Discussion on:

Who says Canadians are used to snow??

Okay, a blanket statement there but more so for Vancouver specifically. We don't get a lot of snow in Vancouver, maybe one or two snowfalls a year, usually a few inches. Today I had it proven to me that not ALL Canadians are used to driving in snow. We had our first fall last night, less than an inch in the city, about 3 where I live in the 'burbs. You'd think it was Armageddon though! My normal drive in is 35 mins, today 1hr 25mins because people don't seem to realize that snow is slippery and a Honda Civic or Toyota Camry is not a 4X4.

I spent a total of 36.23mins idling on my way to the office as people slid sideways up hills and skidded into oncoming traffic down hills. The worst part was just as I entered town, very little snow, roads a bit slushy. It was a dead stop in every direction because people here simply can't drive. (I won't resort to the cultural issues but that may mean something for many here anyway)

Tomorrow supposed to have more, though it's sunny and clear right now. I live in a hilly suburb, the plows were late to the punch today though. I was in 4W High but still dragged arse for 40 minutes just to get on my way because you couldn't move on my hill due to the number of unprepared yahoos who think a compact car with summer tires will get you up a hill with a few inches of fresh snow (well it will if you understand gear but we are talking our local city idiot drivers).

So in case anyone is wondering how Canadians put up with all the snow, we don't ALL get snow and when we do, locals just have no idea what to do in it. I just hope it snows enough to keep them all at home tomorrow!!!

Okay that was that rant, wonder what will happen tomorrow.

bring it on, 6 feet of snow please

you can have all my Nova Scotian snow too if you like.

I can't believe good old NJ gets more snow than you guys. I always get a lot of snow where I live because I'm in the higher elevations, so I can definitely relate to hills. I've gotten pretty good over the years driving in snow, but most of the population here can't drive on a normal day.

The flip side of yahoos in compact cars with summer tires are the yahoos with the SUVs that think they're invincible in the snow. They are usually the ones that fly off the road into ditches because they're going too fast.

We have no snow here - yet. I'm sure that will change soon.

AV

Many still think we live in the wilderness in our igloos too, I'm sure. Last year I don't even remember getting snow at all, maybe a flurry that didn't get anywhere. BC interior gets SNOW!!!, the rest of Canada gets SNOW!!!! we get rain, a few cooler days and then it's spring again. Shhhhh, Vancouver is Canada's secret little corner paradise!

Last year I was sitting by the beach having a few beers with a friend and watching the sunset, seaplanes and windsurfers, with no jacket on, in mid December! I remember all the posts on TR about snow and photos of the US winter wonderland.
Right now it's 39F, 5C (sounds cold but I went to the store without a coat just now and it was really nice the with warm sun.)
I always like to call the US the Great White South (see the twist there? ) .

and polar bears and stuff. I've seen the David Attenborough programs and he doesn't lie.

Reminded me of Monty Pythons Meaning of Life. "A TIGER???? In Africa???"
Sorry,
This is almost the view from my office: http://www.vancam.ca/
Also : http://www.westinbayshore.com/cam/index.php

Yeah I know, it's AWFUL isn't it? LOL (Love the scenes here, every angle is a postcard). Without the clouds there is a mountainous backdrop behind the downtown buildings.

Or a nice view of the North Shore Mountains, which can be seen from almost anywhere in Van. http://www.jericho.ca/webcam/webcam.html

Okay, behind the big cloud there are mountains half white with snow, stunning to look at and the reason I keep telling myself it's worth the money to live here. We pay through the nose to live in Van but it is so freakin' scenic and beautiful (yeah it's actually called Beautiful British Columbia too!) that it actually seems worth it.
http://www.plateshack.com/y2k/British_Columbia/bcy2k.html

(okay I have the Olympic release plate and it says the The Best Place on Earth, but it is still Beautiful British Columbia). Funny thing is, I'd give it all up to be on Ventnor Beach, IOW in a heartbeat. I know I'd miss BC something bad ( I am into the recreational life here too) but i'd be where I feel at home, for real.

I think they're so cool http://www.canadapolarbears.com/

I haven't seen polar bears without CocaCola branding in a while!

It rained. But it was the worst summer since - whenever. It rained everywhere, all of the time.

We drove right around the island and had lunch in Ventnor from The Haven Fish and Chips (local caught pollock and chips, eaten in the car). Not cheap, though!

They see holiday makers coming for miles, I think it's the hankie tied on the head and the pant legs rolled up that tips them off.

