26.5.09

Vancouver versus Toronto

Cypress Community Garden

Since I visited Vancouver in 2000 I'd always wanted to see what life was like on the west coast...now I've finally made it! Starting the summer soaking up life in Kitsilano, a fabulous community that rivals many of my fav places in Toronto. It's sort of a mix of the Annex and Avenue Road, Bloor West Village and the Beaches.

Since I did a little comparison of the two Canadian cities on my sister blog 416style and reminisced about some things I missed I thought I should even things up and tell you what I love about living in VanCity.

1) The mountains, the ocean and the beach, but that's an easy one. Last weekend I kayaked with a loon family including two babies, albeit not in the city, I was up at Sakinaw Lake.

2) Sushi! It's everywhere and I never grow tired of it. Walk a block from my house and there are 3 restos right on the corner. The day was driving out of Toronto to come to Vancouver I visited seven sushi restaurants and not one was open on a Sunday. (Mind you, Mondays in Vancouver might be the equivilant.)

3) The walkability of the city, strolling Denman, Commercial, Granville or West 4th.

4) Community gardens. A block from me are these abandoned railroad tracks that are blooming with flowers and fruit planted in neighborhood plots. A trail follows the Cypress garden path for several blocks with a flash of colour that makes up for the graffiti I miss in Toronto. (: There's a huge plot downtown too and if that weren't enough there seem to be so many avid gardeners, nearly every place I pass by on foot has landscaped or added a bit of natural beauty.

day 174 - on the rails

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