They were stuck in Toronto for 24 hours, but luckily they were able to catch the first flight, on Tuesday morning, to Vancouver.

As you can expect, they were very tired, but they had to keep going until the evening because otherwise they would give in to their jet lag. I decided to take them out to visit some furniture shops because if we wanted to enjoy our Christmas dinner, we needed some dinning chairs.

On the 24th we prepared our Christmas dinner and of course ate it. After dinner we went for an evening/Christmas Eve walk. Kris wanted to take some pictures of the huge Christmas tree in Port Moody.

On Christmas day we went to Whistler. Our first stop was Brackendale: Winter home of the bald eagle. I think we’ve seen enough bald eagles for the rest of the year (but we’re going back with some friends in January, on the day they count the bald eagles). We did quite a long hike to the perfect viewing spot near the river. Because there was a lot of snow it took us a while to get there, but it was definitely worth it!!

After the hike we proceeded our trip to Whistler. We had to be there in time for our Nicklause North Sleigh ride and Fondue Dinner.

A beautiful 30-35 minute ride through wooded trails beside Green Lake before returning to the Den Restaurant at Nicklause North Golf Course for a four course gourmet fondue dinner (including an appetizer, cheese fondue, Chinois fondue and finishing with their chocolate fondue for dessert.)

It was a wonderful white Christmas day with an amazing dinner. We all ate waaaaay too much, but we really enjoyed it!

Normally we were going to Grouse Mountain today, but it was snowing again, so we decided that it wasn’t worth going up, because the mist would block the view.

So instead of going up the mountain we went downtown. We’ve visited Gastown (it is a tourist attraction, but they have a few nice souvenir shops though…). We had lunch in the Old Spaghetti Factory. The restaurant is special because it is decorated in a nostalgic theme using genuine antiques, stained glass, Tiffany type lights, and an authentic trolley car (in which we were seated). Which was rather nice!

Still on our agenda:
- Tomorrow we go snowshoeing (on Cypress, Grouse or Seymour, not sure which one to choose). Doing some exercises will be good to get rid of the extra weight we gained because of the dinners we had the last few days.
- On Sunday we will probably take the ferry and go to Victoria and the Royal British Columbia Museum.
- Visit Canyon lights
- Bright night at Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium
- Downtown
- Metrotown
- …

I think we could say we have a very busy agenda. I hope the weather allows us to do all these things, because it keeps on snowing, which makes it hard to visit everything:)

Below some pictures of the last few days.

Some kids building an igloo in front of our apartment

And last but not least, our sleigh ride in Whistler.

I have been preparing the Christmas event last week so I really didn’t have the time to write something.

On Thursday it was the night of the event. I have to say that we did a wonderful job and that we received some nice compliments. We offered people a glass of wine and some appetizers. Unbelievable to see how people respond on the word “free”. People become animals (well maybe that’s just a little bit exaggerated, but still…).

Like I said, we offered people one glass of wine (because we were working with a really low budget, and this was mentioned on the invitation). A few people came back to ask if they could have another one, so I explained them why not, and most of them understood. But there were a few that asked me for something else to drink, and when I turned my back to get them what they wanted, they just ran of with a glass of wine… They actually stole it… How rude is that…

But well, we had 200 people coming in, so I think we can be happy that most of them enjoyed it:)

Anyway, besides that we also went to Whistler. It started snowing a lot so we decided to go up there and enjoy ourselves with some hiking. The roads were OK to drive on (we didn’t have to use our chains) and during the trip we saw three bald eagles which was awesome.

Once we arrived in Whistler we soon changed our plans. It was -11 degrees, and the chilly arctic wind made it feel even colder, so no hiking was recommended. So instead of staying outside in the cold, we went the an Irish pub together with some friends. I even discovered perogies. I have no idea how to explain what it is, so feel free to click on this link for some explanation.

And not only did I have an amazing time in the snow, I also received a gift: The Vancouver 2010 Mascot Story Book. It’s an illustrated book about the life of the mascots. I borrowed the one from Bob and Jill, and I absolutely loved it, so they decided to get me one. Now I have some bedtime reading (besides my bear books).

Ooh and btw talking about bears, there is a store in Whistler which has a skeleton of a grizzly bear (he is realllllyyy huge).

And now a small quiz: What does the text, shown in these three pictures, have in common? (Bob you are not eligible for this) The first one with the correct answer gets a little Canadian surprise.

One more picture: The Peak 2 Peak gondola which opened on December 12th. Maybe next week we’ll try to line up for a ride.

On Wednesday evening we are going to the Canucks. It’s a special night because it’s the Trevor Linden Ceremony. The night is dedicated to the former team captain and it will be highlighted by a pre-game ceremony in which Linden’s No. 16 will be retired.

So our first hockey game is going to be a special one. After the ceremony, the Canucks play against the Edmonton Oilers, so this is exciting.

On Friday evening the Holiday Train is coming to Port Moody. The train visits over 50 Canadian cities in its quest to raise money and donations for local food banks all across the country. It is illuminated by thousands of festive lights and the event also features country music. Kris will be as happy as Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer when Santa told him he could guide his sleigh…

This is going to be an interesting week!

Attached to the museum, there is a huge Christmas store which sells traditional German decorations such as Räuchermännchen, Nussknacker, Christmas balls,…

This picture shows the traditional wooden stalls on the Christmas market in Cologne, selling delicacies like various kinds of jam.

Have a nice weekend!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. And actually I have to admit I already bought a christmas tree… I know, waaaaaaaaaay too early, but well, it’s kinda cosy… (and even my cat likes it, well maybe he just likes the decoration of the tree).

But well this is what it looks like…