2011 [part I]

 Looking back, I did a lot of things in 2011 and I think it was a pretty great year overall. I tried to find some photos that may not have made their way onto here yet to sum up the year.

[1] went to the beach on a cold and sunny January afternoon [2] early morning sky on a studio site visit in February [3+4] friends and food, sometime in early February [5] went to a small town in Niedersachsen, Germany [6] and visited an old house [7] made my first ever trip to London and toured the AA building [8] went for a yummy lunch at Koya in London [9] got to explore a cool old building [twice] for my building conservation course [10] spring came to NL and it was sunny and warm [11] experienced my first Queen’s Day [12] went to Berlin! it was one of the best trips and one of the last things I did before finishing up school and coming back to Vancouver for the summer…

More 2011 memories to follow. Happy 2012!

different but familiar

I’ve been back in Delft for almost two weeks now but Hong Kong is still on my mind. The best way I end up describing it to people is “different but familiar”. There was something about Hong Kong that made me feel sort of comfortable, but at the same time there were always so many new and different experiences and things to see to keep it exciting. These photos were taken close to my site in Sheung Wan and at the Graham Street Market in Central. I was amazed to see the printer [in photo 3] still using a very old style printing press.. really fascinating to watch.

I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been super busy since I’ve been back, but now that I finally have some film developed I’ll have more to share. Hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of November!

borough revisited

Borough Market was one of those things I just had to do again while I was in London. Unfortunately, the grilled cheese man was nowhere to be found but I ended up finding some other delicious things for lunch there. My sister really loved it too.

I’m super excited for this evening, we’re having a big get together with a bunch of my Canadian friends here for a Thanksgiving dinner.. I think it’s going to be great!

hawthorne

 I think this is pretty much the last set of photos from my trip to Portland in early August. There are a few more lying around but I’m getting some rolls of film developed tomorrow so I hope to share some new stuff, like the trip my sister and I made to London a few weeks back as well as the Hoge Veluwe park I visited while she was here. School is getting busy and I already have a pile of readings to get through for next week. I’m quite excited about this year although I think it will probably be pretty challenging.

Anyways the Hawthorne area of Portland was great, so many neat stores and some really awesome street food [we had Mexican and it was delicious!]. I’m glad Vancouver is getting on board with the whole food cart movement too, it’s just too bad I’m not around to enjoy it.

It’s really starting to feel like fall here!

 

london friday

It’s Friday! During our Friday in London I:

1. checked out some of the shops on Carnaby Street 2. visited the amazing Liberty 3. spent time longingly browsing their amazing [and amazingly expensive] scarf department 4. enjoyed a delicious Dim Sum lunch with Eric and Erica 5. noticed some repetition 6. and beautiful tiled doorsteps 7. peeked down some narrow alleys 8. noticed the first signs of spring 9. walked to Regent’s Park 10. found more hints of spring and warmer weather to come

I got a haircut this morning.. as for the rest of the day I have a report to work on but not too much else. Looking forward to spending some time outside this weekend now that I have some free time!

borough market

One my favourite things we did while in London was our visit to Borough Market. They had so many delicious and interesting things for sale.. and the location was really something as well. Kind of a maze of spaces under and around these old bridges. Erica had been telling me about this grilled cheese sandwich you can get there and wow, it was definitely the best grilled cheese I’d ever had.. but soo rich, I couldn’t finish it. Good thing we did a lot of walking on the trip…The market is open Thursday-Saturday so if you’re ever in London I think this a definite must see!

I’m getting quite excited about the summer [even though for me it's still 3.5 months away] but it looks like I’ll be back on the west coast!

haché

On our first night we were kind of unsure where to eat but Erica’s friend Afra recommended Haché, which has apparently been rated as London’s best burger restaurant. And, well.. it was pretty great. I was considering getting the Canadian burger [with cheddar and bacon] but I opted for just a regular cheeseburger which was still waaay more than enough.

This weekend I’m trying to focus on updating my resumé and portfolio for summer internship applications on top of doing more research for my design project and history thesis. Lots to do!

worn out

One of the things I loved about Venice is how worn and old everything is. I really like the second photo because it shows all the different layers and construction of the building [architecture nerd talking]. I think places are more authentic when things are a bit more rough around the edges.

It’s kind of getting late so I’ll keep it short. I had a fun day trip yesterday with some friends to Belgium. We visited Brugge and Antwerp and I finished off a roll of film, so I will have more [current] photos to share soon. There are some interesting activities coming up this week with Lichtjesavond [evening of lights] and the Eindejaarborrel [year end party]… then back home next Monday! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

some things last a long time

These are a few pictures from inside the German pavilion. The theme of their exhibition was “Sehnsucht” or “longing”. There were lots of sketches by different architects and designers but my favourite part was the room with the white curtain and also the super cool retro light fixture.

Last night I went with a bunch of friends to the Le Guess Who music festival in Utrecht, about an hour away by train. The bands playing were Junip [with Jose Gonzalez], Caribou [one of my favourite Canadian bands] and Beach House [one of my absolute favs]. It was a really great concert, Caribou was super fun [and loud], Beach House played almost all of my favourite songs [like this one] and Victoria Legrand is so amazing live. I got this cool app for my iPhone where you can choose from several camera and film types; here are some pics from the concert:

Anyways, my friend Erica and I are back in the kitchen today cooking up a storm for our American/[belated]Canadian thanksgiving celebration tonight. There were a few tiny snowflakes this morning and it’s really cold out so it’s pretty much the perfect day to stay inside and have some North American comfort food! I’m really hoping this pumpkin pie turns out alright..

vrijdag – maandag

 

Here’s how my weekend went.

Friday: dinner + beers with friends at our favourite Biercafé, Doerak. [photo 1]

Saturday: shopping trip to The Hague with Eric and Ignacio. [photos 2+3]

Sunday: my friend Erica and I organized a themed dinner for a small group of our friends. We decided on Italian food for this week so we made bruschetta, a caprese salad and mushroom risotto. It was quite delicious and I think we’re going to make this a regular occurrence [we're already planning a "north american" thanksgiving dinner for the weekend of the 27th] I’ll post more pictures from the dinner soon too. [photos 4+5]

Monday: wore my new coat to school. The weather was nice but cold…at least the coat passed the test of keeping me warm. The hood is a definite plus! [photo 6.. the sun was in my eyes]

This week will be busy but I’m looking forward to Venice on Saturday!