Izakaya

One of my favourite places is the Japanese bar (Izakaya) that are dotted on the map of downtown Vancouver. Guu, Gyoza King, just to name a few. This place, Hapa, recently opened (2003) and that's where we spent our final night of the trip.

At a Japanese bar, what's better than cheering to sake served in a chilled bamboo shoot for the hot summer day.


It's no sushi restaurant. Small dishes are served tapas-style at Izakaya.


Rita is getting a photo taken with the chilled bamboo shoot. See the frost on it! Read more!

Victoria, British Columbia

There is nothing more exciting than taking a ferry or a boat out in the ocean.


I specially enjoyed the ferry ride because we moved through the islands of different sizes and shapes.


Victoria harbourfront. It's bustling with vendors selling arts & crafts and street performers.


Rita's backdrop is the Empress Hotel, where tourists take their afternoon tea. Read more!

Columbia Icefields + Lake Louise

My parents and little sister Rita came to Vancouver for a visit. We decided to take one of those Chinese guided tours to explore the west coast of Canada. The Rockies, Banff, Columbia Icefields...here we go!

Taking a gigantic snowmobile to the Columbia Icefields.


It's kinda chilly once we arrived. In posing for this picture, I had to put force on my right leg so I did not slip away, afterall it's nothing but ice and snow. There is a little creek running in a small trench and I tasted the water...not bad!


Lake Louise is truly a beautiful place. The colour of the lake is magnificent!


Taking in the beautiful view...
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Fireworks

There's free firework performance every week for the entire month! It's hard to beat how crowded English Bay got on a special day like this. Especially on a day of perfect weather...



Of course we had to a find a good spot on the beach to get a good view of the fireworks...
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Sailing, Vancouver Islands

Gorgeous weather in August, perfect for a weekend getaway onboard of "Seabear V". A real treat from Emily and her parents!


Emily, Mark and Greg chilling out onboard.


Magnificent!


And that's me!

In celebration of Em's birthday, we docked at an island in search of some salmon berries to go with the vanilla ice-cream that we got from a convenience store.

Greg's working hard to find the best ones in the bushes.


Owen with more than a handful of salmon berries while Em continues to pick more! And soon all the berries will become syrup on the ice-cream! YUM~ Read more!