so how's the nightlife in vancouver?

hm... depends on what you mean by 'night'. practically we couldn't find any open bar/pub after 11 pm. i am serious. maybe the ones that are open are gone underground... but how can we poor tourists know about those? we usually go out at 11 pm to have a drink; so this is the dialogue with the bartenders: 'wellcome guys, we are closing in 15 minutes, so you'll have to drink fast.' and live music... what live music? one more fact: no drinking outside after 10 pm. it's a clean city. a sober, clean city. except for the underground clubs:)

yes, we are at the seaside, but...

this is jericho beach. not the kind of beach that i am used to. i had never seen a real tide before. the water just mooooooooves. i don't think i would want to get into the ocean, although i'm a big sea fan. the water is just... dark. and it's not very clear either. people usually run, cycle, walk, sunbathe (in vancouver?), play beachball or barbeque here. but not swim.

i wonder how it looks like when it's windy?

hablamos la misma lengua

what do you think about this guy? (image courtesy of hubby) we looked at him and thought 'whoa, design-fish!' doesn't he look... calculated? simple design, very clear. good job, little fishy!

the vancouver aquarium was a blast, by the way. (and yes, we are doing all the touristy stuff). never could imagine sooooooo many weird creatures down the water. this image was from before seattle, but i couldn't resist the temptation of showing this fella.

the irressistable rightness of portland...

too much travelling. not enough blogging. this is the incredible lovely beautiful non-state-tax-paying portland:) so the prices are actually what is written on the label!! we were so happy about this, we even forgot the fact that us dollar is more expensive than canadian dollar, and ended up spending even more! cute...

portland felt so... right! how could a city be so small, and so lively at the same time? we absolutely loved walking in the streets. everything looked so amazing. wanna go back some time?

i hope you like the photos so far; no worries, more will be coming:)

where's the music in seattle?

seattle was really chaotic. we didn't like it all that much, especially after the calm of vancouver. but maybe we went to the wrong places. i don't know... i was a little stressed out crossing the border, but nothing in particular happened. cars, cars, cars and more cars. is a reality of the u.s.

am i a tourist or what?

it has actually been more than one week since we have been to the place shown here. with my speed of updating, the journey will take about 2 years to blog about:) this was a really neat neighborhood in vancouver, called gastown. it is as touristy as can be. but i loved the buildings, the shops...everything! not to forget this weird bus-like thing. we actually bought souvenirs!

we need to go where the locals go!

i know, i know. it's been forever since i updated. and we are not even where i am picturing now. but i'm trying my best, right? this is a public market in vancouver, granville island. the island is like a toy town, with all the colorful small buildings. there are many small arts and crafts shops here. the public market located in the island has lots of fresh fruits, cheese, meat, candies... all sorts of things, and quite inexpensive ones, too! it was really a surprise to see it. we were able find some good food (a rarity in this continent!) and enjoy it around the locals. the serving sizes are huge, so we buy one meal to share...