Professional Pictures - Sneak Peek!

For those of you who have been waiting breathlessly, here's a few of the wonderful pictures our photographer Sarah Guy took at the ceremony and reception:

The Honeymoon's Ended?

So it looks like breaking up the writing of the last few days was a bad idea.  Shoulda just continued on when I was already writing.  "Too soon" indeed.

Oh well.  Shoulda woulda coulda.

As many of you know, life has been nuts for me since my new husband and I returned from honeymoon.  But you all deserve a full update, so get your cocktail/coffee/drink of choice ready, and settle in for some reading.

Day 13

Wednesday started with a very last-minute organized meet-up with an old friend.  I met and lived with Amanda for a month in Spain, while I was doing my Archaeology fieldwork course.  We worked together on a dig outside the miniscule village of Padilla, near the slightly larger town of Peñafiel.  She actually got a chance to meet Roger, when we spent a weekend in Madrid at the end of our course.  We joked that even though she'd have to fly from Manchester, we would invite her to the wedding - whenever that occurred.  It seemed fitting that six and a half years later, on our honeymoon, we met up in Vancouver - where she's now living.

We met up at Medina Cafe (the place Roger and I had gone before) for coffee, and it was like no time had passed.  She and I still got along like we were sisters; amazing what Facebook can do to keep social relationships alive, eh?  Oh and side note: that cappuccino I had at Medina Cafe was the best damn coffee I've had outside Europe.  The morning was a great start to a strangely sunny day - the only day, in fact, that they said it wouldn't rain.

So Roger and I took advantage of it by heading out to Stanley Park.  We had to detour to Pacific Mall first, to pick out some proper hiking boots for Roger, but once outfitted, we got our hotel's free shuttle to drop us off at the park.  We walked along the seaboard for a bit, passed by the totem poles and aquarium, and then weaved our way deeper into the park.  I swear, it still feels like the set for Jurassic Park.  Trees tower over you, scraping the sky; leaves the size of parachutes make you feel like Thumbelina; and that green... that verdant glow all around you makes every breath you take feel fresher.  It was still damp from the rain the day before, but the sun tried its hardest to make it feel less like October and more like August.  There was still a chill in the air, though, and we realized the sun had dropped when our breath became visible in front of us.  We must have spent three hours or so, just choosing this path or that, before we walked back to the city centre.  

Back in town, we met up with my friend Mel from University who lives downtown, and after a chat and hugs all round, I escaped my new husband for the night to share some seriously tasty vegan food with Mel.  We went to Chau Kitchen and Bar, where we ate like kings.  She ordered their famous Buddha Bowl - a vegan soup with stock made with dates and lotus root - and I have to say it was absolutely delicious.  But I couldn't go vegan when I saw their shredded pork dish with a savoury-caramel sauce.  Oh, so good.  I think it was the first time I'd had lotus root, though I was too distracted by the incredible sauce to notice the taste of the daikon or other veggies very much.  Once we'd finished, I headed back to my husband - exhausted after a long but excellent day.

Day 14

You know how when you discover something awesome, you just keep doing it?  We did.  We headed out to Medina Cafe for breakfast on Thursday morning; I was determined to try the crepes and get myself another fantastic cappuccino.  I felt like eggs this morning, and ordered a couple sunny-side up with toast, with a side of baked beans ('cause they looked so good) and duck sausage ('cause they were so good before); Roger ended up ordering the breakfast paella, curious about their interpretation of the name.  Roger's paella was surprisingly delicious and was made with a base of curried orzo instead of rice, topped with one baked egg, hungarian chorizo, zucchini, red pepper, roast corn, grano padano, avocado and tomato salad - unbelievable.  He was more impressed with this paella than many of the more 'authentic' attempts he's tried.  I got a taste of it, and it was fantastic, however I was busy with my own breakfast.  My baked beans were a breakfast unto their own, and came with bacon.  This on top of eggs and sausage filled me up pretty damned quickly.  We both swore lunch was going to be unnecessary!  Once again, the Medina Cafe blew our minds.  How could we stay away?

That day, we'd decided to brave the transit system and head out to the UBC campus to see the Nitobe Japanese Garden and possible the Museum of Anthropology as well.  We had planned carefully; the garden said it was open until 4pm in good weather (which, despite a bit of a drizzle, it was), and the buses would get us out there in plenty of time.  Which they did.  So all was good, right?

We were walking around the campus when the staircase leading down to Wreck Beach beckoned to Roger.  For those of you not familiar with Wreck Beach, it's a nude beach by the University of British Columbia campus that's got a wicked-long set of stairs.  Like, 473 steps.  I did the climb the last time I was here, and warned Roger that it was a long way down.  He shrugged, and set off.  I think it hit him halfway down that "long way" was not an exaggeration.  That, and the fact that there are benches every so often for people who need to stop!  We did make it down with little huffing (that's for the way back up), and despite the grey weather the beach was lovely and quiet.  I'm glad we got a chance to see both coasts - Atlantic and Pacific - on our trip.  Gives you a bit of perspective.  What a long journey we'd had, spanning the country.

And what a long journey back up.  Not even a third of the way back up, I decided to plug my iPod in and find the most energetic and upbeat song and blast it.  That and strip off the two outside layers I was wearing.  I swore I'd be making use of the steam room the next day while I climbed and climbed.  Roger had boundless energy, though, and flitted up the steps happily enough.

