A week tomorrow, I am leaving to go for a visit home. It’s sort of snuck up on me. I booked the trip months ago, but now it feels like *BAM* I’m leaving. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, but here are a few reasons I’m flat-out excited to be going.

1) Friends and family…enough said.

2) It will be 4 weeks of smoke-free bliss. You can’t smoke anywhere indoors in public in BC, and a lot of outdoor options are also smoke-free. Also, fewer people smoke there anyway. I’ll be able to go to bars and not worry that I’ll catch a cold from the allergies!

3) Smaller and more consistent alcoholic drink sizes. This isn’t a positive thing if you ask a lot of people, but I’m a lightweight and I don’t enjoy drinking a lot of alcohol, so it’s great for me. I always know how much alcohol I’m getting when I get a cocktail in Canada.

4) Free water in restaurants! I wish every country did this. Dehydration is a serious issue in the summer, and if you’re drinking alcohol or coffee, you NEED water. In Canada, you get water for free. It’s not fancy water, but I think paying for water is a scam unless it’s fizzy. They also refill it for you continually.

5) There’s a piece of sockeye salmon with my name on it in my parents’ freezer.

6) I really enjoy some of the wines you can get in BC. British Columbia (or Canada in general) is not really known for wine, but there are some amazing wineries on South Vancouver Island and the Okanagan. The wine is often interesting and modern. It’s a nice break from what we have in Europe (which is awesome, but it’s nice to have a change).

7) FOOD. Victoria in particular has some amazing restaurants. The mixture of cultures on the West Coast and the lack of inclination to be super traditional creates a lot of variety and blends of flavours. I have to say, I’ve been all over Europe, but I still get cravings for some of the restaurants in Victoria.