On a donc fait un court arrêt de trois jours en Colombie-Britannique. Évidemment, en si peu de temps et avec le décalage horaire, nous n'avions pas l'opportunité de nous éloigner trop trop du centre-ville. De plus, la meilleure copine de Mia et sa famille était en vacances chez ses grand-parents à Vancouver pendant notre visite et on voulait profiter d'une dernière opportunité de passer un peu de temps en leur merveilleuse compagnie.
Notre première journée fût un peu dans la brume, malgré le soleil éclatant. Nous avions voyagé toute la nuit, et n'avions réussi à dormir que quelques heures dans l'avion. Tout le monde a quand même tenu le coup, et nous avons marché beaucoup, visité une partie de Stanley Park, ainsi que l'aquarium. Nous sommes sortis nous empiffrer de sushis frais pour le souper, et on a fini par tirer les rideaux à 8pm. Pas mal du tout pour des petites personnes qui n'avaient dormi que 3 ou 4 heures dans les derniers 36 heures!
Les enfants nous ont vraiment épatés. Si ça n'avait été que de moi, j'aurais bien fait une grande sieste en après-midi, mais les enfants, eux, débordaient d'énergie, étaient de bonne humeur et ne voulaient jamais s'arrêter. Charlotte, par contre, a eu pas mal plus de difficulté avec le décalage horaire. Bien endormie dans sa poussette pour de longues siestes en journée, elle était complètement éveillée en pleine nuit. Alors Nic et moi avons alterné les nuits passées en pyjamas dans le lobby de l'hotel, afin de laisser le reste de la troupe se reposer.
On a passé notre deuxième journée avec Madeline et sa famille, qui nous ont gâté tout plein. Ils nous ont nourrit de sushis et de saumon frais et nous ont fait visiter Lynn Canyon park and suspended bridge, situé à 5 minutes de marche de leur résidence. Les enfants ont pu jouer autant qu'ils en avaient envi, Charlotte a dormi (!) et nous, on a eu du temps pour placoter et admirer les paysages fabuleux de North-Vancouver. Ce fût une journée aussi extraordinaire que douce-amère.
Enfin, on a célébré en grand la fête du Canada (notre ancien-nouveau pays!) pendant notre dernière journée à Vancouver. On est allé sur Granville island, où il y avait pleins d'activités pour le 1er juillet et on a passé le reste de la journée à traîner dans les parcs sur le bord de la mer. On a aussi réalisé à quel point, maintenant les adieux terminés, les enfants vivaient ce retour à la maison comme une toute nouvelle aventure. C'était le début d'un nouveau et excitant voyage, et ça nous aidait à nous distraire des inquiétudes et de la fatigue. Finalement, on a tenté notre chance pour les feux d'artifices dans la baie en soirée, mais il y avait TELLEMENT de monde qu'on a fini par rentrer à l'hôtel avant la fin, faute de pouvoir voir quoi que ce soit.
Enfin, un beau trois jours où on a réussi à remplir tous les grands souhaits canadiens des enfants (des framboises, des bagels et des écureuils) et bien plus! Et puis ce fût le grand départ (pour vrai!) vers Ottawa, notre destination finale. La fin du dernier voyage de notre grande aventure.
To come back from Australia, we had two strict directives: we absolutely had to go through Vancouver airport, and we had to travel before the July long weekend. In other words, we were almost forced to spend a long weekend in Vancouver.
Of course, we were happy to make the most of this opportunity and made a short three-day stopover in British-Columbia. Obviously, with so little time and the jet lag on top, we didn't have the opportunity to wander around too far away from the city. We also wanted to take the opportunity to hang out one last time with Mia's best friend and her family, who were visiting their relative in Vancouver at the same time.
Our heads were in the clouds a bit during our first day there, despite the bright sunshine. We had traveled all night and had only managed to get a few hours of shut-eye. Nonetheless, we made it through a full day of sightseeing, walking downtown Vancouver, through Stanley Park and visiting the aquarium. We filled our belly with fresh sushis for supper and finally pulled down the drapes at around 8pm. Not bad at all for a bunch of little ones who had only 3 or 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours!
The kids were awesome. I totally felt like taking a long afternoon nap, but the kids were full of beans. They were curious and excited and didn't want to stop. Charlotte, on the other hand, didn't handle jet lag that well. She enjoyed long peaceful naps in her pram all day, and then was wide awake all night. So Nic and I took turn hanging out with her in the hotel lobby in our pyjamas, while the rest of the group slept.
We spent our second day with Maddie and her wonderful family and we were spoiled rotten. They fed us sushis and fresh salmon, and took us sight seeing around Lynn Canyon park and suspended bridge, located right by their home. The kids played to their heart content, Charlotte slept (!) and we had time to enjoy great conversations and North-Vancouver breathtaking views. The day was as extraordinary as it was bittersweet.
