It's a Date!

You know.. I've heard of starting things off with a bang.. or even with a kiss, but I decided to do things a little differently by starting things off with a fall. More like a crash, an asteroid crashing into the earth! That's right. I crashed into the ground.. head bloody first upon arriving in Lund for what was meant to be a lovely and funny evening.. well, I guess that is a funny way to start things off! My ankle, yes.. it's still giving me shit from time to time and well.. on cobblestone (get with the era Lund, gosh!) I ended up plummeting head first into the hard cold cobblestone. No blood was shed. No tears were shed. A lot of shock happened, mainly by bystanders and Emma. Me, I just knew I was due for a good tumble.. it has been a while. I picked myself up, shook it all off and we toddled off to catch our first show at the Comedy Festival..

Chastity (like the belt) Butterworth & the Spanish Hamster. However, there were no cute little hamsters.. but there was Henry. A character from her show who had never been picked before.. and he was a little bit of the awesome. Much like Chastity. Also, there was a very good dancing audience member who stepped up to the occasion when called upon on the stage.. which was apparently also a first. No one has ever danced before. It was all about the firsts. All in all, it was a pretty great show and definitely a good way to start the evening.. after the epic fall that is. I won't lie, it was nice to have a seat and have a seat that was actually pretty comfortable. 

With the show finished, we headed off to have a wander around and then grab a coffee before it was time for our dinner reservation at Bantorget 9.

With a little teasing of the tastebuds, we were served a few little mouthfuls.. which I now regret not noting down coz I can't remember exactly what was in what but they were all very delicious. The middle one however, was a chicken pate on crispy duck skin and Emma gobbled it up without even the slightest hesitation. Pretty impressive considering she isn't a fan of chicken or probably pate or even duck for that matter.

Emma had gone with the green menu.. which is mostly vegetarian and I went with the meat menu. An assortment of breads were also served with a really damn delicious caramelised onion butter.. I mean, just look how good that butter looks?! The breads were all pretty damn good too and of course Emma was in heaven with bread.

The first course was then served.. Emma was served radishes with horseradish emulsion, watercress and roe.. it also had, as you can see little tiny shrimp. Deliciousness! I tried hers of course. Mine was also deliciousness, however Emma did not try it. She is more game to try things these days but raw meat was pushing it just a tad. I had a steak tartare with daikon, sea buckthorn (still loving that stuff since I was introduced to it last year), cheese and chive emulsion.

Followed by, which was the same on both.. all menus.. bouquet garni of beans and wild leaves, tarragon butter and sourdough. 

We were told we could eat everything.. but the string. Which made me think perhaps people had tried to eat the thick gnarley piece of string holding it together. It was all super delicious, and you couldn't actually help getting some of the string fibres in your mouth as they were a little whispy and fell off the actual string.. but they were well buttered so tasty as!

Next up for the meat was beef heart with cherries, warm broad bean porridge and chanterelles. I really enjoyed this, I had never had beef heart before (that I know of) and who knew it would go so well with cherries. The porridge however, was so yummy that I could have eaten it for days! Emma was served butter bread with cream fried chanterelles, rowan berries and dill. Oh and there was some butter fried pine-cone! It was all a little too buttery for Emma's liking and while it was nice, she said I did a nicer chanterelle toast.. nawwww, she knows how to help a gal feel better about falling head first!

A little pre-dessert was then served, a nice little quenelle of cherry ice cream sitting atop a wooden stump. I expected something a little fresher, maybe more of a palette cleanser.. but it was very soft and sweet. Very yummy, but I was expecting something more on sharp side.

Then dessert came! Emma got a cream bun "gräbbla 4.0" with white chocolate and dried berries. It was a little difficult to get into.. at one point some of it flew off the table and on to Emma! Can't take us anywhere! I did a little switch with the fish menu and got some Skåne berries with hay cooked cream and black marshmallow. I had never had black marshmallow before and it was quite delightful, but the hay cooked cream is what really topped it off for me.. who knew something as simple as cooking with hay could make things taste so good and that hay itself tasted so good.. the animals did! That's who! oh and I have actually had a couple of hay cooked things in my years and enjoyed them every time.

After dinner, we waited an exceptionally long time for coffee to be served before we then had to don the umbrellas and head out into the torrential rain. Our next show was due to start and we wanted to get there with the least amount of water upon us.. that didn't work out so well.. while not so completely wet that I had to buy a new t-shirt, unlike one of the dudes who got called up on stage, I was just wet enough that it made for a cold walk after the show.. as I didn't dry during it. I thought laughter generated much more heat! Gosh!

Anyways, we got seated.. right at the front but off to the side (phew) and waited for Nina Conti and Monkey to come out and grace the stage. If you ever get the chance to see this very awesome lady, you should. She is freaken hilarious. I could watch her every damn night.. seriously.

