vancouver. feb 5th to feb 8th. three full days of no email, only one phone call and a handful of texts {at most}. it was a good reminder that my life is not as predictable as i often feel it is and an even bettere reminder that i am great company. adventurous. kind. open to others and always free to follow the urges of spontaneity.
my first act in the city was to sleep for 10 hours straight. long overdue. i have been abusing my body pretty steadily in the sleep department since moving out on my own and no longer having a partner waiting for me to join him in bed or sleep.
and my second act was to take a jog into stanley park a little ways, but it ended up being a full-on circuit of the park {in the rain} which brings my longest run up to about 8.8 miles including the trek to and from the hostel. this is where i learned that canadians are wonderful about acknowledging fellow runners {often with a wave, but occasionally with a gentlemanly tipped hat}. one such runner gave me a courteous wave causing a pedestrian heading in the same direction as me to turn and glance in my direction. i nodded cheers to him as i passed which gave him the opportunity to ask how much farther to the next roadway and/or the exit to the park. professing ignorance, i estimated how far i felt i had jogged already and commiserated upon our shared chagrin at being sucked into a circuit of the park despite other intentions.
..................................................................................................
i jogged away suddenly overcome with longing for a particular
faraway friend. we had only just reconnected after a ten month
silence in the wake of first meeting. it was a bittersweet feeling
flooding me entirely and forcing me to close my eyes for my next few
steps to just register the delicate balance of the regret i still carry,
almost a year later, of not getting the coffee i still want to have
with him as well as the hope of hearing from him soon given the
newly re-established connection.
faraway friend. we had only just reconnected after a ten month
silence in the wake of first meeting. it was a bittersweet feeling
flooding me entirely and forcing me to close my eyes for my next few
steps to just register the delicate balance of the regret i still carry,
almost a year later, of not getting the coffee i still want to have
with him as well as the hope of hearing from him soon given the
newly re-established connection.
..................................................................................................
the rest of the day was filled with pho, coffee and adventuring to see a movie alone {barney's version, a comedy which had a little too much heartbreak to really be a comedy}, and lots and lots and lots of walking. the rain was old by the end of the day, but the miles in my blue suede shoes were long and flat and good length to my newly acquired running muscles.
medina cafe
the 2nd day i finally made it to medina, my favorite place to eat in vancouver. discovered by my friend sheree, it's got the most amazing little waffles & dips, serves the best earl grey i've had in years and paella with just the right amount of lime and avocado. and the service is as wonderful as the food & decor, which says a lot.
top left: dk chocolate mocha from medina -- top right: mocha from 49th parallel
on assignment for my barista friend who wanted some beans they've roasted.
bottom left: paella from medina with the perfect amount of lime -- bottom right: fricassé, also from medina. braised short ribs. yum.
the rest of monday day was spent on a meander through gas town: home to a variety of boutiques and curiosity shops that eventually rewarded my scavenging efforts with a new umbrella, some lovely notepads and as i headed back home, exhausted and hungry, i also happened to stop by downtown and discover a big sale on designer jeans. hello, skinny jeans. and another pair of paige jeans i didn't need except that they were the perfect size {and length!} and i'll know i'll get at least three years out of them. yipee.
after a cat nap back at the hostel {which i lucked out and never had to share my room with anyone}, i ventured out again into the city and landed at a late night {for canada} coffee shop where i met a lovely barista {they are all becoming my friends} who is traveling to seattle later in the week. we chatted quite a bit about the two cities and i drew out an entire list and map of places to go, drink, eat, coffee-shop it, etc. and when her cafe closed, i followed my intuition's nose and walked a block north to see if i could find something else and viola! a poetry slam! i caught the last round and was almost moved to tears by one of the performers. he needed help with articulation, but the 2/3's of the words i did understand had me going.
on the walk home from the train, a fellow train rider kept giving me sidelong glances that i wasn't sure how to interpret. as i walked past him and the girl he was with he said nice boots and gestured toward my feet. as i said thanks his friend asked incredulously: did you say nice boobs or nice boots?!?!?! i laughed and defended him: he said boots and gestured toward my feet so it was very clear. he then asked if i liked poetry and then i understood the familiar glances, they too were at the slam. we chatted the whole way home touching topics from my writing and blog to his flat mate's stay at my hostel when she first moved to the city. it was lovely being open and alive to the connections around. the spontaneity of deciding to just find something to do in an unfamiliar city without and plans and the rewards of following my intuition.
the final day found me on a shorter run to the park across the water. i wanted to get some miles in but also sleep in and also check out in time and also get to medina before breakfast was done. that was kind of the spirit of the last day. cram cram cram. but i managed to do everything without a spirit of rushedness and enjoyed the welcome back and extra smiles of the medina waitstaff. and the fricassé and two waffles with dark chocolate dip to go were totally worth coming back for.
my trip ended with a walk back to stanley park and a visit to the aquarium. i had need to feel a sense of play that day. allow the observer and kid out for a bit as well as avoid stores like the plague because i had already splurged enough on clothing in the past several days. as much as the belugas were magical and the dolphins a blast, my favorite bit of the aquarium {and it seems to be a theme for me} was the golden-orange jellyfish lit up on the blue background {pictures to follow in the next post or so}. there is something magical about watching them float. perhaps because they don't have any eyes and just seem to meander along inexplicably. i stood there for a long time face pressed up against the glass just watching and floating along there with them.
the final sunset as i was pulling out of town.
driving songs for the trip: home -- edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros; spanish sahara -- foals; 10 miles stereo -- beach house; the ballad of raa -- rural alberta advantage
running song for the trip: a modern leper -- frightened rabbit {on repeat for most of the 8.8+ mile run}
favorite meal of the trip -- fricassé.
2 comments:
New camera or just a new style of photograph?
a new app on my phone. :)
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