We celebrated Canada day (our old-new country!) on our last day in Vancouver. We spent some time on Granville Island, which was full of Canada-day activities and wander around the parks along the ocean for the rest of the afternoon. We also realised that now that the leaving part was over with, the kids were taking this move back home just like a brand new adventure. It was the beginning of a new and exciting trip, and it helped distracting us from the worries and the fatigue. Finally, we tried to go and see the famous fireworks over the bay in the evening, but there was so many people it was impossible to see anything, so we ended up retreating to the hotel before the end.
A wonderful three days where we were able to fulfil all of the kids' Canadian dreams (raspberries, bagels and squirrels), and much more! And then it was time to fly home (for real!) to Ottawa, our final destination. The end of the last trip of our big adventure.
On a passé notre deuxième journée avec Madeline et sa famille, qui nous ont gâté tout plein. Ils nous ont nourrit de sushis et de saumon frais et nous ont fait visiter Lynn Canyon park and suspended bridge, situé à 5 minutes de marche de leur résidence. Les enfants ont pu jouer autant qu'ils en avaient envi, Charlotte a dormi (!) et nous, on a eu du temps pour placoter et admirer les paysages fabuleux de North-Vancouver. Ce fût une journée aussi extraordinaire que douce-amère.
Enfin, on a célébré en grand la fête du Canada (notre ancien-nouveau pays!) pendant notre dernière journée à Vancouver. On est allé sur Granville island, où il y avait pleins d'activités pour le 1er juillet et on a passé le reste de la journée à traîner dans les parcs sur le bord de la mer. On a aussi réalisé à quel point, maintenant les adieux terminés, les enfants vivaient ce retour à la maison comme une toute nouvelle aventure. C'était le début d'un nouveau et excitant voyage, et ça nous aidait à nous distraire des inquiétudes et de la fatigue. Finalement, on a tenté notre chance pour les feux d'artifices dans la baie en soirée, mais il y avait TELLEMENT de monde qu'on a fini par rentrer à l'hôtel avant la fin, faute de pouvoir voir quoi que ce soit.
Enfin, un beau trois jours où on a réussi à remplir tous les grands souhaits canadiens des enfants (des framboises, des bagels et des écureuils) et bien plus! Et puis ce fût le grand départ (pour vrai!) vers Ottawa, notre destination finale. La fin du dernier voyage de notre grande aventure.
*********************************************************************************
To come back from Australia, we had two strict directives: we absolutely had to go through Vancouver airport, and we had to travel before the July long weekend. In other words, we were almost forced to spend a long weekend in Vancouver.
Of course, we were happy to make the most of this opportunity and made a short three-day stopover in British-Columbia. Obviously, with so little time and the jet lag on top, we didn't have the opportunity to wander around too far away from the city. We also wanted to take the opportunity to hang out one last time with Mia's best friend and her family, who were visiting their relative in Vancouver at the same time.
Our heads were in the clouds a bit during our first day there, despite the bright sunshine. We had traveled all night and had only managed to get a few hours of shut-eye. Nonetheless, we made it through a full day of sightseeing, walking downtown Vancouver, through Stanley Park and visiting the aquarium. We filled our belly with fresh sushis for supper and finally pulled down the drapes at around 8pm. Not bad at all for a bunch of little ones who had only 3 or 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours!
The kids were awesome. I totally felt like taking a long afternoon nap, but the kids were full of beans. They were curious and excited and didn't want to stop. Charlotte, on the other hand, didn't handle jet lag that well. She enjoyed long peaceful naps in her pram all day, and then was wide awake all night. So Nic and I took turn hanging out with her in the hotel lobby in our pyjamas, while the rest of the group slept.
We spent our second day with Maddie and her wonderful family and we were spoiled rotten. They fed us sushis and fresh salmon, and took us sight seeing around Lynn Canyon park and suspended bridge, located right by their home. The kids played to their heart content, Charlotte slept (!) and we had time to enjoy great conversations and North-Vancouver breathtaking views. The day was as extraordinary as it was bittersweet.
We celebrated Canada day (our old-new country!) on our last day in Vancouver. We spent some time on Granville Island, which was full of Canada-day activities and wander around the parks along the ocean for the rest of the afternoon. We also realised that now that the leaving part was over with, the kids were taking this move back home just like a brand new adventure. It was the beginning of a new and exciting trip, and it helped distracting us from the worries and the fatigue. Finally, we tried to go and see the famous fireworks over the bay in the evening, but there was so many people it was impossible to see anything, so we ended up retreating to the hotel before the end.
A wonderful three days where we were able to fulfil all of the kids' Canadian dreams (raspberries, bagels and squirrels), and much more! And then it was time to fly home (for real!) to Ottawa, our final destination. The end of the last trip of our big adventure.
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