Day 27: October 3

Today we headed to Vancouver, British Columbia. One of my all time favorite things about Vancouver is the parking meters. You call your parking meter and it automatically charges your credit card for however many minutes you want. To add a few more minutes to your meter, just call it again. How cool is that? The second favorite thing about Vancouver is how damn nice everyone is. I couldn't stop smiling and imagining that I could be such a good person just by moving across the border... the potential. Paul crushed it by saying that at some point we would start taking advantage of all of the nice people and it was confirmed minutes later when I easily lied my way into a bathroom not available to the public. I think that I could learn to be a good person if I did live there though.

First up was the Vancouver International Film Festival. We watched Un Dimanche à Kigali (A Sunday in Kigali) and I cried like a baby. Seriously. The last 45 minutes of the movie there was a constant stream of tears rolling down my cheeks. Even though I was not able to tear my eyes from the screen (and I did not have enough chutzpah to look anyone in the eye) I know the girl sitting to my right was crying just as much as I was. Paul was stoic as ever - it must be a man thing.

Afterwards, we had to walk through the streets for a while so that I could dry out and recover from the movie. (I tear up just thinking about it) Street food was so yummy. There is free wireless access just about everywhere you go. How great is this town?

We ate dinner at a restaurant Paul has been re-reading the New York Times review of daily (click on the picture to read the article). It was clear that when we went to Vancouver we would be eating all Indian food - and it was great. Vij's ( http://www.vijs.ca/) does not take reservations and there is a line outside the door about 20 minutes before the place opens. The kitchen staff is all women and the husband of the chef runs the front of the house. They send random tasty bites around the dining room and to anyone waiting for a table several times an hour. The place runs so smoothly. You look at the open kitchen and see all of the chefs standing around talking between courses. This is possible because the ENTIRE restaurant is filled within the first 20 minutes of opening -so everyone is at the same point in the meal at the same time for the first seating. Service is incredibly attentive. It was great. Vicram and Meera are to Indian food what Rick Bayless is to Mexican - that is the highest of compliments.

Off to a camping ground for the evening...