Hey remember that time I flew from one side of the country to the other?? Vancouver was so so SOOOOO amazing and whether you’ve been a 100 times or you’ve never been, you’re not going to want to miss today’s video recap from my recent trip with Telus.
From the epic Telus Garden, the Vancouver seawall, to Gastown, and even some volunteering mixed in we REALLY crammed a lot into less than 48 hours. I even managed to squeeze in some family time, and scheduled an instameet with a bunch of girls I follow on Instagram. Watching this video makes me miss Vancouver so much already what an amazing experience.
VANCOUVER TRAVEL DIARY
WHERE WE STAYED
Loveeeeed this location! The Westin Bayshore located along the shore of the East end of the the waterfront, couldn’t have been more perfect! Absolutely stunning views at every turn, and conveniently located along the Vancouver Seawall and a slew of beautiful waterfront restos I was obsessed.
And can we talk about that outdoor pool?? While I didn’t have enough time to actually go for a dip (I had to catch up on emails and Instagram DMs) it was so so lovely to just hang outside in my bathing suit (something I wont be doing for months until it warms up in Halifax lol)
WHERE WE ATE
Ya’ll know one of my favorite parts of traveling is the food. I had the absolute pleasure of checking out a few spots while I was in Vancouver and I’m happy to report everything was great!
Cardaro’s
Upon arriving to Vancouver I quickly snuck in some time with my family. I met with my aunt and my cousin, and enjoyed the most DE-licious greek salad at Cardaro’s on their beautiful seaside patio I might add. With a massive bowl of veggies, chicken grilled to perfection this was definitely one of the best Greek salads I’ve had!! And that feta?? OMG as I recapp this right now I wish I was eating that salad. Safe to say it was a hit.
Cactus Club
Before meeting up with #TeamTelus I also may have snuck in a quick Instameet with some girl’s I’d been following on Instagram FOR-EVER at the Cactus Club. It was amazing to meet them IRL. These girls were even more lovely in person, and it wasn’t the frose talking lol! It was so funny chatting with these girls because we should have been so uncomfortable and awkward because we’d never met, but it was honestly like I was out for drinks with my girlfriends I could have talked to these girls all night. SO FUN. If you want to follow any of these gals I’m going to include their handles here: @cjdimmock, @iulia.agnew, @catchdebzee, @sarahporchetta
Minami
For one of the dinners with Team Telus we went to Minami for sushi, and anyone who follows me on Instagram knows I eat sushi like once a week! I was super excited to try one of Vancouver’s best spots. It didn’t disappoint, and despite the fact it was 2am (Halifax time) by the time we left I was so happy eating their delicious food and chatting with my fellow team telus peeps I hardly even noticed!! Catch some of their beautiful presentation in my video recap!
L’Abattoir
For our closing dinner we went to L’Abattoir in Gastown, and guys that fish with cucumber and dill and bib lettuce was what dreams are made of! WOW it was de-licious! I would 100% order that again and again.
WHAT WE DID
This is definitely better exemplified in the video, but to recap here are some high level highlights of what we did while we were in Vancouver.
Ate, Ate, and Ate Some More!
As seen above I definitely did not go hungry on this trip lol and Vancouver is known for it’s cuisuine, so if you’re in the area be sure to do a little research and find some hot spots, but I think you’d be hard pressed to have a bad meal in Vancouver.
Vancouver Seawall
I would highly recommend you check out the Seawall (better yet bike it) I wish I had the time to bike the seawall (adding it to my list f or next time) because it’s absolutely stunning. From mountains to the ocean Vancouver really does have it all. With such a bustling city life there’s so much to take in 🙂
We Rode In a Limo
Completely unexpected but we arrived to dinner in style c/o of a stretch limo, and it was everything! LOL I even convinced our driver to take a selfie with me, to which he responded that he was going to be famous LOL haha such a fun way to kick of the trip.
Gastown
You have to check out Gastown! OMG what a beautiful area. Lined with twinkle lights, and beautiful architecture at every turn. Gastown is not to be missed.
Telus Garden Tour
We had the absolute pleasure to seeing and exploring the Telus Garden building (see more in the video) but this building is really really cool and innovative no less. Not only did we learn about their super cool building, but we also got to learn so much more about Telus as a company, and all of the amazing ways they give back and support the community. I’m sure I looked like a bobble head listening to them, because I’ve never felt more aligned with a brand partner in all the years I’ve been blogger more than I do with Telus.
From initiatives in health care, education, well being, technology I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it. And limo rides, and delicious dinner’s aside this is what we’re here for, and this is what I want to be a part of! Blogging has really given me so many opportunities and experiences I never would have had otherwise, and I remind myself everyday about the importance of giving back, and leading my example.
Volunteer
In true Telus fashion of course we needed to round off the trip with giving back! I’m so so impressed with this company, and I feel so honored to work with them.
This is the 13th annual TELUS Days of Giving where more than 34,000 TELUS team members, retirees, family and friends volunteer at over 2,000 activities to help create healthier, stronger and more sustainable communities across Canada and around the world.
Volunteer activities include shoreline cleanups, sorting food at food banks, reading to young students, donating blood, refurbishing shelters and planting trees.
TELUS hope’s to inspire Canadians to give back and are asking their teams to share their acts of kindness on social media with the hashtag #GiveWhereWeLive and of course we had to get in on the action too. Conclusing our tour of the Telus Garden we got to meet a representative from Backpack Buddies as well as a mum who utilizes their services, and guys there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. It’s incredible what Backpack Buddies is doing for youth, and it just really brought me back to teaching days when I taught kids just like these.
About Backpack Buddies
Δ Started in 2012 by mother-daughter duo, Joanne and Emily-Anne.
Δ Backpack Buddies tackles the weekend hunger gap head on by working with “buddy schools.” Students at buddy schools are responsible for raising awareness in their schools around childhood hunger, identifying Hunger Heroes
Δ in Last year, with the support of generous donors and a committed community, Backpack Buddies delivered 10,925 packs of food to children across Metro Vancouver who otherwise would have not eaten over the weekends.
Δ Backpack Buddies feeds 2,334 children every month and works with 32 schools around the Greater Vancouver area: 15 schools that donate into our program each month, and 17 recipient schools
As you’ll see in the video we pack A LOT of bags, and I won’t lie to you we put in our best elbow grease. We were cruising through all the items, and packing up a storm, and it wasn’t until we were done that we all kind of looked around to see how much food we packed up and how much of an impact it was going to make.
It feels so good to give back, and it’s safe to say many hands make light work! If you’re in a position to give back I strongly encourage it. I’m really looking forward to many more opportunities to give back throughout my partnership with Telus, and I can’t wait to take you along.
Thank you Telus for an amazing trip!
xx
Kayla
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