Seriously though, summer is all they have, have to make what you can when you can. There's nothing like a soft serve ice cream cone with the Cadbury Flake in it though...gadzooks I've got to open a stand out here! (even if just to satisfy my own cravings). I really missed the old Ventnor pier last time I was over though, it was the piers that really made the IOW seasides. I think Sandown pier is still there though, until funding ceases and it falls apart.

open a shop that has decent East Coast donairs...i've been told ya can't get a decent one past Quebec

What's 'Cadbury Flake' and what are 'donairs'?

Signed: "Severely South of the Border"

although it just sounds like Cadbury chocolate bars shaved into flakes. Donains on the other hand are pressed ground spiced hamburger wrappped in a flat bread wrap with sweet mayonaise (donair) sauce, chopped onions, tomatoes, and cheese, served hot after being baked in an oven. They seem to be an East Coast thing; I've got friends that have moved out west and can't find a good donair at all. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dashs-donair/

We have an ice cream called a '99'. It consists of a biscuit cone with soft vanilla ice with a Cadbury chocolate flake pushed into it. Chocolate or raspberry sauce is optional, sprinkles is heresy. Last one I had was August, on Littlehampton beach after some fish and chips. More English than I can possibly describe...

The flake? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk5wz_OLl1U

And, yes, I'm a tourist in Ventnor - although no hankie.

thanks Neil....that looks yummy, but then again, it's chocolate, what could possibly be wrong?

Donairs are slow cooked on a rotating spit. http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodhead/3935334227/lightbox/ They shave off slices and add it to a Pita, along with Tsatziki, tomatoes etc. It's a Greel/Turkish dish, I've had 'em from both coasts and have to say there are some AWESOME donair shows out here, especially one in Richmond run by a Turkish family, best I've ever had!!

After describing a donair and linking to a picture, I quickly went up the road to the local Donair shop an filled up. Damn those thing are HUUUGE, two hands and messy as hell (they must weigh 2-3 pounds easy) but DAMN what a lunch! Now I'm good for another year anyway.

Seriously, I've never heard of a Donair before, but I make something similar at home. I use sliced sirloin steak instead of the spiced hamburger and put that on top of a pita with chopped tomatoes and red onion. Then I put Tzatziki sauce on that. Its very delish. Maybe not quite the same as a Donair, but super easy.

AV

Now I'm craving one, but they don't sell anything quite like that here. I can improvise though and even make my own raspberry sauce. YUM!

AV

That's VERY close, of course the addition of good ole Grade A USA beef makes it very American too but it sure sounds yum. Good thing I'm full, I'd be running out for another...well maybe I could find SOME room left in the old one-pack stomache!

Wonder how they'd manage in a more wooded climate. Stick out like a sore thumb of course, but they'd probably do OK eating seal clubbers ;D

Recent documentaries on Canadian Bears around Hudsons Bay show them taking looong treks across dry land in their quest to hit open ocean, ice floes as they dwindle and break off far sooner than before. A few years ago it was the end of polar bears but now it seems they are adapting to life on land more. The bears will outlive us humans, we are weak and frail and rely on our comforts. Slight changes in atmospheric pressure as seasons change cause all kinds of flu bugs, bronchial issues etc. If there was an extreme weather change, we are done for, the rest of the planet's species will mainly adapt.

then I don't know where I'm going to put my father. I've been threatening him for years with the 'Silver Floe Retirement Home'.

That's great.
"I thought you said I'd be staying with Floe?!"
"No dad, I said ON a floe"

Cheers, I was looking for a giggle today.

Vancouver sounds pretty nice to me. I don't know if I'd fit in there, but I would sure like the weather.

AV

I was there once 9 yrs ago and didn't like it at all...too big, too fast, and too expensive to live in. One of our nephews lives out there with his new wife (they're both so sweet) and their little apartment is costing them a fortune and they're both still students.

Yes, people who decide to live in the city get it the worst. BC as a whole is insanely incredible though, I couldn't care less about the city really, although I guess it is deemed one of the most beautiful (if there is such a thing). BC to me is the Interior (Okanagan Valley, or North to Kamloops, Vernon etc) the Island, Sunshine Coast (where it rains all the time) etc.
The City of Vancouver is expensive as hell, unless you find the right deal in South Vancouver/Marpole etc (bordering the 'burbs). I actually pay less for my place than a place half the size down the road, but that because I lived here a long time and managed to squeeze into the right deal when it came up.

Locals who have lived here a long time don't live in Van city as much though, too many accessible suburbs that are so much more affordable and commutes are minimal, from the right spots.

Besides the UK, this is the only place I'd want to live.

Everyone fits in Vancouver. There is no expectation of assimilation in Canada...'Be all that you can be...whomever that may be".

