Now after travelling you kind of need a break, so we decided to extend our stop over in Miami for a couple of days. Literally went from hostel to beach to hostel so not much to tell really! We managed to wash our clothes, and honestly clean clothes are the best thing ever when travelling. The hostel had amazing orange juice for breakfast and both of us got burnt (although Steph much more so). The most amusing Miami related story is definitely how on the plane to Miami Steph's iPod flew out of the seat pocket on takeoff and (once the seatbelt sign had gone off) Steph proceeded to crawl up and down the floor of the plane looking under people's seats. The flight attendants were slightly bemused at the crazy British girl's antics to say the least. Luckily the iPod was found.
From Miami we went to Vancouver, and I have to say that Vancouver is one of those cities which I definitely need to go back to when I have more time and money. However, it was still a great stop, albeit brief. When we arrived we met up with Philly and her friend Amber and went for wings. I hadn't quite realised just how much I missed wings, and it's definitely something I'm gonna really miss when I'm back in the UK. The next day we went to Stanley Park and cycled round there. We were joined by Beanie, another British Year Abroad-er we met in the hostel. Stanley Park is gorgeous, truly truly stunning, I can see why people say that Vancouver is a beautiful city. Afterwards we went for Poutine, and much as it was nice, I don't think it's a patch on British chips, cheese and gravy! That afternoon me and Steph went to Lynn Canyon park and enjoyed the suspension bridge and the gorgeous scenery.
The next day it was time for us to drive on the wrong side of the road. We went to Enterprise and managed to get a really good deal on the car, plus an upgrade to a compact SUV, WIN! It was an amazing drive, the views through the Rockies are amazing, and so different seeing it all green rather than just full of snow. We stopped overnight at Lake Shuswap, staying in a hostel where you sleep in an old railway carriage. The hostel was lovely, mainly thanks to Blair (the owner) being really kind and the gorgeous dog and two cats that there were. Could have spent all day cuddling them! While we stayed there we went to Treetop Flyers in Chase nearby and got to go zooming over waterfalls which was very exciting! A lot of trip really has involved waterfalls but nothing wrong with that! That evening chilled out with Blair, and the rest of the hostel staff and watched Julie and Julia which was a great film! The next day we finished our drive to Calgary which was equally stunning as the first bit of the drive.
It was so nice to be back in Calgary, the first day we spent some time with Steph's family, went shopping at Chinook and went to the cinema to see Iron Man 3 with Erin. Was so happy to finally see the movie! Then the next day after going to see a prof, managed to meet up with Matthew, then the IVCF Christian group, then finally work people. It was lush to see everyone again, really missed them all and of course will stay in touch with everyone as they are amazing people. Then after some frantic packing moved from Sandy and Marie's house to Kate's house. Although we planned to go to the zoo, the weather and long lunch put paid to that! So instead just chilled out at Kate's and had a games night! The next day I was doing practical things like closing bank account, saying goodbye to Steph's family and then saying goodbye to Steph at the airport before chilling with a movie and an inordinate amount of snacks.
Today is my final day and I'm just relaxing and making sure I've got everything packed. I'm really excited to be going home and seeing everyone again, but I'm also really sad to be leaving Calgary. Luckily it's not going to be leaving forever, just for a while, I will be back (ominous as that sounds), and I am already looking forward to seeing all the great people I've met this year again!
So there it is, the end of this blog, the final post! I guess I should end with words of wisdom and there's nothing that I can say to really sum up such an amazing year, therefore I'll just have to end with telling people that, cheesy as it sounds, they wil never regret going on their year abroad because it is the best year of your life.
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