This week, we’re in Vancouver, Canada! I’ve teamed up with Rachel from https://www.rachelonroute.com to bring you the similarities and the differences between living in Vancouver, Canada and Alicante, Spain.

Meals out, flatlays and photos and our Sunday tradition. Here’s what happens.

Sunday 27th January 2019:

There’s no alarm on a weekend, I don’t think Alex would take to it too kindly plus we all need a rest once in a while, but, on schedule I wake up around 8:45. It’s funny isn’t it? How quickly your body adjusts and gets into a new routine. I remember starting my job in an office, wondering how on earth I’d get there at 8:00am when getting up for school used to be a challenge, plus I’d have to look presentable… Yet, your body alters and works. Incredible.

We went into Benidorm briefly last night, stopping by Café Benidorm and a pizzeria. It’s the first time I think we’ve ever been to Café Benidorm, or maybe the second time. But, my mum is over with her work friends for the weekend, so we stopped by to say hello.

Alex makes me my coffee and I get straight to taking photos of perfumes. I picked up a selection of flowers from the market yesterday to make my flatlays look a little more presentable. It’s definitely something I need to work more on. The sun is bursting through the windows which makes the lighting perfect, with a slight closing of the beige curtains, it’s like a perfect photography room.

My mum and her friend nip round whilst I’m doing the photos, which I must say I’m pretty impressed with. Rio is excited whenever somebody comes round. He loves company.

Shortly after midday, we head to our local cafeteria, the one we found just before Christmas. I’m really into bows at the moment and mum has brought over the new ones I bought, so I pop in the elephant one for the first time.

I eye somebody having tostada y tomate and I have to order it for myself. The sun is beaming through as we sit in the sun trap and I can feel myself burning up. It’s incredible to think it’s January and here I am wearing a t-shirt and sweating. I notice later on that my face has definitely tanned.

The coffee is impeccable at our café, it’s smooth and light. It’s a very good cappuccino. I have to ask for it sin canela [without cinnamon] though. Whenever you order a drink, you always get their homemade cake, pastries or a few nibbles with it. This week, we have homemade lemon drizzle cake and it’s delightful. It’s incredible to think that it’s only 3,50€. The cakes there are scrumptious.

We head back to the apartment for a while and play some Brawl Stars. I get a little addicted to supercell mobile games pretty quickly and I’m doing alright on Brawl Stars, though I’ve lost interest in the other games.

We head out at 16:00 for dinner, mum and her friends are getting the bus at 19:00, so we need to eat earlier to allow them time to get ready. We have dinner at Fuxion and the food was gorgeous. I opted for the tasty and crispy Quesadilla. Alex went for a hamburger and mum the Cuban Rice. They all looked as good as the next.

We headed back to El Faro where they were staying and caught a glimpse of the sun dropping out of the sky to close another day in Benidorm. The chill takes hold of the air when the sun goes and the change is certainly noticeable. A jacket is needed a night.

We walk them to their bus and Rio gets upset saying bye to everybody again. He gives a little whimper as the bus pulls away, but once he’s started walking back home, his tail is wagging and he’s bounding along. Aren’t dogs funny?

Alex watches TV in bed whilst I read some of my book. I’m reading a gripping young adult novel at the moment about a mysterious happening in the detention room. I started reading it a few days ago and it’s really lit the fire of reading once more. I missed getting into a good book. It feels productive.

I turn the light off around 23:00 and settle down to go to sleep.

Another day has ended. It’s time for bed.

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Similarities and Differences

I have wanted to visit Canada for quite some time, so has Alex, so I was eager to find out a little bit about Vancouver, but not too much! Vancouver, the bustling seaport on the southwest corner of Canada in British Colombia is somewhere I’d definitely add to my list of places to visit.

It’s filled with scenic views, a mild climate and seemingly according to the internet, friendly and open people. Pretty similar to here. It is known around the world as a popular tourist destination, just like Alicante. Vancouver is known as one of the best places to live, lucky Rachel!

Vancouver is linguistically diverse and one of the most diverse in Canada. According to their tourism page, 52% of the Vancouver population speak a first language other than English. I suppose you could compare that to here, how often do you walk down the street and hear Spanish, Valencian, Russian and English all within 10 seconds of each other. Especially for somewhere that isn’t a metropolis.

Vancouver is the eighth most populous city in Canada with a population of 603,502 people, according to the 2011 census. Comparing that to the population of Alicante, it is almost double!

Interestingly, the closest comparison I could find was that of the climate and the reason behind it. In Vancouver, they are surrounded and protected by mountains. Just like the Alicante region. Therefore, it has a moderate, oceanic climate. It makes it one of the warmest cities in Canada. The currents of the Pacific Ocean also help to warm the city.

Have you ever visited Vancouver?

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Hasta luego,

If you want to be a part of this exciting series then please feel free to fill in the contact form below. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

*Please note, next available date is currently July 2019.

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