Craig & Mel's World Tour: Finally Living Our Dream

So we have been in Vancouver now for over 3 weeks (nearly 7 weeks since we left Australia) – time really does fly when your having fun. In saying that, we have achieved a lot since we got here! Craig started his job at IGA exactly 1 week after we got here. He didn’t love it – mainly because he was mostly working nights and not getting full time hours but any work was better than no work. He also applied at the Hostel we were staying at to be on their Maintenance Team – we popped in there yesterday to follow up and they said they want him to start Monday – which is awesome. The money is the same but it is 40 hours a week 9-5 Monday-Friday so its perfect! His last shift is at IGA tonight (working Saturday night, 4pm-12pm – can you see why he didn’t love it????)

I have done nothing but try and find a job…. I have literally sent off my resume to over 30 jobs and have had no calls. I did go to a few interviews at recruitment agencies but like it is at home – such a waste of time!!! I did however finally get in contact with a medical recruitment company and had an interview with them on Thursday, and then on Friday, I went for an interview with an Orthopaedic Surgeon at St Paul’s Hospital, which is literally 300m from our house (well that’s what Google maps told me anyway). The crappy thing was that I went for the interview on Friday afternoon and so; I have to wait until Monday now to know if I got it. I didn’t really want to work in medical again while I was here but it seems that I have to stick to what I am good at in order to even get a job!!! Now that I have been for the interview though, I am really pumped and really want the job. Although, being as close as it is and the fact that it is really good pay, I am thinking that it is all a little too good to be true but hey, only time will tell!

We finally moved into our house on Sunday and have settled right in. It was so good to unpack our bags and hang our clothes!!! Our room is in the attic of the house but it is nice and roomy and we have our privacy, which is great too!!! The house has a big kitchen and 2 potential drinking/bbq areas so we couldn’t really ask for much more!!!

Last Saturday night we met up with Cameron (Craig’s friend from school) and his girlfriend Raquel. They were here for just one night before heading home to Brisbane. We also went out with a whole heap of people that we have met while staying in the hostel. One guy, Mick (who is from Noosa of all places) is the one we have been hanging out with the most. We had drinks and went out to this club that seemed ages away (I say that because we have been walking everywhere we go but this time we had to catch a cab – even though it was only a 5 min ride – that is far away to us now! lol) They were playing pretty good music and the drinks were relatively cheap which is always a bonus. Clubs and pubs close here at 2am though and so we were only there for about an hour and a half before it was time to leave. Although, that was probably a good thing though because the damage was already done!!! We were super hung over the next morning but it was such a beautiful day that we dragged ourselves out of bed and went to English Bay with Mick and some other people. English Bay is what Canadians call their beach. When I say beach though, it is basically some brown sand with rocks everywhere and a grassy hill that everyone sits on – nothing like our beach at home but still a nice place and was great for a chill out in the sun!

Another place that we have spent some time at (and simply love) is Stanley Park. It is our new favourite place!!!! It is this huge park in the middle of the city and is surrounded by the bay!!! The first time we went there we hired bikes and rode around the whole outside sea wall – this took us about an hour and a half and just seen some beautiful sites. We were in a beautiful park, with the ocean in front of us and snow-capped mountains in the background AND we were still in the heart of the city – just beautiful!!! We also went there on another day and just walked through the park. We seen a few squirrels and Craig was on the hunt for a raccoon but we are yet to find one!!! It is definitely a place that we can see ourselves visiting a lot!!! We want to buy bikes so that we can ride around there and other places easily!!!

One of the greatest things about Vancouver is the fact that we walk everywhere!! At home, I wouldn’t dream of walking (just take the car) but here, it is not even a chore, so we are definitely loving that!!! Another thing I love (and is obviously, very important) about Vancouver is that my hair doesn’t get fuzzy!!! Its unbelievable – I straighten it and wella – stays straight and perfect all day!!!! (sorry, that is just something that excites me personally – I had to share) If we want to talk about things I don’t love it pretty much relates to money. Here in Vancouver they don’t round up so things cost – example $2.42 – and they have 1c 5c 10c 25c $1 and $2 coins but the 5c piece is bigger than the 10c and looks the same as the 25c piece. It is all soooo bloody confusing. The other annoying thing is that they don’t add tax to their advertised prices. So you walk into a shop and thing ‘oh yep, that’s $19.99’ but no no its actually that plus 12% tax on top!!!! I am also over tipping – it is so confusing and it is especially hard to think about it when you are drunk. Its hard enough just paying when your drunk let a lone trying to add up how much you are meant to tip at the same time!!! Other than that though, I can’t say a bad thing about this place so far - We are loving it here and enjoying every bit of it so far.

It has been raining a little since we got here which is the annoying part about the fact that we walk everywhere, because when it rains it is really hard to get around. But we have been promised that this settles down over the next month and then it doesn’t rain during summer. As soon as we both get proper jobs we are going to start planning some weekend trips. Everyone seems to head to Seattle here (because it is so close) so that might be our first trip. There is also still so much of just Vancouver for us to see so we have lots in front of us!!!

I guess the most Amazing thing for us is the fact that we are actually here…. Here in Vancouver! We spent so much time planning and dreaming about coming here, its hard for us to believe that we are actually here!!! I don’t think a day has gone past yet without one of us saying ‘can you believe we are actually here???’. It feels so good to finally be living our dream and this is only the beginning!!!!

We will keep you posted on our Vancouver adventures and hopefully have some more photos next time too – oh and I will hopefully have a job!!!!

Love Mel and Craig xoxox

P.S - Happy Mother's Day Mums - we love and miss you very much xoxoxox