Even as I was contemplating the Edmonton-Vancouver train trip idea, I knew very little about Vancouver other than that it hosted the Winter Olympics a few years ago. Pictures of the surrounding area looked pretty, but I figured it would just be a city like any other.  Boy, was I surprised to find how much I liked it!

For starters, I arrived in the nick of time to find autumn’s gorgeous colors! As nice as a forest of yellow aspen leaves can be, I’ve missed the variety of reds, browns, oranges, and yellows from back home in Michigan. In Vancouver I’m pretty sure I just kept looking at the leaves on the ground and kicked my way through any piles I found. The air even smelled right for the season!










When I arrived at the Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, I hoped I’d be able to make my connection with Dylan. Who’s Dylan? Well obviously my best friend Teri’s Irish friend she met while studying abroad in Cadiz, Spain, during our 4th year of college and who now lives in Vancouver! Had I met him before? Nope. Talked to him? Nope. Teri had just heard from me that I’d be passing through Vancouver, and she said I should stay with him. Dylan and I sent some messages back and forth, and that was arranged!

Luckily the delay in leaving Edmonton wasn’t drastic enough to change my arrival time in Vancouver. After a little waiting + a pay phone call – how many more years will that be possible for? – a friendly guy named Dylan walked up. How strange to find a black-haired Irishman walking up to a redheaded American-kiwi wannabe!

We made our way to his house through a combination of walking and riding buses – all while toting around my body bag. (With all the strange destination-less travel I’ve done lately, I’ve come to develop a love-hate relationship with that thing!) After Dylan left for work, I crashed on the futon for awhile before heading out to do what I do best: walk around an unknown place and stick to no real agenda!

Of course when I met Dylan after he finished work for the day, I did have an agenda:

Oh yes, it happened! Hell Pizza was about a 15 minute walk from the coffee shop where Dylan works, so of course we just walked straight there. Some of you might be wondering what Hell Pizza is. Well, for those of you who know me, you won’t be surprised to hear it’s a New Zealand pizza company. It’s more than that, though, as the pizza toppings are rather unique. My favorite pizzas may be…

• Pandemonium: chicken, cranberry sauce, and camembert
• Grimm: chicken, apricot sauce, pine nuts, spring onions, cream cheese, and rosemary
• Damned: camembert, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, cashew nuts, fresh spinach, mushrooms, and onions
• And for dessert we have Unearthly: berries, banana, chocolate, and custard

While Hell Pizza is 666% NZ owned (their claim- not my creativity), there are a couple locations in other parts of the world: Brisbane/London/Seoul/Vancouver. When Dylan and I ate there, I was offered a bottle of L&P, which is a New Zealand pop that only gets offered to kiwis!! I think they recognized I wasn’t one, but with my 10 month stint of kiwi conservation work and general devotion to their country, maybe I’m an honorary kiwi. Check out their website for the menu… www.hellpizza.co.nz

That’s probably enough free advertising for now, eh? (supposedly they’re hoping to expand in Canada)

During the other days of my visit to Vancouver, I walked from Dylan’s area of town all the way to downtown and beyond to Stanley Park. In that distance I discovered what makes me sometimes think I could live on the edge of a city: fresh produce markets with colorful fruits and vegetables for low prices, cute city parks with playgrounds and little kids having fun, and foods from many different cultures. Places like Fairbanks can’t really offer all 3 of those, which is one reason choosing a “home base” is difficult.

Stanley Park happens to be one asset of Vancouver that I really enjoyed. I didn’t realize what a huge park lies just to the northwest of downtown! I barely had time to enjoy the stretch of oceanfront and forested pathways I did explore. Luckily on that walk, I’m almost positive I strolled right on by a kiwi burrow. The log was just too fitting to not be some happy kiwi’s home!

Dylan and some of his friends introduced me to The Warehouse, a place where I think everything on the menu is only $5 and tasty! He also made sure I sampled some local beers while I was in the area. As much as I enjoy being alone on the road, it was nice to sit for a few days and evenings to chat with someone I “knew.” Staying with Dylan and his housemate proved to be quite funny; in a house with people from Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S., I was the only redhead!

My visit to Vancouver proved to be more rewarding than I had anticipated. In fact, I wished I had more time to spend in the area. Unlike large cities like Chicago, Vancouver didn’t seem so packed or busy with skyscrapers and people; downtown even had an open feel that I quite liked. If I hadn’t had a $14 bus ticket to Seattle booked, I would have considered staying in town for a little while. Dylan informed me of a potential job working delivery for Hell Pizza, and I was told there was a great curling club nearby where I could have tried my hand at that for fun, but something in Eatonville, Washington, was calling my name, so it was time to return to the U.S.  🙁