By the time we were up at the top again, it was near 2pm; we thought we'd better find the Nitobe Garden.  When we found it, there was a sign on the door saying "Closing at 2pm; Attendant is not at gate - please put your admission in the box by the door".  Um, what??  Ten minutes to look around the garden didn't seem enough, but as the door was still open (with no attendant or other visitor in sight), we figured we would only have this choice.  After stuffing some money into the box and chuckling about the honour system, we let the beauty and stillness of the garden take over.  

I love japanese gardens.  Finding that harmony between nature's design and human's design creates a beauty that astounds me.  It was like time had stopped for that ten (or more) minutes we were there.  The drizzle that had ceased when we entered, picked up again while wandering along the little paths and created a captivating ripple pattern on the still pond.  What I thought were lawns of grass were, on closer inspection, moss.  That verdant, emerald glow we had experienced in Stanley Park the day before became less wild and primitive, and more calm and controlled.  Yet both had a beauty that took my breath away.

Moss-covered lanterns and bamboo fences behind us, we found our way to the Museum of Anthropology.  We entered just in time to join a tour that took us through the incredible Northwest Coast wooden art and ended at the famous "The Raven and the First Men" sculpture.  If you need a visual aid, find a $20 bill and look on the back (not the side with the Queen!), down in the left bottom corner.  Originally made the size of a bouncy ball, the sculpture was commissioned for the museum when it opened, and sits in its own round room.  The work of art is beautiful at any angle around the 360 degrees.  There is something both exotic and accessible about the Haida art - all those thick cartoon-like black outlines and stylized shapes.  We both wandered around the interactive gallery area for a while, then indulged ourselves in the gift shop before leaving.  We got back to the hotel with enough time to change and make ourselves presentable before dinner.

Dinner on Thursday was a treat; my "Aunt" Gwen and "Uncle" Dave, though not really related to us, were in town visiting my "cousin" Bruce and we'd been invited out to their house for dinner.  Aunt Gwen and Uncle Dave found out last-minute that they weren't able to come out to the wedding, so it was our pleasure to see them while on the West Coast.  We hopped the SkyTrain down (our dry-run for the airport) and got picked up by Uncle Dave.  The house was near the King Edward stop, and nestled in a quiet neighbourhood of lovely, well-situated houses (very different from our GTA new-house developments!).  Our dinner was as tasty as all the fine restaurants we'd been at.  We had cod from Newfoundland (yay for family imports!) done with a mass of fresh herbs (mint, coriander, parsley) and lemon, with a colourful mix of peppers and tomatoes all baked up perfectly.  To accompany it, a rich and lovely risotto.  Before we ate, I had my first taste of sherry (which was lovely), and we all had a glass of wine (or more) with dinner.  The night was spent chatting, catching up, and simply enjoying good company before taking a taxi back into the city.  The ride was short, and made me realize how close everything seems in Vancouver.  Really, their home is less than 20 min. from the downtown core, but it felt like a quiet suburban world miles away.  We were getting very comfortable with this 'rolling into bed, stuffed with good food' thing.

Day 15

We had absolutely no plans for Friday day made.  The evening was reserved by Mel and her SO Dave, but our day was a "Choose Your Own (Lack Of) Adventure" day.  So of course, we went to Medina Cafe for breakfast.

I finally had the waffles.  Milk chocolate lavender and raspberry caramel sauce... one light and rich, the other sweet and tart.  So good.   Roger got another order of the Fig and Orange marmelade sauce for his waffle, as well as the Mixed Berry compote (just to mix it up).  He also ordered a side of Merguez sausage, though neither of us liked it as much as the duck sausage.  I had a cappuccino, of course, and we both walked happily back to the hotel.  

A day of nothing flies by.  I wrote some thank you cards and went for a steam; Roger cheated a bit and read his school mail and some chemistry papers.  We walked up to T&T grocery for a late lunch and bought strange Japanese treats and tasty Chinese pastries.  By the time we headed over to Mel & Dave's, the day was gone and night had shown up.  We spent the night chatting, drinking microbrews and playing Scrabble.  It was the perfect wind-down to a great honeymoon.  The night ended with us walking home through a Hallowe'en clubbing crowd on Granville St.  Very, very drunk people; it seemed such a contrast to the way our day had gone.

Day 16 - "This the END.  I am going now."

While booking the flights, we decided later was better, and had the whole morning to pack up and relax.  We also treated ourselves to some room service for breakfast, though it was highly disappointing after eating like royalty at the Medina Cafe all week.  Ah well.  Before we knew it the morning was gone, and the shuttle was taking us down to the SkyTrain station.  We got on our flight no problem, and were greeted by smiling family at the arrivals.  Their enthusiasm was enviable, considering it was near midnight, but it was nice to be home.

Thus ends our honeymoon trip, its joys and pleasures, and its incredible journey.  We are often being asked if we were satisfied by it - if the trip on the train was worth the money, or if we would have rathered go somewhere warm and be spoiled the whole time.  I think we are both of the same mind when we say "It was perfect".  We saw the breadth of the country we're living in - something few of its inhabitants can say.  And I personally find that the cities, when experienced in such a short time period from each other, feel more real and diverse now than ever.  I can tell you that the density of downtown Vancouver, as well as its natural approach to rain and umbrellas, surprised me.  Montreal embracing cyclists and pedestrians took me back, while Halifax's small-town city feel came through on this visit.  The similarity of Toronto and Winnipeg's downtown corporate district threw me a bit, as did its similar architecture.  And the Rockies reminding us of Scotland was a sentimental surprise that made us link hands and remember when it all began.