It’s seven o’clock when the alarm wakes me up. It’s weekend, but I set the alarm, because I want to get into an early rhythm next week. This morning I wake up with a feeling of ‘What am I doing here?’. It’s been only a couple of days so far, but for a moment I miss the comfort of my own home and normal life. It’s interesting that when I’m home I often have the desire to travel, but when I’m on an adventure I can also long for normal life again. Fortunately a friend from Utrecht decides to call me right at this moment and we catch up on what’s new. Even though English is my second language, I do enjoy speaking Dutch from time to time.
After the phone call I feel better again and start the day. Workout, shower, breakfast and packing my bag for the day. I plan to work for a couple of hours and then read a book. When I look outside I see something I haven’t seen much here so far. The sun in shining! It makes everything look so much more beautiful. I decide to walk instead of taking the bus. While walking outside the sun shines on my face and I’m filled with joy. I’ve almost forgotten that I missed home when I woke up and am so happy to be in this city surrounded by mountains. There are trees everywhere and the air is really fresh.
I walk the whole morning from North Vancouver via the really big bridge to Stanley Park and then into downtown. While walking I listen to an interesting audiobook called Kick Ass by Mel Robins. It’s basically a series of life coaching sessions and it gets me thinking. It’s really nice to be in Vancouver and to experience a bit of how it is to live here, but it also makes me really aware of how much I actually like my life back home. A friend asked me this morning what I really miss about home and after thinking about it for a moment I knew the answer. I miss my normal structure of starting the day by going to the gym, working at my own desk or my local coffee place and being productive. Of course I can recreate that here, but I don’t need to be living somewhere else for those basic things. Having that said though, it’s nice to be in a city by the ocean and surrounded by mountains.
In downtown I’ve had enough of walking and take a bus to Kitsolana, a nice neighbourhood by the water, and sit down in a coffee place to update my blog and relax. I’m not sure yet if I’ll keep writing every day, but so far I’m enjoying it to be blogging again. About an hour before it gets dark I start walking again at the beach of Kitsilano. It’s nice to walk by the waterside and view the skyline of Vancouver with the mountains at the background. I walk to Granville Island Public Market. It’s a small island filled with creative stores and a food market. There is a lot to see, but after walking most of the day I’m quite tired now, so I don’t stay too long. I take the bus back home and order pizza. The Airbnb hosts aren’t home tonight, so I have the house for myself. I turn on a nice Christmas movie on the big tv in the living room and not much later the pizza courier arrives. It’s a perfect comfortable evening and I enjoy relaxing after the long walk in the city today.
