After the whirlwind tour of Asia last post, and all the shenanigans with the launch of Singapore Fling, I’m ready for a staycation. If anyone hasn’t heard of this word, it’s a vacation where you stay at home. I am privileged to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Yes, there are more vibrant cities than Vancouver, cities with culture and history and a food scene that will have your mouth watering just walking down the street.

And despite the fact that I tell my husband every three months that I want to move abroad again, I know we won’t. At least not until the children all finish school. Yes, Vancouver isn’t perfect, but it’s home. And the positives far outweigh the negatives. It rains—a lot—especially in the autumn, winter and spring and sometimes the summer. But that’s why everything is so green. You can’t have verdant foliage without copious amounts of rain.

When someone asks how my husband and I got together, I tell them that we were friends for four years. Then he found out that my family lived near Whistler. As he was an avid skier, suddenly I became much more attractive to him and he asked me out. The sad thing is that now that we’ve moved here, we ski much less often than when we lived in Europe.

I’m a beach person. Not that I like to lie on the beach for endless hours perfecting the ultimate shade of toast. I am far too pasty to change colour beyond a faint joining of my freckles. But I could walk barefoot for hours on the soft sand, with the water lapping at my feet. Unfortunately, I don’t live near enough a sand beach at the moment to indulge my love of beach walking. But if I’m ever desperate I can drive to one in less than an hour. And I can always get my fix of brackish salt air anytime I want by just driving down the road.

Vancouver likes to tote itself as a city where you can swim in the sea and ski the same day. I’m not sure why you would want to do both, but I guess it would be possible. If I had just one day to spend in Vancouver, and the weather was fine, I’d hire a bike and cycle around Stanley Park, stopping to admire the north shore mountains. Then I’d take a walk on Jericho beach, if I have time, wander around the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, before heading up to Grouse Mountain for dinner. As the sun set over the ocean, and the twinkling lights of the city filled the night sky, I’d inhale deeply of the pine scented, fresh air. But don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself.