A-Life BC Travel Blog

By Claire Minns

One of the most effective ways to explore a city is by grabbing a pair of running shoes and heading out for a jog.

By choosing jogging as your mode of travel, you allow yourself the opportunity to seek out some great spots that you might not find otherwise.  And since the pace is faster than walking, you can cover more ground, more efficiently.

By Mike Stupka

In Vancouver? Sort of.

Even with all its wonderful appeal, its frequent ranking as one of the most livable cities on the planet, its beautiful, rainy-grey sunsets, Vancouver can't claim the "Enlightened City" moniker.

The title belongs to a Saudi Arabian holy city named Medina, the entrance to which is restricted to Muslims only.

By Mike Stupka

Grey, dark, wet, cold. Depressingly unpleasant. But not an unusual weather forecast for Vancouver in the winter.

Yet, even though West Coast folks don't normally have to put up with –20C and snowing, 1C and raining still poses challenges to running.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is simply getting yourself out the door. Who wants to get soaking wet, cold and just generally uncomfortable?   Probably not you.

By Claire Minns

Having been recently diagnosed with celiac disease (allergy to wheat products), seeking healthy eating alternatives has become more of a necessity than a lifestyle choice for me.

Looking around Vancouver, a city that is ahead of most of the world in terms of healthy eating, gluten-free eating (the only option for celiacs) is becoming more and more apparent in grocery stores and restaurants.

It’s that time again.

The New Year is just around the corner and it’s time to reflect once again on everything you accomplished in the past 12 months… and in some cases, everything you didn’t.

It's that time of year again.

The moldy jack-o-lantern sitting on your doorstep has yet to be composted and you're still munching on leftover Halloween candy when the holiday season onslaught begins: Christmas decorations for sale, holiday music playing in every store and TV commercials telling you what this year's hot item under the tree will be.

While buying gifts for the ones you love this time of year is all a part of the tradition, it can be easy to get lost in the crazy holiday rush and go on a spending frenzy, making sure you cross everyone off the holiday to-buy-for list.

Do you Foursquare?

If not, maybe you should start—you can unlock great deals and specials while you travel, just by showing the screen of your smart phone.

Foursquare is a location-based social media application that uses your smart phone's GPS system to "check in" at geographic locations and businesses. 

When you "checkin" to a location—like a coffee shop, for example—you can leave tips for other customers ("They make the best scones!") that will show up on a person's smart phone when they are in the area and using Foursquare.

We're all guilty of it. 

We forgo taking that trip to Belize because the kitchen really could use a renovation; we're scared that taking time off from work will only cause more stress due to paperwork pile-up; we feel the money could be better spent on something practical, like say, paying off your student loan debt.

Spas have become a staple in most resorts and hotels around the world — travellers on vacation have come to expect this luxury to be offered to truly make their holiday a relaxing and memorable experience.

In fact, spas have become so integral to the resort lifestyle that a new concept has developed — that of the Spa Residential Community. 

Think designer clothing, furnishings and a new car will make you happy? Think again.

A host of new research has finally affirmed what frequent vacationers had figured out long ago: that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects.