As a Canadian, I am proud of our quiet strength and our need to be politer than the next guy.

While travelling, everyone asks me where we are from and are immediately excited when I say ‘Canada’. Even more so when I mention Victoria. I am surprised by the amount of people that have visited the island and comment how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful and European looking city.

As beautiful as it is in Victoria, I am tempted to move to the US just to have the access to their grocery stores. I think that when people talk about heaven, they are really talking grocery stores from the states.

It is truly an awesome experience. The first time you walk in, it is like sensory overload. There is so much going on, I am really not sure which way to go first. I have taken to just wondering up and down each aisle of the entire store, yes time consuming and maybe frustrating for Dirk, but I need to see everything.

For those that have never been to one, here is what you can do: While getting your prescription filled, you can stock up on booze, sit and have a hot lunch, buy ingredients for dinner, get that gift you needed for mother’s day, do your banking, buy lotto tickets and pick up patio furniture.

They have bulk sections, family sizes, and organic like we have, but cheap. Meat is found in large packages and is half the price. Albeit, many of the items taste different than in Canada. I found it impossible to find a probiotic yogurt that did not contain aspartame.

Wine that costs $30 in Victoria is only $12 here. I also found a deal that if I purchased a second bottle of wine, it would only be 5 cents. Yes you heard me, 5 cents. Queue angels playing harps.

In all its glory, we did have an issue finding ingredients for Indian Food. When asking where the Tandoori paste was located, they replied they only had ‘mandarin’ sauce and they don’t sell ‘tangerine’ sauce. At that point, there was no explaining what we were looking for, they clearly have never heard of it. But, I did have a great chuckle over that.

I have been told several times by friends that moved to Canada from the US that our cost of living was high. Seeing the prices as compared to Canada, I now understand what they mean. They also could not believe we don’t sell liquor in grocery stores, convenience stores, or even gas stations. I don’t see us ever having a drastic drop in food prices, but I hope that one day Canada will wake up and allow a little boozy heaven in every grocery store.

Travel Tip:

Most travellers want to save money by eating a few meals in their hotel room. Breakfast is always the main meal on the list, so we all head to the closest grocery store to stock up with what we feel are healthy food choices. But, be sure you understand the products you are purchasing when in another country. I recommend reading the label (if you can). In the US, the food industry has a reputation of taking incredibly healthy items and turning them into processed junk food. Aspartame and corn syrup seem to be staples to make food taste appealing, even finding maple syrup has been a challenge. Yogurt is a main food item that has been turned into junk food, I recommended to always purchase organic.

In our short travels so far, Dirk ended up in Emergency and I seemed to have caught a bug that emptied my GI tract.

I was amazed that a person could actual hold that much fluid. So the first day in Napa, I slept in the hotel while Dirk did a little exploring of the town. In the evening we ended up going out for Italian, but I was unable to eat more then a few bites before it became an uncomfortable battle of mind over vomiting.

Napa Valley is known for wine (I know what you are thinking, ‘no shit sherlock’). But it is overwhelming. There are way too many wineries, actually over four hundred of them. You cannot see Napa Valley in a weekend. So when you arrive, lose that thought.

So where do you start? Hell if I know, but this is what we learnt.

You need to know which wineries you can stop for a wine tasting and which ones are appointment only. There are magazines out there to help you, but again it is based on opinion.  You can go on popular – less popular – what the locals like – what you recognize – what has the nicest look – the choices are endless. We decided to go to the one’s in a wine magazine that were starred as ‘preferred’. I suspect they were preferred as a result of paying to have ads placed in the magazine.

An item I did learn was, wine tasting when you are trying not to puke is not the way to go. But having to pay a $15 to $20 tasting fee when trying not to bolt to a bathroom felt rather steep. They do wave the tasting fee if you spend at least $50 in the winery – so plan for at least a $30 visit per couple.

I figured out that I like the less busy and commercial places. The people at the smaller vineyards were more personable. The large ones were just trying to hustle you through the tasting to move on to the next couple.

We ended the day having a great glass of wine in a small and quite vineyard. That was what I was hoping to get out of Napa.

Travel Tip:

When prepping for a trip to tropical or developing countries, remember to visit your local travel clinic. During your visit, the doctor will review your current vaccine status, recommend and/or update these for you. The doctor will also ensure you are fully aware of all travel health risks and how to protect yourself. There will be a fee for this visit and some vaccines are not covered by Provincial Medical Plans. If you have a benefit plan, some of the medications will be covered.

For our travels to Southern Asia, we were made aware of Rabies, Malaria, Dengue Fever, Typhoid Fever, & Travellers’ Diarrhea.

Starting a trip is always so exciting, but starting with a trip to the emergency is even more so.

We have been planning our big vacation for  months. But, the day to finally get on the ferry to Seattle did not seem like we started this ‘big trip’. I think it had to do with the fact we have been to Seattle three previous times. We even ended up going to the same restaurant we have been to each visit, ‘Purple‘.

Dirk and I were questioning when this feeling of vacation going to start. I would say the next day during lunch.

Dirk was experiencing pain in his male region, enough that he turned to me and asked where I thought the closest emergency was. Now, I am freaked out. Dirk is the last person to ever go see a doctor. We end up calling the closest clinic. They sent us to something called ‘Urgent Care’. While Dirk was checking in, I am on the phone with our travellers insurance company. Just as I am being told this facility is not covered by our insurance, Dirk comes over to say they want us to go to another hospital, which coincidentally is the same one the insurance company is asking us to go too.

Once there, he is immediately looked at by amazing staff. I also quickly note that this place has no hospital smell, so I like it already.

The entire time we are at the hospital, it is slowly getting closer to our train departure time to Portland. We, well Dirk, devises a plan for me to run and get our bags from the hotel so we can go immediately to the train station. Getting to the hotel was easy and quick, but walking back, was uphill the entire way. Steep uphill walking carrying both our packs, my legs were jelly by the time I got back.

Once I get back, all the tests have returned and he is good to go. Everything is fine, total clean bill of health. Just some  random mystery scrotum pain that will be eased with Advil. We end up back at the hotel to get a cab. Never needed to kill myself carrying those damn bags.

Dirk had wanted to kill time in Seattle before our train left, so goal accomplished. We arrive at the train station at the exact right time, we are off to a city we have never seen.

Now I feel we have started our adventure.

Travel Tip:

Ensure you have travellers insurance. Never say to yourself: ‘I never get sick’ or ‘I never go to the doctor’. This is not a chance you want to take, especially outside of Canada. Insurance is not expensive and will give you piece of mind.  Most benefit plans have travel insurance, but ensure you call first before you leave. You need to make sure what they actually cover, how long you can be out of the country, and how to report a medical incident. Make sure you read the fine print.