A fantastic night was had, you could say date night was a win.. and only having to wait a few minutes for the train instead of an hour was the perfect way to end it. Also, it turned out it was perfect that we didn't get stranded as Malmö started flooding coz of the rain! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Those weather gods sure do like to throw curve balls.

Some of the Good!

You know what Vancouver did do goodly? Coffee beans to go go! [instagram photo] While we were there, we picked up 4 packets of coffee beans because.. coffee & 4 is a good number. We have tried 2 of the 4 at home and they have been total winners! Yum! The other two, we haven't tried at home yet but we did try their siblings while in Vancouver, with the verdict of yum! So I think it's safe to say that all 4 packets are good and that Vancouver offers some good beans. (note: all were roasted in Canada but not in Vancouver itself.) 

I did love the amount of food trucks that were in Vancouver, I'm a sucker for a food truck and they had so many, too many to get around them all but we did give a few a go and everything we had was tasty as! Aussie Pie Guy gave a cold pie but it was still tasty. I had a damn good cheese toastie.. with pickles! Who doesn't love a good pickle?! 

There were quite a few that we didn't get around to trying, mainly coz of time and they weren't in the areas we were at the right times. And so is the life of a food truck. 

Now to showcase a beer that I did really enjoy, it was from Deep Cove and it was a rye IPA. It was definitely one of the more interesting and tasty beers that we tried over our time here and it has a kick ass bottle to boot.. 

..we brought one home to enjoy, now I just have to pick the right time to enjoy it.

Photo Dump!

Coz,who doesn't want a post just of photos from around Vancouver and Vancouver Island?! Enjoy..

Last Days!

Our last couple of days were pretty low key, we considered going to Grouse Mountain to see bears but decided a weekend excursion was probably not the most optimal.. and it was a little pricey. I did really want to see a bear but alas, I guess I will just have to do that elsewhere.. plenty of places to catch the likes of one I would say. Bears are just so, gosh darn it, cute!

We headed out for a wander about and a walk out to Granville Island.. walking over the bridge was a little hairy.. especially considering we weren't sure if we could walk there and then if we were walking the right way. Everyone else was walking towards us once there were people! We made it to Granville safe and sound and rewarded ourselves with a couple of Lee's doughnuts..

Then a little cookies and cream gelato..

..before heading off for a ride on the aquabus!

 Emma was a little sad she didn't get to ride the smaller boat (top photo). I am just glad we didn't sink!

This amused me some.. it seems Canadians think a side-walk is a floor! 

It also did perplex me some that they had people out washing the streets in front of stores at around 11am. Umm couldn't that have been done.. before the stores opened?! So you know, people didn't get sprayed also. Strange ways, those Canadians have. *wink*

I wanted to have some fnc again, one last time to see if I could have a decent feed of it before heading back to the land where they just don't do it.. so we headed out to what was supposed to be the best fnc in Vancouver. According to who? Didn't help matters that we got really shit service. First, she only took half the order. Then she left off the coleslaw, which didn't matter coz we didn't pay for it so I didn't want to do another transaction. It was to eat in, which it then sat up at the pass for a good 5mins in the box.. getting soggy before she decided to then wrap it for us to take it away. End result, overpriced soggy fnc. Who knew finding good fnc in a city so close to the ocean would be so gawdamn difficult. Perhaps I need to go back to NZ just so I can get some of the good stuff, the stuff I know will be good.. unless, they too have gone downhill. Oh I hope not. 

After our poo fnc, we decided to drown our sorrows with some more beer.. next stop! Bridge Brewing! 

Where we tasted what they had on offer.. plus bought their stout, as it was a tasting room we were not allowed to drink it there. Silly rules Canada! Gosh! We also grabbed a tote to carry said stout! The beers were again.. same same. I didn't much enjoy the stout.. I had it the other night here at home.

Next Stop: Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers.

Again, same same however, their ginger beer.. deliciousness! I could drink it for days! I was also rather amused at how a litre of beer was cheaper than the same of ginger beer. If I could have trusted it to be safe on the flight, I would have brought home a growler or two.

We also got some seriously awesome puppy time with a staffy there. He was so.. slobbery! Nibbly too.. soft nibbles. Reminded me a little of an old family dog, Zac. He was beautiful, as was this dog. It was really nice to finally have some puppy play.. even if he did need a bath! Luckily we had some hand sanitiser with us so it was easy to 'freshen' up before we headed off to catch the bus home.

