Yesterday we didn't do very much. We took a drive out in the car just to actually get out of the hotel room for a bit. We first parked up somewhere to get lunch, which was the not very adventurous choice of Nandos. Still, it made things easy and meant we didn't have to wander around trying to decide what to eat. It was ok, but not as good as it is in the UK strangely. I was also thrown a bit when I ordered and paid for the food at the counter, and then the credit card machine asked how much tip I wanted to give! Surely you tip after your food is served? It just goes to show how tipping in the US and Canada is expected, regardless of how good the service actually is.

After lunch we drove around a bit, driving through Gastown and seeing the steam powered clock and then on through China town. We were both very tired though and decided after a while to return to the hotel and relax.

I am sure that me stating on the last few blogs about how tired we are might sound a bit like a moan, but the truth is we are both feeling the effects of travelling for the last six months. On top of that, because we know we are going back to the UK in a few days I think we are both now eager to return so we can start working, saving etc. for the next stage of our lives.

We did decide yesterday that we wanted to venture out of Vancouver, and we had heard that the drive to Whistler would be nice. So we booked ourselves into a hotel there for tomorrow night.

This morning we awoke to a lovely start to the day. Bright blue skies and sunshine made a nice change from the cloud and rain we've had for the last few days. A nice day for a drive!

We packed up all our belongings this morning, packed up the car, checked out of the hotel and then began our drive north to Whistler on the 'Sea to Sky Highway'.

It was a very pleasant drive up to Whistler. It made a very nice change to no longer be driving in the city, and there were some lovely views along the way over the water and across to the snow-capped mountains. Although, a lot of the viewpoints tend to be on the opposite side of the road, so we will probably stop at these on our journey back. We had read that this was safer to do than crossing a major road each time to access them.

Once we arrived in Whistler (it only took around 90 minutes) we drove straight to our hotel in the village and checked in. The hotel seems very nice, and just across the road from the main part of the village.

After dumping our bags we headed across the road to get some lunch and then took a walk into the village. It seems like a lovely place here, has a really nice feel to it and is very pretty. You know immediately that you are in a ski village though, and you can even spot people on top of the mountains as little dots making their way down.

Seeing as we are in a ski resort we decided to enquire about getting some lessons. Stu decided he really wants to do snowboarding, although I really want to try skiiing - and neither of us was willing to compromise as neither of us wanted to do what the other wanted. Stu has done skiing before on a dry slope and wasn't keen on it. However it turned out that we could get a skiiing instructor who could teach us both in the same group which worked out well. So we decided to go ahead and book an all-day lesson for tomorrow. I am a bit nervous as I have never done skiing before, but also quite excited.

We stopped somewhere for a coffee and then took more of a stroll around the village. We saw the lifts taking people up to the mountain, and the bottom of the ski slope, which comes to an end right in the middle of the village.

Later in the afternoon we headed back to the hotel to relax for a bit. We had been advised that tomorrow was expected to be a very busy day, what with it being the weekend and also due to be sunny, so we have to be at the ski rental shop early so as not to be late for our lesson. Therefore, an early night is required tonight.

We headed out for some dinner at the same place where we had lunch earlier. We were both tired and couldn't be bothered to go far. My meal of shrimps with mushroom and mascaponi cheese ravioli was interesting. Not bad, just a very interesting combination.

Back at the hotel, despite my best efforts to avoid the Royal wedding altogether it seemed to be on 70% of our TV channels this evening, so I left the coverage on for a while - making little criticisms all the way through, naturally.