TREAT YOURSELF RIGHT ft. Downtown Vancouver and English Bay.

The other day, some fool (that I’m greatly thankful for) decided to pull the fire alarm at my school 20 minutes into my class, and everyone had to evacuate the building. I took that as a sign that maybe it just wasn’t a “stay in class” day for me, and decided to take myself on a little date.

Now I know what you’re probably thinking…. “WTH Angel, you took YOURSELF on a date? F’kin LAME.” But you know what ! You need to know when to treat yourself, and it was just one of those days. I started off at Pacific Centre, which is a mall in downtown Vancouver, and did a little bit of shopping. I bought myself the Aritzia blanket scarf that I’ve been eyeing down for a while now. It was on sale for $25 off the regular price, so I took it as a sign and hastily paid for it before I could regret it. Next I went into Lush and purchased some new skincare items. I’ve recently ran out of my acne care regime by Vichy, so I picked up a new toner and a spot treatment in replacement. I also grabbed a deep cleansing mask to really give my skin a treat. (I talk about them here if you’re interested in seeing what I bought)

After the mall, I wandered over to the Art Gallery area and just took a walk past the Robson Skating Rink. The picture at the very top of the post also shows this area. I think one big reason I have a slight obsession with this side of the Art Gallery is because of Gossip Girl. The steps (once again, shown in the picture at the top of this post) remind me a lot of the steps of the Met. where Blair and her minions would sit and have lunch. If you watch Gossip Girl you would know what I mean.

There are a lot of interesting structural designs in this area too. All the different sets of steps, the skating rink… It’s definitely a fun area to explore if you ever visit Vancouver.

Here’s another view of the museum. This photo was taken at the end of this little garden area that I feel like not enough people know about.

When it hit about 3:30 pm, I started making my way, by foot, towards English Bay. Even walking through the city, on streets I commute on so often, I was amazed by the beautiful details of my city that I was only just discovering. I tried taking twists and turns that I would usually not take by foot, and was aiming to see as much as I can en route to the beach.

I found myself arriving at English Bay almost exactly 20 minutes before the sun set that day. I took my time strolling through this little park I found south of the intersection of Bidwell and Davie street. And then finally reaching the beach, I planted my bum down on a bench and waited to see the first sunset I would witness in 2015.

I’m writing this post partially because I wanted to show you guys my beautiful city that I am so so grateful for, but also partially to remind everyone to just spend some time by yourself every once in a while. Take yourself on a date, go explore your city, buy yourself some gifts, take a long (and I mean LONG) walk… Do something solely for your OWN happiness for once. It’s great to spend time with your loved ones, but I think everyone forgets to really give themselves some quality alone time. I didn’t think about school. I didn’t think about what was stressing me out. I just focused on being present; Lived in the moment. I made sure I was giving my full attention to my surroundings and the activities I was doing at the time. And you know what? I discovered new quirks about streets I’ve traveled on my entire life. When I pay attention, my city still surprises me with new things that I’ve never seen before. And I appreciate that so much.

Love yourself, because honestly, you’re pretty damn great.

Cheers,