Our last day consisted off, wandering about then grabbing ice cream from the place where you had to wait 40mins in line (we did that once).. luckily on a Sunday, not long after opening, we only had to wait a few minutes. They really do nice gelato there.. Emma went all the pecans! While I went with chocolate and a salted caramel. So good! We hadn't been to the movies yet so now was a good time, Guardians of the Galaxy [trailer] was due to start so we headed over, donned some 3D glasses and settled in for what turned out to be one of the best movies we have seen in a while. I needs me a groot. [dancing groot video] Also, best soundtrack ever. One of the most amusing things tho, the movie starts.. we are sitting there and then I see Emma in the corner of my eye checking the movie ticket. It started off so oddly that she thought we were in the wrong movie! bahahaha GOLD! If you haven't seen it, then do. And as much as it pains me to say it, see it in 3D. It is done really well.. it's really worth it.. especially if you don't have to wear the heavy stupid glasses like our local one forces upon you.

We headed to Trees Organic Coffee for another slice of cheesecake and coffee, I wanted to give them one last try. I shouldn't have. The cheesecake was too soft.. once we got it. The server forgot to bring it out to us. I just went with their brewed coffee rather than a 'fancier' kind. If the guy who served me the first time was in then I would have got something more but he wasn't there.. when I ordered. I wasn't willing to throw more money away. 2/3 visits were a fail. Sad, I had high hopes from the first visit.

Time slipped on by and soon enough it was time to head off to the airport and head home. The flights weren't too bad, even if we were delayed on the last leg which meant we got in a little later than we would have liked. But, we were home and I was happy to use my own toilet and sleep in my own bed with a normal sized pillow. Don't get me wrong, the travel pillow was great and really worth taking, but it was like 1/3 the size of my normal pillow.. granted my normal pillow is kinda large! haha

The trip for me was full of highs and lows, overall I can't see myself ever going back to Vancouver. I witnessed no more filming in my time there which was a little bit of a bummer. The food wasn't anything to brag about, which is sad considering it was supposed to have a really great food culture, but there were a few gems that I would happily go for seconds at. The nature was beautiful, stunning and I couldn't have been happier but the buildings in the city lacked 'charm'. Tall and gray.. blergh. The people were friendly enough, it was a busy active city and there were no real dramas but I think I would just rather go elsewhere and to be honest, I don't need to witness that level of homelessness and junkies again. It was just crazy. I would however, like to see more of Canada. It's crazy beautiful! The nature that is. Oh and the accent, soorrey! abooot! and the hilarious loonie & toonie! I did not hear that enough, no really I didn't! Thanks for the ride, Vancouver.

Photography Encouraged.

It was time for a little art, so we headed to Vancouver Art Gallery to get our art on! After we paid we walked through the doors and were greeted with this sign..

..I thought how awesome! Photography encouraged indeed! So snap snap snap we went!

Then we went up a floor and as Emma was about to take a snap, one of the guards who obviously likes his power a little too much, snapped "no photos!" and stormed over to her. A little too aggressive in my opinion. We had not seen another sign that stated that photography was no longer encouraged. We headed up to the next floor and as we walked around, looking here and there.. we saw many people taking photos and nothing was being said, there were no signs to say either way. We looked. We looked hard. But then as Emma thought it must be safe, others were doing it after-all, a woman guard came over and said no photos, a little nicer than the previous one. When we asked about the signs she was rambling on about something.. I think she misunderstood what we were trying to say.. not that it was difficult. To be honest, it put a little bit of a dampener on the outing. It really isn't that hard to have signs.. after-all the photography encouraged sign was large and pretty clear. I will admit, they had some pretty cool exhibitions on, even if some were a little on the smelly and/or creepy side. What's life without a little creep and stink, amiright?!

It seems no matter where you are in the world, Fjällräven isn't far away. FYI: it's the backpack.

With our fill of art, we headed to a shopping mall. We had to get our shop on. Emma needed Levi's and this was the only store left. We searched high and low on our previous shopping outing last week to no avail. It was well worth the trip out, she got 3 pairs.. for about the price she would have paid for one, maybe one pair and a leg, here in Sweden.

Another reason it was worth the trip was... this!

It totally cracked me up to see MKR's Pete and Manu on the side of a train. Where was I again?! Australia or Canada?! Totally LOL worthy indeed.

With our shopping tucked safely away back in the room, we headed our for beer. Yep, more beer! We hadn't given up on Vancouver beer just yet. A trip to 33 Acres was.. at capacity. So we had to wait.. luckily it wasn't too long before a couple of dudes left and we were able to take their spots. Once in, it was... loud. A little too loud to really enjoy it. And why is it that most females feel the need to scream in these places?! It's always the females you hear over everyone. Anyways, we got our drinks.. ordered some bread and took a seat. We did a couple of rounds.. for some reason, no photos! Maybe we still had Mr Angry from the gallery in our heads?! We did take an outside snap of the funky little joint tho. The beers there were, again.. nothing special. I dunno, I just feel like it lacks some.. originality? All drinkable yes, but nothing I would want to buy again. Nothing really memorable. The noise was really starting to get to me so we headed out the door and off to another brewery, Brassneck Brewery to be exact! Once again, they were at capacity. I put my name down and was told it could be up to a 30min wait.. we headed back out and ordered a crushed meatball (I guess that sounds better than mince?) pizza.. just as the pizza was ready, we were called into the brewery to get a tasting! Nice timing! Emma went to grab drinks as I went to nab a seat with the pizza. I found a nice little area behind a wall, a few others were already there but there was room to share and share we did. They turned out to be really lovely people.. could have sat there all night drinking and chatting to them... if the beer was more to what we liked.

