Vancouver - a love letter

A little while ago I decided it was the time for a late night drink from Tim Horton's, so I threw some clothes on went down to the street to grab one. But in the 2 minutes it took me to get there I suddenly had the urge to take a stroll around downtown. So a few minutes later, $1.75 poorer but a steaming cup of hot chocolate richer, I found myself heading towards False Creek.

The thing about this city is it never seems to get old to me. I'm not even sure how long I was walking (2 hours maybe?) and almost every street I walked down was one I'd seen several times before. But the freshness was still there without any sign of abating. There's something about the apartment blocks that is strangely charming. The way each of them is similar but different enough to provide variety, the way they each have something (usually several things) that would make living there more welcoming. There's the usual stuff: gyms, swimming pools, gigantic lobbies, that sort of thing. I saw one guy point his key at the electronic lock and it unlocked the door from about 3 feet away; how cool is that? Take even my building for instance, it has a party room and a small cinema you can rent - for free.

More than that though is the sense of calm that seems to come over me when I take a walk around. The city always feels warm, figuratively speaking. Tonight people were sat in grassy parks just talking and watching the darkness close in. And the calmness in a physical sense - when I got to False Creek the loudest noise I could hear was the sound of my own footsteps. The water was as still as I've seen it and the lights reflecting in the water from the Science World looked beautiful. Even without the view of the mountains or the warm summer sunshine, I was walking around slowly taking in the atmosphere and felt completely at peace. No matter ephemeral that feeling was, it was Vancouver that gave it to me.

So what now? The sadness of leaving? Partly, yes. But I'd rather leave with the gratitude of having been. I like the fact I haven't seen everything it has to offer - it gives me good reason to come back. And if all I leave with are fond memories and greater sense of equanimity then I'm happy with that.

So here's to you, Vancouver. My favourite place on Earth.