A small Inukshuk someone had built at a beach along the Sunshine Coast
A few days ago I came back from the North, from a province that calls itself "the best place on earth"
Right at the border between Washington and British Columbia
Of course I am talking about British Columbia, on the West Coast of Canada, our neighbors to the north.
We love British Columbia. It truly is very close to heaven - but is it the best place on earth?
Yes, I think so - or at least a very close second to Sonoma County.
British Columbia has far more forests - including beautiful rain forests - than we do in Sonoma County - and they have a wine country that makes excellent wines, especially if you like white and rose wines. Their Riesling and Gewürztraminer are fantastic and remind me a lot of the wines in Alsace and Germany.
At Stanley Park in Vancouver
But that's not all. There is the humor and wit of the Canadians, the kindness of the people - Canadians are such nice people. British Columbia is refreshingly clean and coming back to the US from there is a bit of a shock. Have you ever noticed how trashed our country is? It's a shame.
Canada Place in Vancouver, right at the waterfront
Canadians are just as proud of their country and fly their flag a lot. However, at least one member in our family isn't less proud and shows her support for Canada freely.
Even the mail boxes here are happy and colorful!
When we did this "test" we scored so high we could actually apply for citizenship! (if it were that easy)
And just so that we don't forget how beautiful it is here, every British Columbian car reminded us of that - as if we needed that!
There will be more posts about our time in British Columbia - I still need to organize my photos and make a selection. I just wanted to let you know that I am back and that there is more to come.
Oh, how happy this post made me.
ReplyDeleteI was born in British Columbia (third generation) and love it SO much. I would never have left except for my husband's work.
Your photos are great. I agree about the Sunshine Coast. There's nothing like it, although there are some spectacular places on The Island (which is what British Columbians call Vancouver Island) and the intervening Gulf Islands are pretty gorgeous, too.
We drove out to the coast this month, with out dog, to visit my family in the Vancouver suburbs and to attend my 50-year high school graduation reunion in Kelowna (the place mentioned on the license plate holder). One of my best friends from school days there is named Carola.
I'm sure you took far more BC photos than we did, so I'm looking forward to seeing some of them.
K
Das ist ein Land, wo ich auch gerne leben würde!
ReplyDeleteGrüße aus dem Backofen Germany
Renate
What fun !I love your red theme connecting all these images. I've never been to BC, and you make it look very appealing. My "best place in the world" has to be the Sonoma coast.
ReplyDeleteIt IS beautiful up there, isn't it? I did some work in Vancouver, and Paul and I vacationed there a few times.
ReplyDeleteRinda
Oh boy, Carola, I am intrigued and can't wait to see more! I have been to Canada a few times, but not to British Columbia. Next year, after my grant teaching is finished, we are thinking of taking a "longer" trip and this could well be on the agenda... so glad that you had a wonderful time!!
ReplyDeleteWhat I most love about this post (besides the Inukshuk!) is that I can totally concur with everything you said, Carola...because I have been there for a week and loved every minute of it (just before the winter Olympics in Vancouver). We especially loved Uclulet on Vancouver Island. OMG. I'll never forget it!
ReplyDeleteWell, I am Canadian and proud of it ;o) Such a nice post ;o) I love British Columbia ;o) Hugs ;o)
ReplyDeleteI loved my visit to Vancouver in 2004. So many wonderful places to visit where you could enjoy nature's healing life. Well, I also loved their library! I think we ended up there almost every other day of our stay there! Thank you for the reminder! Patsy from
ReplyDeleteHeARTworks