Foodie Heaven

My mom and I have a lot in common but one of the things that the two of us bond over most of all is our love of food. The two of us are complete foodies and between the two of us we could start a library of cookbooks. So when I travel to all these new and exciting places the first question my mom always asks me, is what am I having for dinner?

I think she might be the only mom in the world to ever ask this question out of curiosity as opposed to concern!

The problem is that she asks this question knowing that she doesn’t actually want to hear the answer because she inevitably, whatever I am eating is going to make her jealous. And this is a huge problem in a City like Vancouver which I am certain must have the highest concentration of foodies in the world. Every food-truck, every restaurant and every small, backend diner has got some incredible thing that makes it completely unique.

So my mom asks the question, I answer (usually with a picture) and then she proceeds to hate me for the next 24 hours before it is time to ask the question again. So what have I been eating that has sent my mom into random bursts of jealousy?

Well, one of the first things I did was to go and get a Ceaser from Score on Davie. This is quite a big deal in Vancouver and seeing as it is only a block away, I had no excuse. A Ceaser is essentially a Bloody Mary (but don’t tell the Canadians that) and this particular places serves them with a full on meal on top. And no, I do not mean that you get the meal with the drink, I mean that it is literally on top of your drink! It is incredible and a must have for any visitor to Vancouver.

Ain't no Thang Ceaser from Score on Davie

The other thing I did was to go and get Poutine. A normal Poutine is basically French fries topped with squeaky cheese curds and covered in hot gravy that should start to melt the cheese curds. Naturally however, Vancouver has put a huge spin on the good, old-fashioned poutine and now you can get almost anything in your Poutine: from smokey barbeque meat (at La Patate Belle) to jerk chicken (from The Jerk Truck) and any other topping that you heart desires.  It is incredible and is the ultimate comfort food.

Poutine from La Patate Belle

I also had sushi from Tojo’s (the guy who invented the Californian Roll), homestyle chilli from Tim Hortons (Canada’s answer to Starbucks), Treats from Granville public market, a crispy chicken wafflewich from The Capaital and about a hundred different chilli dogs, cheese burgers and smokeys from various food-trucks throughout the city.

But my ultimate favourite, Canada’s crème de la crème, has got to be Japadog!!! Japadog is a hotdog - Japanese fusion restaurant that has hit the nail on the head with their Spicy Cheese Terimayo. This incredible invention consists of a hotdog bun, a sausage that is loaded with cheese and jalapeños topped with fried onions, seaweed, teriyaki sauce and Japanese sushi mayo and is absolutely to die for. And their food is very well priced as well!

I still have two weeks left in Vancouver to try and top the Japadog, however, I fear that if I do my mom may never speak to me again. That said, even though Vancouver has some extra-special, super amazing treats, I don’t think anything will ever top the Japadog. Except maybe the donut-wafflewich which is next on my “to do list”!

What's Next?

So now that I have looked back upon this year, mostly with smiles, it is time to start looking forward and planning what is to come in my future. I have become so addicted to traveling the world and my interactions with people around the globe make me so excited about all of the places I still want to see. And I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.

Yesterday I received my flight tickets back to Europe which sadly means that on the 20^th of August, my time here in Vancouver will be over. I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I am completely and utterly in love with Vancouver, and on the other hand, I am super excited to get back to the beautiful yacht on which I work and see the wonderful faces of the people who work with me.

Sadly though, my time on the yacht is limited, as the end of my contract looms over my head like a dark and stormy thundercloud. This is one job that I am going to be heart-broken to leave. I learnt so much in my short time working on this boat and met such a diverse, crazy and special group of people. I will miss them all dearly.

But with the end of one chapter, comes the beginning of the next chapter and after a short escape to the Caribbean (yes, you are jealous) I will be heading back to Sunny South Africa! Upon my arrival I will stuff my face full of biltong, demand a braai with my family and then watch the sunset with a glass of proper South African wine in my hand. These are things that I sorely miss whilst on all of my adventures.

In between catching up with my friends and family and getting in some good wine tastings I will finally start planning my next course of action, but considering that I moved to Canada with only two weeks’ notice, this is considered a long term plan in my books.