When you said "Be all that you can be" it reminded me of the US Army slogan that tries to get you to enlist.

I bet its a great city to visit, but I much prefer the country.

AV

I was thinking of the Army too, as I typed it. BC has some STUNNING country, absolutely jaw dropping places to be. Vancouver, as far as cities go, is pretty nice. Even the concrete Jungle (BLS reference) is a pretty one, lots of glass buildings and architecture. However, I see the city as the armpit of BC, thankfully most people here seem to prefer the city, immigrants that really don't appreciate woods, lakes, wildlife, coastal towns etc. The BC interior, wine country, vast lakes, remote getaways everywhere etc. is some of the most beautiful scenery I have laid eyes one, keeping in mind I have toured the world more than once and had a chance to see a good chunk of it now.

But as they say, home is where the heart is. My comfort zone is either in the bush or on the coast, childhood memories, away from the city. Making BC ideal or me.
I was 8 before I saw my first escalator! As for elevators, they were simply unheard of until I went to New York.

I still remember the occasion the 1st Sgt said he needed "Five of you 'Armies of One'."

Sounds like I would love the BC interior very much. I could live in wine country. I didn't even realize BC had a wine country. I would think it would be too cold to grow grapes there and not a long enough growing season.

Definitely, theres no place like home, but it must have been fun to travel the world. New York too? Thats not my favorite city, but I've been there many times.

AV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d27gTrPPAyk

AV

Sting is always interesting, just wish I could hear what the lady is saying, the song says a lot by only saying a little.

I think she's kind of criticizing him to keep up the standards of being a brit.

AV

Okay, well I'm new to these forums so I'm not too sure how to keep conversations in line when max thread depth is reached but this is for AV.
BC. Has a very hot valley called the Okanagan Valley. They are initially known for fruit, pickers come from Quebec every year to make a few bucks in the summer. One town is actually called Peachland for all the peach orchards. Some premium wines, that have won many awards worldwide come from the Okanagan Valley. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okanagan_Valley_(wine_region)

The Fraser Valley (not wine country at all) is full of farms but they are corn, fruit, dairy etc. A great place to get ice cream in the summer too, fresh dairy cream made into ice cream on site!
http://mimsmissives.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/fraser-valley.jpg

Aidemzo, They both look beautiful. I'm surprised to read that the southern Okanagan Valley has cactus?! That so goes against my impressions of what Canada is like! The Fraser Valley looks like beautiful farm country. I could live there. It seems Canada has a much more diverse climate than I ever thought.

You're doing just fine navigating the TR max thread depth - you're just like an old pro! Hee Hee.

AV

we drove across country on our way to BC so we drove through the mountains; they are indeed stunning. Some of the rivers and waterways that run down the mountains are so clear and sometimes blue that it's breathtaking. The Fraser Valley is full of farms and wineries as well, just gorgous. I had taken some pictures but for the life of me, I don't know what I did with them.

Or would be, except for the Canadians...

It's the imports and there are a LOOOOT of them!! In fact, in one of Vancouver's suburbs (Richmond), English is the SECOND most commonly spoken language/native tongue.
I'm an import myself, not a citizen, but it didn't take long for me to learn to speak Canadian and I adapted to the culture pretty quickly, as stupid as it seemed at first.

Or can you get by with English? What the heck, I have Siri to help me out if I ever needed a translation.

AV

Quebec is French for the most part and there are some French Acadian towns in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with some other communities around the country. Good thing too because my french is horrid. I've been to Quebec City and had to rely on my g/f to get us by (she studied more than I did). French is our second language and it is taught in our schools but I didn't retain a lot from then. I can say some of the words if they're in front of me, like to order a meal and such, but beyond that, yikes!

I didn't do very well with it, but I love how the language sounds. If I tried to learn it again, I'd probably do better with it now than I did back then.

I guess I take for granted that everyone speaks English everywhere.

AV

I always figure someone should understand me when i'm blathering away in english, I tend to forget. Our country is so diverse, I should try to learn a few different languages; or at least enough to get by on.

I studied french in high school as well and actually did quite well but opted out as soon as I was able to. Nowadays, they start teaching the kids french by grade 5 in the schools.

I didn't study French until I was 8 or 9 years old and I plain wasn't interested. There was no one to speak French to where I live, so its kind of nonsensical to even teach it in the first place. French in NJ. Nah. We need to learn to speak English here properly first, LOL.

Where you live, its probably really valuable to know if you ever travel to places like Quebec. I'd love to go there one day. It looks awesome.

AV

is very pretty. If you ever get the chance, check it out especially the old part of the city, it's gorgous

edit to add: yes, i do agree, the earlier the better when it comes to learning