  I must say I don’t think I have ever seen this much snow.

The drive from the westside of Vancouver to Mt Seymour was about 45 minutes.  Once there we grabbed our snow shoes and hit the trail recommended by one of the staff members.  He certainly gave us the pick of the day as the weather was rather cloudy and foggy when we started our walk but when we reached the view point at the top of Dog Mountain the clouds cleared and we had a brilliant view of Vancouver below!  

I certainly wish I had taken the Canon but alas I decided the weather would not warrant carrying my heavy friend so it was the iPhone that did all the capturing on the day!  

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Whyte Lake – Vancouver Walks & Hikes


March 10, 2017

Vancouver is famous for it’s rain, which surprisingly (and gratefully) we have not had a lot of since our arrival here in December.  The day the walking group decided to visit Whyte Lake however was not one of those days!  We were in the forrest though so we did not get as wet as you would when out in the open.  

Whyte Lake is in West Vancouver and I was pretty excited to hear there was such a place as my maiden name is Whyte!  I wonder if some distant relative is connected to this place.  The day we visited the lake was half frozen and very mysterious looking – a bit like a movie scene and very different to the description and photos you can find here.  Even half the walk ways at the lake were covered in water so it will be great to head back during summer to see how different it looks.

The rainy weather also meant that I didn’t want to take my “good” camera with me  so these few shots that give you a brief look at a very misty and cold Whyte Lake are taken with my iPhone camera.  

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Whistler Weekends


March 7, 2017

We were so lucky to be able to spend another wonderful weekend up in Whistler with some new friends we have met through Sienna’s school.  They have also moved their family from Australia to Vancouver for a few years so what better place to hang out over a weekend than at the magical Fairmont Heritage Place at Nature’s Door.  

This place is like being in heaven and with the snow season that they are currently experiencing here on the west coast of Canada it was even more magical!  This amazing property is just on the side of the ski slope that was the location for the 2010 Winter Olympics downhill course.  We were even able to swim and relax in the hot tub with the snow around us!  

Over the weekend Sofia, Indi and I did some snow shoeing and the three girls did more ice skating in the village between enjoying the pool back in our home away from home! 

Lots of photos below – the light on the snow was just amazing and every time  I turned around the landscape looked different so my camera had a great workout!

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