Canada
I find it takes approximately half a day back at work for the relaxing effect of a long holiday to be completely undone.
I can now ski. The Whistler-Blackcombe resort where we stayed has one of the best ski schools in Canada and it really showed. One difference between Canada and Europe is that they don't have red runs - so their greens are more like European blues, and their blues are more like European reds. By the end of the week I was going reasonably confidently down the blues so I think I did well enough. I attempted one black run - the Dave Murray Downhill (which will be used for the 2010 Winter Olympics Men's downhill event). This was problematic. Mostly it was like a fast blue, but there were a couple of places which were like sheer cliffs of ice. As I was halfway down one of them, sliding foot first on my side, it occurred to me that I should probably be trying to arrest my fall. But then I realised that I'd already found the easiest way of getting down, so carried on.
The mounties were rubbish. Did not meet expectations at all. Those few members of the RCMP that we saw not only weren't wearing shiny red uniforms, but they also did not open any doors for us or carry our groceries. Epic fail. We did however see Diefenbaker being taken for a walk in Stanley Park.
On the subject of law, the Canadians are apparently heavily into their card fraud - apparently it's one of the worst places for copying cards. Also, each of your cards will only work in their ATMs exactly once. I think I may have gotten the upper hand though - my $6 locker rental appears to have been billed to my credit card as $0.06, which converts to £0.03. I shall cease complaining about the outlandish locker rental prices.
We had two days in Vancouver in between skiing days. This allowed us to take in the Vancouver Aquarium, which is well worth a visit. We saw a whale show and a dolphin show, and a crab wrestling with a starfish. Later we went to see Vancouver's other main attraction, the Capilano Suspension bridge. This was total rubbish. Costing $30, it's a rope bridge slung across a valley. Compares poorly to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which is free (for pedestrians) and was built by Brunel. I suspect the Capilano bridge was built by boy scouts. Of more interest was the exercise in Canadian public transport getting there. It turns out that by fumbling with the coins until the bus driver gets impatient, and putting on the right accent, you can get a half price bus ticket! This apparently never happens to the locals, but happened twice to us.
I had some other things to say about Canada, but I can't remember what they all were now. There was going to be a mention of their excellent breakfasts and coffee, but that will have to pass. Of all the countries I've been to, I think it's the only one where I've really thought I could actually happily live. I'll also definitely be going skiing again.
I can now ski. The Whistler-Blackcombe resort where we stayed has one of the best ski schools in Canada and it really showed. One difference between Canada and Europe is that they don't have red runs - so their greens are more like European blues, and their blues are more like European reds. By the end of the week I was going reasonably confidently down the blues so I think I did well enough. I attempted one black run - the Dave Murray Downhill (which will be used for the 2010 Winter Olympics Men's downhill event). This was problematic. Mostly it was like a fast blue, but there were a couple of places which were like sheer cliffs of ice. As I was halfway down one of them, sliding foot first on my side, it occurred to me that I should probably be trying to arrest my fall. But then I realised that I'd already found the easiest way of getting down, so carried on.
The mounties were rubbish. Did not meet expectations at all. Those few members of the RCMP that we saw not only weren't wearing shiny red uniforms, but they also did not open any doors for us or carry our groceries. Epic fail. We did however see Diefenbaker being taken for a walk in Stanley Park.
On the subject of law, the Canadians are apparently heavily into their card fraud - apparently it's one of the worst places for copying cards. Also, each of your cards will only work in their ATMs exactly once. I think I may have gotten the upper hand though - my $6 locker rental appears to have been billed to my credit card as $0.06, which converts to £0.03. I shall cease complaining about the outlandish locker rental prices.
We had two days in Vancouver in between skiing days. This allowed us to take in the Vancouver Aquarium, which is well worth a visit. We saw a whale show and a dolphin show, and a crab wrestling with a starfish. Later we went to see Vancouver's other main attraction, the Capilano Suspension bridge. This was total rubbish. Costing $30, it's a rope bridge slung across a valley. Compares poorly to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which is free (for pedestrians) and was built by Brunel. I suspect the Capilano bridge was built by boy scouts. Of more interest was the exercise in Canadian public transport getting there. It turns out that by fumbling with the coins until the bus driver gets impatient, and putting on the right accent, you can get a half price bus ticket! This apparently never happens to the locals, but happened twice to us.
I had some other things to say about Canada, but I can't remember what they all were now. There was going to be a mention of their excellent breakfasts and coffee, but that will have to pass. Of all the countries I've been to, I think it's the only one where I've really thought I could actually happily live. I'll also definitely be going skiing again.