Left: 33 Acres
Right: Brassneck

One of the guys was telling the others that in one year he made $55,000 in tips alone when he worked at a burger joint. That's a lot of tips, so that has to be a lot of burgers too! I must say, I feel like the tipping culture is worse in Canada than America, I felt like more people had their hands out for tips than I did in America. Even tho the tipping rate on average is less, it still felt like I was being gouged. And no matter how hard I try, I still can't get my head around why you would add tax on after. Show a price, have it be that price. It's really not that difficult. Really Canada, it's not. Adding tax on after is just stupid and makes for really unusual sums. Gosh.

Banana!

This is a little story about a banana, it gets it's own post coz well.. banana!

Emma and I were out exploring the grounds, and by grounds I mean Chinatown, early-ish Saturday morning, just minding our own business, saying hello to a kitteh that popped up along the way. Taking photos here and there. Finding all these little coffee spots that would have been perfect had we just held out a little longer than going into the first place for coffee we saw.. which was Starbucks. Oh well, these things happen. So anyways, back to the banana at hand!

There we were, walking down or is it up? the street when we heard this very very and I mean very loud "Excuse me!" Emma and I spun around swiftly and saw a car right next to a biker and thought, oh o! What's going on here?! Then the person in the car continued very loudly, as loud as before.. "You dropped your banana!"

Exhibit A: Said Banana

The biker just shrugged it off and sat at the light waiting for it to turn green, not even giving a second thought to the lost banana. The poor owner-less banana, awaiting it's fate to be squished by oncoming traffic instead of being deliciously devoured, it's intended purpose. Poor banana, it had one job in life and it has now failed, due to no fault of its own other than it didn't know how to hold on tight when its owner was biking through the streets of Chinatown.

A Touch of Ink!

Over the next 5 days, Emma spent her time at a convention doing lots of convention-y stuff while I spent my time with the food network, wandering the streets looking for filming and coming up empty! Laughing at a seagull wandering into a store, wondering what all the fuss is about on Robson St. Watching people being yelled at by high/drunk homeless people.. which also resulted in one having the piss taken out of him after he was yelling at every female who walked past "you can't even fuck". Another person, either super glued or took the opportunity when someone else had already super glued a coin to the ground by telling said homeless man that he dropped it. Everyone then stood around and laughed at the man as he attempted to pick it up.. while being very unstable. I did not stand around, I did find it amusing tho as I walked on past, listening to him then yelling "I love you, man" instead of "you can't even fuck"

One other thing about the homeless in Vancouver, so many of them have pets. And by pets I mean dogs.. rabbits and even rats. We walked past one homeless couple, as the female exclaimed to the male.. "give me back my rabbit, man!" Now that is not a sentence you hear often.

Another thing you don't hear often is.. skunks! We were out for a walk one night when we stumbled across a couple of them.. just off a suburban street! We didn't disturb them tho, which meant we didn't get sprayed.

Note: Only one in the photo but there were actually two.

We made our way out to a coffee joint a few times that did good, consistent coffee.. Revolver. Now that place can brew a cup. We never did get it to drink in, always to go but it seemed like a pretty rad place to chill.

Aussie Pie Guy's food truck was in the neighbourhood so I took the chance to have a pie. I got the works, the flavours were good but my damn pie was cold. Nice to have a pie all the same..

I also got around to giving Tim Horton's a go.. Kathryn told me to so I did. She doesn't even eat from there yet I had to try them! I can't say that they were enjoyable.. probably the worst of all the chain donuts I've tried, gimme dunkin or krispy kreme over these any day. I miss Doughnut Plant. Seeing as we were in Canada, I thought it was only right I went with a maple flavoured one as well as a normal glazed one..

We hit up a food truck for breakfast one morning.. it was again.. eggs benny! What can I say, I love it!

Another thing I did was get some more ink. This ink..

I am well on my way to filling a sci-fi themed sleeve. I don't feel so lopsided any more. It was a very long day.. I arrived at the shop at around 11:30am on the Monday and didn't leave again until about 2:30am on the Tuesday! A serious session was had and total props to the artist who managed to rock it out. 

Artist: Mike Nassar, currently tattooing at The Fall but in the upcoming years will either be moving to NZ or Australia. It is a hard choice, I hope he makes the right one and enjoys it.

They had this in the toilet at The Fall.. it cracked me up!