Super Saturday 素晴らしい土曜日

Saturday was all about games and friends and fun...more tomorrow...
;-)

土曜日にゲームやスペイン・タパズで楽しくやりました！写真を撮るのをすっかり忘れてしまいました。最後のチョコ・ムースの写真しか撮っていない。素晴らしい一夜でまた遊ぼうとおもう！

Friday Lunch at Kingyo! 「金魚」でお昼

Today was my first Friday off in a couple of months so I really enjoyed it. I had lunch with a friend in Vancouver. We went to Kingyo, which is a really famous Japanese restaurant on Denman street. They make a very special lunch variety, but only 10 per day, and only on weekdays. We got there before noon and were lucky enough to get one of the lucky 10 offerings! It was fabulous! I will be back! 今日、仕事しなかった。お休みの金曜日は２ヶ月ぶりだと思うので超楽しかった。金魚というレストランでお昼を友達と楽しくいただきました。「金魚」はバンクーバーの有名な和食屋さんで、平日のお弁当は有名だって。毎日10個しか作らないので食べれると本当にスペシャルです。今日は12時前に着いてお弁当が残っていてうれしかった。から揚げはもしかして初めてだった。(食べないともったいないのでがんばりました）。ご馳走様でした！

Hart House birthday dinner...ハート・ハウスで誕生日夕飯

How's THIS for a late post? I don't know why I ever put these up but they are from a lovely birthday dinner (obviously a few months back). Ah, remembering summer....with beet soup (cold)...

A delightful terrine and salad...

Wine and crepes with yummy calorie-free sauce (no really...ahem...)

Amazing venue...

Next up was fish on a bed of veggies including edamame, mushrooms, and schmeared mashed potatoes...

On to scallops with pumpkin sauce and kale (and a bit of beef--don't judge) 

Finally, a trio of desserts...

It was a good birthday and a gorgeous venue...that was dark by the time we left...

The Help ヘルプ～心がつなぐストーリー～

It's been a great week for movies--this was our latest choice. What an amazing movie. I read the book and the movie did the story a lot of justice.

All-you-can-eat fish and chips

After a bit of a blah day at work yesterday, we hit the all-you-can-eat fish and chips place near home. L had the fish and chips...

...and I went with fish tacos. A nice evening, if not a very healthy one ;-D

Games and snacks

Sunday night was fun at home--L made garlic knots, which look like this before they go into the oven...

 And look like THIS when they are done being cooked and slathered in butter, garlic, and parsley!

 There were other snacks, too, but the garlic knots were the highlight of the evening...

 First we played Dominion--I lost, of course...

 But I did surprisingly well at Monopoly Deal (L must have been letting me win!)

Her: interesting movie 世界でひとつの彼女

去年の映画だけどやっと見れた「世界でひとつの彼女」が意外と面白かった。お勧めです。テーマは「恋愛ってなんだろう」。　Last night, we watched an Oscar-nominated movie from last year: Her. It was surprisingly interesting and brought about all sorts of compelling conversations.

Trying out a new ramen shop 最近オープンしたラーメン屋さん

We tried a new ramen shop today--in ChinaTown. I took the SkyTrain from home to Main station and met L along the way.　今日は最近オープンしたラーメン屋さんのところへ行った。スカイとレインにのって、中華街まで行った。

 This is the place--pretty nice decor but overly loud music.　ここがラーメン屋さん。

 The broth was really meaty with lots of meat. Not my favourite, but I was a trooper.　私が選んだラーメンはお肉がいっぱい入ってしまった。ちょっと残念だけどがんばりました！

They had okonomi-gyoza. Like a cross between okonomiyaki and gyoza. Also not my favourite. Oh well, we tried something new. メニューにお好み餃子があった。お好み焼きトッピングに餃子です。まあまあだったけどコンセプトは面白い。

遅い投稿：楽しい金曜日 Late post: Fun Friday

We took a half day on Friday a couple of weeks ago and headed into Vancouver for some sunny fun. We ended up here--right in Coal Harbour...金曜日に半日のお休みをいただいてバンクーバーの下町で遊びました。

Lunch was a lovely butternut squash soup; ceviche; and calamari. 昼食はカボチャスープ、セビチェ、やカラマーリ－(イカフライ）。

  What a beautiful lunch view!　きれいな景色。

Million Dollar Arm

I meant to post this a few weeks ago--great movie I watched at home on DVD. Really fun--I wanted more cricket, but it was still fun. ;-)

Heading back to Vancouver...帰りまーーーーーす！

Looking forward to being home for a while...wheeeeeeeee heading home!!!　今日帰ります！　すごい楽しみにしています！

朝ご飯のところ。。。Gabi's Fairytale Cafe--a lovely breakfast place...

