Food Glorious Food

"O Canada!"

Now then now then. Since the disastrous loss of my last attempted post, things have moved on apace. Much to tell indeed, so fasten your seatbelts for a whirlwind update.

I'm currently in Vancouver. That's in British Columbia. That's in Canada. Just for clarity you understand. Its something I picked up from the Americans who usually seek or provide clarity when stating locations. So Canada is pretty damn good. I like. Since I arrived I have generally been eating, which is always good. I had the outrageous fortune of timing my arrival here for the Thanksgiving weekend, which resulted in my being taken to two huge turkey dinners on consecutive days and consuming a not insignificant quantity of wine. I have a wonderful host here in Vancouver (Heather) who's ensured my arrival in this HUGE country has been a happy one by getting me invited to these dinners. The hospitality and sheer friendliness I've encountered in my brief time here has been overwhelming. I've been invited into family homes for their traditional celebrations as though I was a long lost family member. Its very heart-warming and humbling to be on the receiving end of such fine hospitality. I've met some brilliant people so far as well, who've shared some fascinating conversations with little ol me. There was Ron the helicopter pilot, who told me all about Baku in Azerbaijan, Eastern Europe (between Turkey and Russia). We discovered our common ground was working for BP and I had always wondered what Baku was like as I spent many frustrating minutes trying to sort out problems caused by our helpful Azerbaijani colleagues. His tales and photos were amazing and I now really want to go there. At the same dinner party, we met a lady who has just started her own business in the adult sensory products industry. Raised eyebrows aplenty as she informed the gathered diners of her brand new lubricants range and her upcoming trip to Berlin for the Erotica expo. At last night's Dingwall family thanksgiving dinner, Mr Edwards (family friend of the Dingwalls) regaled us with some cracking stories over our scrumptious roast. A keen huntsman, traveller and history-buff, his anecdotal repetoire was impressive. The finest tale (repeated twice as it was so good) recalled his encounters with the famous grizlees of Canada's huntin' country. He impersonated the bears with uncanny precision and revealed how only once has he had to "take em down" with his weapon. He explained the correct technique for shooting a bear (you 'spine' them by shooting through the throat to the spine) and told that (much to my relief) they generally run away if you shout things like "bugger off" at them in your loudest voice. Useful information I think you'll agree.

I arrived here in Vancouver on Saturday from Seattle. In all honesty, Seattle was somewhat of a disappointment. I had an enjoyable time there and met some great people, but the overall the city didn't live up to my high hopes. The main downers were Seattle's main tourist attractions, which proved to be rather uninteresting, and the nightlife, which was dire. I left with a bitter taste in my mouth having endured an extremely frustrating night out being turned away from numerous bars as my EU drivers licence was inadequate proof that I was over 21. Not much you can do with bizarre regulations being enforced by moronic doormen.

Luckily there were some highlights. The hostel I stayed in (the Green Tortoise) was brilliant. Cheap, clean, friendly and some great free dinners. I met some cool people there, including Danny from LA who ended up giving me a lift to Vancouver. He and I met over breakfast on Friday then enjoyed the one great thing Seattle has amongst its tourist attractions - the Experience Music Project. This place is AMAZING. No kidding, its the best museum type place I've ever been to. The reason its so good is that they have a place in there called the Soundlab, where you can mess about with loads of musical instruments and bits and pieces. I realised one of my boyhood dreams when I got to thrash about on a real full size drum kit. It was just as good as I always imagined it, though much more difficult. If you ever go to Seattle, you have to go to this place.

So that is Seattle. Nice people, not so exciting though. Now I've left behind the most powerful nation on Earth for the time being to check out their big, friendly neighbour. Bring it on.

Boa noite.