So anyone who knows us will know that there were many, many adjustments to the Canadian plans. We started thinking we would do some of both sides of the country, but eventually landed on flying into Vancouver (direct, thanks Air NZ!!), and then head to Calgary after a couple of days.

Vancouver was awesome, though we will definitely have to go back as really didn’t do or see anything we wanted to. It was a great place to stop and let our bodies rest after a big flight, and several hectic weeks of packing and prepping, but the time was far too short.

We landed early afternoon, caught a shuttle to our hotel (complimentary, thanks Holiday Inn Express Vancouver!) and set our bags down before going for a wander to grab some food and check out the area. Immediately a few things blew our minds.

First, the view. We were on the 6th floor, and we had a gorgeous view of the snow capped mountains in the distance… right over the top of the biggest (and only at that point!) Costco we had ever seen. We could also see the local train station in the distance, which was helpful as we had plans to use the Skytrain into the city the next day.

Second, we walked outside the hotel, into an area that had busy, large roads. Like, 4 lanes kinda busy. And yet, as we neared the pedestrian crossing, here were these cute little rabbits just chilling on the corner, eating grass like they were on a farm in North Canterbury. Like, WTF?!

Third, we were absolutely not expecting the famous Canadian manners to extend to their driving. We literally couldn’t stand less than a metre from the road without cars stopping to let us walk across. That politeness and consideration extended beyond Vancouver and into Alberta, so bravo Canada, bravo!

Our first full day in Canada we decided to brave the Skytrain and head to the city. With no idea what we were actually doing, and with no cellphones yet to help with navigation, it was a braver move than we thought. Within seconds of getting out of the train station in the city, we were completely unaware of where we were. We had grand plans to head to Stanley Park to visit the totem poles, but first, a trip to TELUS to get a Canadian sim card…

Except, we couldn’t find a TELUS. Anywhere. We had no internet access, so figured we would just walk around and enjoy the sights. Two hours later, the boys were both somewhat done with that plan, hungry, thirsty, and someone needed to pee. So, we did what we probably should have done in the first place… looked for a coffee shop so we could grab a drink and some free wifi.

Starbucks was the only familiar name we could see, but it was packed, so we walked a little further and came across Tim Horton’s. Never having heard of this particular brand, we figured it looked warmer than the increasingly cool Vancouver streets, and we were tired of hearing how thirsty Mr 8 was, so decided to haul in… and had zero regrets when, less than 10 minutes later, we were all sitting with a warm beverage, 3 of us had donuts in our hands, and all for less than $20. A quick mental estimation had us prepped to pay closer to $30 based on NZ prices, so Tim Horton’s became a firm fave, real quick.

After giving up on our original plan (in it’s entirety) we caught the Skytrain back to Richmond and headed back to the hotel, before going to grab some dinner. An early night was easily done after almost no sleep on the overnight flight the day before, and an early morning so we could go to the city. The following day was travel to Calgary day, so we unpacked as little as possible in Vancouver, which meant there was not a great deal on offer in terms of entertainment, which also helped the early night become a thing for Mr 8 and Mr 11.

After availing ourselves of a delicious breakfast courtesy of the hotel (free airport shuttle and free breakfast were our two non-negotiables when booking our first Canadian stay, and the boys loved us for it), we got sorted to head back to the airport, ready to catch our flight to Calgary. While there, we got ourselves a couple of sim cards, and with cellphones back in business, we thought we were set.

Then we got to security ready to head for the departure gate… and within minutes of standing in the longest airport line we had seen so far, Mr 8 decided he needed to pee. Sure, okay… that’s easily done with 4 carry-on bags, 4 laptop bags, 3 jackets, neck pillows, a stuffed red panda and a stuffed raccoon.

Well, it wouldn’t have been quite so bad, except that when the remaining two of us made it to the other side of the x-ray machine… four of our bags didn’t. These bags, which had been VERY carefully packed to maximise both space and weight allowances, were then unpacked most unceremoniously, with loads of questions that had obvious answers (What is this? It’s a miniature toothpaste, in a plastic bag, as required.) The kicker was that once the security person was content with our obvious answers, we had all four bags shoved back at us, in their unpacked states, and were asked to move along.

Back at our full complement of four, this would have been fine, except we had now been in the security area for over 45 minutes, and suddenly we hear, “This is the final boarding call for the Flair Airlines flight to Calgary…”

Well crap.

Thankfully, once seated on the plane, offending carry-on all returned to a somewhat packed state and stashed away, Mr 8 curled up and snored the entire flight, and what was a 90 minute flight on our itinerary turned out to land after just 60 minutes flying over some of the most stunning scenery I’ve ever seen.

HELLO CALGARY.

Featured pic is the arrivals area of Vancouver Airport. Boys were in awe of the totem poles!!