So that is career out of the way and due to the fact that my two-year relationship just came to an end, I think we can skip my love life as well. This leaves me, and my wellness and my exciting new commitment to the BBG Community. Over the next 12 weeks I will be battling myself in an all-out war to complete my first round of the BBG workout plan.

For those of you who do not know what BBG is, it basically comes down to this; a group of ladies who work-out often, eat clean and motivate each other to be fit, strong and healthy. It is a wonderful community and with the help of Kayla Itsines and her workout plan and meal guides I intend to get fitter, healthier and stronger than ever.

After all, if I intend to eat my way around the world (which I fully intend to do) I better have some help along the way.

So that is me in a nutshell for now. There will be more to follow, I am sure!

New Year's Resolutions

At the beginning of this year, Facebook kindly reminded me (a hundred times) that it was time to make New Year’s Resolutions. So I did, but like a lot of you, I did not have very high expectations. I don’t think I have ever achieved my New Year’s resolutions and if I have, it was purely by mistake.

You see, I start every year full of positivity and good energy but before I know it I am trampled on the ground, with even bigger thighs, even more broke and it is Christmas time again. Life has this funny way of knocking you back down to size, very quickly, and usually quite harshly.

But this year, was going to be different. So I decided to minimize my list of resolutions. Instead of writing a whole page of resolutions (in the hopes of getting at least one done by pure coincidence), I decided to stick to just three. Short and simple: I will get fit, get healthy and get a kickass job.

New Year's Resolution

So there it was. I posted it to my timeline for all the world (okay, just my friends) to see and I hoped like hell that I was going to get around to doing at least one of them. Two weeks later and I started working on a wine farm in Stellenbosch called Dornier and as soon as I met my new colleagues I knew I could tick off one of my resolutions! I had found a kickass job.

Dornier Wine Farm

I spent a couple of months working as a Harvest Intern in their wine cellar and I think I learnt more in the first week then I did in my entire University career (the extended version) and I loved every second of it. From exploring the vineyards and tasting the wine to learning how to process grapes and make them into that heavenly nectar, I did it all and throughout this journey I had an incredible mentor and an even more wonderful partner in crime!

Shoveling Wine!

This also gave me the motivation to start being more healthy. Granted I was drinking a lot of wine, but other than that I was trying to stick to the good books and before I knew it the weight was just peeling off. I was doing the Stellenbosch Park Run (a five km run through the vinyards) on the weekends I had free and I was starting to feel good about this year’s resolutions. I was on track, and the fact that I had even started made me proud.

And just as things were starting to look good my internship came to an end and I was en route to Europe to find another yacht job. This meant living in cheap accommodation and eating really cheap (and processed food) and the job hunt was so demeaning. Dockwalking is a bit like sticking a fork in your eye: it hurts like hell and nothing good seems to come of it!

I knew I had reached a new all-time low when I found condensed milk in a tube, and to make matters worse, it was cheaper (per 100g) to buy the “maxi-format”, ultra huge tube, and so I did! I am embarrassed to say that I did it more than once and both times I sat in bed, watching series and didn’t share the tube with anyone! My resolutions were shot to hell and I could just see myself waking up on New Year’s Eve and realising that I had done it again.

Heaven in a Tube

And then, just when things were looking really bleak, I got a call about a job interview but I had to be willing to travel 2 hours each way on the French rail system which was (and always is) on strike. I was so negative that I nearly passed it up but I eventually pulled myself together and confirmed that I would be there.

The day after that interview, I was sitting in St Tropez waiting for the boat to arrive so that I could join it! And boy, oh boy was I excited! It was an exquisite looking vessel and the crew I had met thus far had all been incredible. I was back on track and on my way to completing my resolutions after all.

I am currently sitting on my bed in a five bedroom apartment on the 15^th floor of an incredible building with a magnificent view, in Vancouver, Canada!!! I ran my first 15km run last night and I am healthier than ever! And all of this, because I took that interview in La Ciotat.

The View

The year is not yet over and I have many exciting things planned for the rest of the year, but more on that later. All I want to say for now is that there is still time for you to complete your resolutions, and just remember that the only thing standing between you and your goals is yourself. If you put your mind to it, anything is possible.

So go ahead and scroll down your timeline all the way back to January and check out what your resolutions were. Start right now! And enjoy every second of it!