very LARRY: 2003

Wednesday, December 17

Ostia Antica - Harbour of Ancient Rome

 
One-day excursion to this small ancient ruin outside of Rome.
At the mouth of Tiber River, the same river that runs through Rome, Ostia was the commercial port and military base of Rome.  The ruins of most buildings remain very intact, it offers glimpses to the Roman's living environment.  It's an archeological park that's worth visiting!

Saturday, November 22

Bike Ride on Appia Antica

 
Via Appia Antica - Old Roman Appian Way
The part that is close to Rome is an archeological park!  It makes a great short excursion from Rome especially on a Sunday because the area is closed to traffic.  Herman and I explored this park together on bikes and little did we know...there were stray dogs along the way.  Herman went ahead and when he disappeared from my sight, all I heard was barking then suddenly it went quiet.  I was worried so I paddled down to see what happened.  In a few seconds next to my right leg I found this huge dog that kept barking.  In a panic my bike slowed but I still managed to escape as the barking faded in a distance.  Phew!

Saturday, September 27

La Notte Bianca 2003

White Night in Rome
an event originated from France, when the entire city stays open all night long!
events include galleries, museums and concerts

free Aria at an opera house

Piazza del Popolo crowded with people

Free outdoor concerts at the Auditorium

Shadow on the brickwall under the gray shell of the Auditorium

Trevi Fountain with projection

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Thursday, August 21

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!

Wednesday, August 20

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!

Friday, August 15

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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Wednesday, August 6

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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Tuesday, August 5

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!

Saturday, July 26

Beach day

Access to a beach in Vancouver is plenty. My apartment is a minute away from English Bay on the West End. Today Greg Em O and I spent a lazy afternoon at Kitsilano Beach before a yummy dinner at a sushi restaurant that served draft beer.
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Sunday, June 22

Trees of hundreds of years of age

Cathedral Grove is a protected area full of very very old trees. Some of which, unfortunately, have been fallen after a storm. What comes out of this event is a new opportunity for new plants to grow because of more sunlight to penetrate to the ground.
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Beware of insect-eating plant!

We made a quick stop at the Shorepine Bog Trail on our return trip. The signage warned us that the boardwalk might be slippery when wet; however I found that there's another reason: insect-eating plant, maybe they feed on more than just insects!?
Read more!

Saturday, June 21

Long Beach, Vancouver Island

Off we went on our trip to Long Beach on a friday night after work. As soon as we got our supper of sushi take-out, Mark drove us in his white car to our weekend getaway. We covered more than half the distance shortly after mid-night and was time to get some sleep. Emily remembered a place by the river where we could set up our tents. At night in the dark, we walked through some bushes and found a sandy area to spend the night.

The five of us (Mark, Em, Owen, Greg and I) shared these two yellow tents by the river on our way to the campground. Very very comfortable. It's incredible to wake up first thing in the morning with a beautiful view.

Our destination Long Beach!
Scattered rocks of various sizes are places for wild life including starfish contrasted with a long stretch of white sand beach.

Em and the starfish
We lost a bet to Em when she dared to lick the starfish! Apparently she's done it many times. It was the first time that I came across a starfish outside of aquarium!