Here comes the rain again

Today was an amazing day. The sun was shining. Big, bright and yellow! I was driving around lunch time, window down, on a 11th of January. For me, this is so cool! I like it so much, I was laughing in my car. Probably because I know back in Quebec it is at least -10C. Here is a picture of today, at 1pm.

Photo from www.katkam.ca - great webcam site

I was so happy that I had to post a quick status update of Facebook about it.  Quickly I got jokes about the rain from east coast friends.  Yes, it does rain a lot during the winter saison and fall... and spring... and even summer.  Some people prefer the cold days of winter with more sunlight, some prefer warmer temperature with rain.  In the end, it is a question of preferences.

But I prefer Vancouver weather for 4 main raisons

Less extreme temperature

Over a year the temperature is more constant. Some people joke that Vancouver has only 3 saisons: summer, fall and spring.  It's kind of true. When you look at the Vancouver climate charts, you see that the temperature varies on average from 0C to 22C.  Where the Montreal climate chart shows a variation over a year of 42C (27C - -15C). I prefer less heat and less cold. 

Less drastic change of temperature

It seems like we see more wide change in temperature within 24 hours during winter in Quebec than it used to.  It could rain at 0C and the next day it would be -20C. Then it is icy everywhere. Terrible for roads and structure. Here is an example of the temperature over 24h the day we move from Quebec this past December 28th 2011.  I tried to find statistics to back this up, but I couldn't, except that TripAdvisor.ca mention 'Québec City is one of the top world cities for the variation in temperature observed within the same day in wintertime'.

Less humid during the summer

I hate humidity! All sticky and sweaty. Yuk! There is an average of 4.5 days with humidex above 30 per year in Vancouver compare to almost 45 days in Montreal. Way too many for me!

I go to the snow.  It doesn't come to me
I like snow and I don't mind the cold that much. But I definitely prefer going to the snow when I feel like skiing or snowshoeing rather that having to deal with it everyday.  When I want to have fun in the snow, I go to the North Shore mountains like, Cypress, Grouse or Seymour for some nice snow conditions or to Whistler for some amazing!

And to put things in perspective in regards to the rain, some interesting facts and statistics about the rain

• Montreal has a constant average of 80mm of rain throughout the year.  While in Vancouver the average is under 100mm, but it has 4.5 months, under 80mm, with 2, July & August, below 40mm, which make Vancouver's summer dryer than Montreal!
• There is also on average 1928 hours of sunlight per year in Vancouver, compare to 2028 in Montreal.  So there is only 5% more hours of sunlight in Montreal.

In the end it is a question of preferences and what is more aligned with who we are, what we like. And the older I get the more I know who I am and what I like.

It's Christmas time!

This year we are spending Christmas with our families, just before leaving.  It is always fun to celebrate with our loved ones during this special moment of the year. This year my dad and his partner came to visit early and a few days after my mom and my grand-mother. It was fun to have them close to me, in Quebec City.  They couldn't stay with us, the house isn't in a sleep-over state, but a good friend works at the Chateau Laurier, so he managed to get us had a great room overlooking the St-Laurent river. Thanks Guy! We visited the old city, had dinner at Bistro B and Cosmos Cafe.  In the morning I made them brunch. Good times before saying goodbye.

This Christmas we are with my in-laws in St-Pascal, just north of Kamouraska.  It seems like we just eat, play cards, eat, nap, eat and drink.  I need to finish this post quickly because I want to regain my position of President at a game of Trou-de-cul! Fun times!

This made me think of past Christmas and future ones to come. When you live away from your family, spending Christmas with them is a choice. It is not an easy choice to make, because you want to be with your family, but traveling over Christmas is a big production. Flying during this period is never easy and not the cheapest time. You want to visit both families, if not more with the reconstructed families. Then there is the car rental, the winter driving, the temporary bed in all the places visited, etc. A few years ago I felt like touring across Quebec. I even received a touring t-shirt from a friend! The cost (time & money) of visiting during Christmas is high. So over the past years when I was living in Vancouver, I spent a few Christmas on my own, away from my family. 

There are two things that come to mind when I think about those times. Vancouver is a ghost town on Christmas day.  Seriously a ghost town. There is no one in the city. Everything is close. The 1st time I spent Christmas alone ('02), I just landed in Vancouver and the only thing open was a Subway. Very tasty Christmas dinner! Later on I discovered that movie theaters are opening at noon and everybody is in Whistler. Christmas in Whistler is a lot of fun!


The second things, which is awesome, is that as soon as you start having a few local friends, they invite you over.  Even if you don't know them a lot, they invite you in their families for dinner. It seems like there is a tradition of not letting friends alone on Christmas. Probably because Vancouver is a transient city, with a lot of newcomers, people think of others' situation. I don't see this as much here in Quebec.  Probably because I have my family here. But this made me think of those who I know are not local and I make sure they are not alone. In fact, on most holidays, you either get invites to join a friends with their family or you get an invitation to an orphans dinners. Easter, Thanksgiving. I ended up having memorable Christmas diner this way.


Well I miss my turn at a game of trou-de-cul.  Now it is 500! 


Merry Christmas everyone.