 朝ご飯。。。Breakfast was a lovely benny!

 あ。。。中国に新年が近くなっている。Chinese New Year is almost here...

ホテルのオーナが中国人。The hotel owner is Chinese...

It was a bit of an eventful drive back. I learned this morning that the road I was going to take was shut!　今朝はちょっとハプニングあった。道がクローズになってしまった！
http://infotel.ca/newsitem/mud-slide-shuts-down-highway-6-near-needles-ferry-crossing/it16984

So I took a beautiful detour through Revelstoke and the Shuswap area to get to Kelowna. A bit longer, but very beautiful. I had to wait for a ferry...違う道を使いました。ちょっと遠回りだったけどきれいなたび。

A bit of a wait, but it is a comfortable car...すごい待っていたけど快適な車だから大丈夫だった。

And a beautiful ferry ride...きれいなたび！

Really beautiful...とてもきれい！

 Almost there...フェリーが到着する前。

And I made it safely to the airport...now for the flight! 空港にやっと着きました。これから飛行機です！

Working in Nakusp...ナカスプのお仕事

It was a busy couple of days--I facilitated a meeting here: the Nakusp Senior Citizens Recreation Centre　忙しい二日間だった。ここで会議があった。ナカスプ・シニア・センターです。

I had a fabulous lunch--clam chowder and cheese scone...お昼はおいしいチャウダーとスコーン。

 I took a lovely walk by the Arrow Lake...湖の近くのお散歩。

 There was even some snow on the beach...ビーチに雪もあった。

 Quite a lot of snow in places...雪が残っている。

It was a beautiful walk...きれいなお散歩。

I spent a bunch of time today working in the hotel...今日はホテルでいろいろ仕事をしてしまった！

But at least I did find a fabulous mango smoothie drink...おいしいマンゴ・スムージーを見つけた！

And I ended yesterday off here...夕べは温泉に行った！日本とは比べられないけど楽しかった。

Driving back from the Nakusp Hot Springs...warm and relaxed...
ホテルに帰るところ。。。すごいリラックス中。。。

ナカスプってどこ？ Where in the world is Nakusp?

I thought I should do a quick explanation of where I am. I am back to my rural BC travel map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zTWeimUiSBV4.kqHucQ-A27sg　　ナカスプってどこって言われたらどう答えればいいかな。じゃ。。。地図をまたアップデートしました！

I flew from Vancouver International Airport out to Kelowna International Airport...バンクーバ空港からケローナ空港まで、飛行機で。

...then I drove about four hours along windy roads to Nakusp...それで４時間ぐらい車でドライブしてからナカスプに到着。

Busy day today--I will post more tomorrow!  忙しい一日なので、明日また投稿します。

Sunday in Nakusp 日曜日はナカスプ

I traveled to Nakusp today for work. First I flew into beautiful blue-sky Kelowna.　今日はナカスプへ出張した。先ずはケローナ空港。

 I picked up a Jeep to drive across the Monashee pass.　レンタカーがジープでちょっと楽しみ！

 I survived the pass and made it to the Needles-Fauquier ferry just a little too late...フェリーに間に合わなかったので２５分待ちました。

 Yes, GPS...I know my ferry is over there...はいはい、わかった。。。

 I made it to the front of the ferry...フェリーの一番前の車だった。

 Still a beautiful day...青空

 The road I just travelled...さっき通った道。。。

 Looking around the cute inland ferry...フェリーがすごく可愛い。

 Not a long trip...１０分以内にわたると思う。

 And 45-mins later I was at my motel front door (I have an internal and an external door)...４５分後ナカスプのモテールに着きました。

A pretty nice room (no carpets means it is a bit cold)...カーペットがないのはちょっと寒いと思う。

Pretty clean, though...きれいなところ。

 And a lot of space...スペースもいっぱいある。

 But the best bit: a kitchen! Hot tea, here I come!　一番いいのは小さな台所がある！紅茶など、自分で作れるのはうれしい！