Thursday 4 September 2014

Summertime

The roads empty, a seemingly miraculous number of parking spots open, reservations at hot restaurants can be had at a moment's notice (well, a week perhaps) - it can only be summer in the city.

I left behind the steaming hot streets of London to be able to dive into the salty loveliness of this






in the early hours of the morning, which brings a pleasurable shiver of contrasting delight from the cool of the freshwater Ladies' Pond on the Heath that I normally help populate several times a week.







I had had just about enough with the diminishing racks of summery pieces both on and off line, not to mention the constant onslaught of Autumn/Winter '14.  London in July was a toasty 30 degrees for goodness' sake!  A different city, a different vibe  - a change is as good as a holiday, and when you can combine the two...

First stop, Ground Zero for Lulu Lemon, 2133 W 4th Avenue, Vancouver....



There is a reason that Lulu Lemon has become a familiar sight on the streets of cities around the world. Super fit, fabric and cut has made even the greenest of green yoga converts dip just that bit further into their downward dog.  Walk down any Vancouver byway and it seems every tan limb (mine included) is rocking a Lulu Lemon legging - no surprise, since this is the birth place of the brand.  Walking into the original 4th avenue  store is just fun....



then 10 minutes to downtown, a quick skip past the Vancouver Art Gallery showing Douglas Coupland's  exhibition...






to Holt Renfrew (owned by the Westons, who also run Selfridges)  perennial Vancouver shopping favourite, where I picked up these cute Cavalli trousers from the sales racks, perfect for a cool summer's evening out...


and then back up to my patch of Vancouver, Point Grey, where you can find what is possibly the world's most perfect museum, the Museum of Anthropology, with something for absolutely everyone, even totem poles....


Finish off a perfect, blue-sky summer's day sitting at the bar at West with what is, I swear, the finest cocktail I have ever had, a Papa Doble, so good, not sweet.  Pretty bar, truly excellent bartenders...








It seems not only is a change as good as a holiday, this holiday was as good as a change.



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