VANCOUVER!!!

Today (Saturday) I woke up early. I think it was about 7 or sth and Anna was also awake, we said good morning and then went to sleep again ;) Jason had a cat, Kit-Kat, and I woke up a couple of times of she sneaking around. She also made my nose start running and my eyes itch so I chased her away ;)

At around 9:30 we grabbed some energy and stood up. Me and Anna slept downstairs and didn't want to go and wake up M who were sleeping upstairs, so we decided to go and get the oil changed on the SAAB before our trip to VANCOUVER!!! We wrote a little note to M and went then out to search for a Jiffy Lube, the oil place.

They took the car and apparently they do more than just a oil check. They basically looked over the whole car and also vacuumed, cleaned the windshield and checked the lights. Nice, but then they charged for all that and it was kind of expensive but the SAAB deserved a little spa treatment before the long trip.

Me and Anna started to be hungry so we got a breakfast at Mc Donald's ;) It was good with something sugary and greasy after a party night ;)

M hadn't seen our note so she called and wondered where we were, maybe she thought we had left without her ;) We picked her up and said goodbye and thank U to Jason and Rob, who hadn't left for work yet?!, and then hit the road towards the border!

We had to make a stop at the outlet mall to get a sweater for Lotta. This was the condition for having the car ;)

Everyone was really tired and we didn't really know what we were thinking about when we decided to go to Canada after our own goodbye party, but we didn't give up and although my fellow traveler fell asleep I drove and after 3 hours we reached the border.

It wasn't so bad and it took about 30 min to get through but we were a bit nervous since our VISAs expire soon and there were a couple of people who had asked us if we really were allowed to leave and then come back in to the US. We weren't sure and the officer asked about our trip home and if we had the tickets already and she looked a bit suspicious but let us through. I mean, why not? All the papers are good and we're only staying one night.

It was so hot today and the AC doesn't work in the car (what does? ;)) so we had to drive with the windows down which was very noisy. We were all very happy of getting there and get out of the car cause we weren't so fresh ;)

The hostel was on Granville St which a street with a lot of bars and stuff going on which was good for us ;) We checked in and got our room which had 4 beds and we shared with a Australian guy named Adam. He had been traveling since March this year and was planning to go home in September next year! That's a long trip! He was doing work and travel and had been all over Europe and now was he on his Canada tour.

The room was nothing special, there were two bunk beds, lockers and a fan and the beds were really unsteady and made a terrible noise when U moved. But we were just gonna sleep there so it was OK. The rest of the hostel was pretty cool with international theme. n every door there were a flag, on the walls were comments and pictures of travelers suggesting where to go and other stuff that made it more personal.

We wanted to explore the city before the nights partying so we went out immediately to see what Vancouver had to offer. When we were on the street we realized that it was past lunch time and that we were hungry. So we grabbed a pizza slice at the nearest pizza place and then walked towards the water. It was really nice and I wanted to jump in but the other two hadn't brought their swim suits (?????) and I didn't want to swim alone so we just walked along the beach and also had a ice cream.

I don't know if I think Vancouver is so beautiful as everyone says. I mean, it's nothing more special than Seattle and it feels more dirty here and more homeless, weird people. But here we all can have a beer in the bar so I'm not complaining ;)

We were able to park the car at a hotel nearby but only until 6 pm so we had to move it and find a place to park it over night. This is what I hate with having a car, and I'm not the best driver and have a sense of direction as a rake that it was very hard to find a place. Anna gave me good directions but I was always too late and just stupid.

Finally, we took the parking at the Sheraton and we guess it will be expensive but whatever!

At this time I was a bit cranky since I had been driving for so long and I was tired, hungry, unfresh and in a bad mood thanks to the parking situation. So I needed a shower and a NAP!!! The shower was probably the best one I had in weeks and I didn't want to get out of bed after the nap but my battle sister forced me.

M didn't want to go out with us tonight so just me and Anna got ready for a night out on the party streets of Vancouver!!

First we started with dinner in the Davie Village which is the gay area in the city. We went to a Italian place cause we both wanted pasta. It was a small and cozy place and very romantic ;) We celebrated us being here with a glass of wine (now when Anna was allowed to drink) and then had two pasta courses that we shared ;)

The waiter tricked us to get a dessert so we had a wonderful blueberry cheesecake and then could barely walk out of there ;)

We strolled around to downtown and then back to Granville St and checked out all the bars and tried to decide which one to go to. We went to the hostel to change shoes and say hello to M but we didn't find her ;) Then we went to a Irish pub and ordered a Guinness...it was very dark!! ;) It took us maybe an hour to finish it, but it was nice hanging in the bar and look at all the people and the sport on TV and Anna was happy ;)

Then we felt like we wanted a cocktail since we already had wine and a beer, so we found another bar where we sat down and I ordered a Malibu with passion fruit juice and Anna a Margarita. Mine was delicious, Anna's grouse ;) The bartender was not so nice and couldn't make drinks. We left pretty soon and then just walked up and down the street and looked at all the people and listened to the music. There was one awesome street performer who played the guitar and sang. His voice was so unique and there was so much emotions when he sang that I got goosebumps.

We went back to the hostel pretty early cause we were tired and I don't know if any of us was in such a big party mood. But we were happy that we were able to go out together, legally ;), and we got some drinks ;)

Back at the hostel, M was already asleep and Adam came maybe 5 minutes after us. The room was so hot and M had turned off the fan and closed the window so we were almost dying in there. we put on the fan and opened the window but we still had to sleep without a blanket. Usually I can't sleep when it's too hot but now I was too tired to even bother ;)

Funniest of the day: M when we entered the hostel: "What are we doing? I thought we were getting pizza"

Miss U all!

Love Sandra