Hi there - few updates on the blog in the last week as I've been in Vancouver giving some work-related talks and visiting my family...it is striking how similar yet different Vancouver is to Paris. The city is growing very quickly and many of the same features of a large cosmopolitan city are emerging, yet the "new world" dimension we used to think of (when we lived in Vancouver) as a cliche are evident. Paris is a fantastic city but the weight of history and tradition is undeniable, for good and for bad. In Vancouver a key growth period is now underway - huge flows of immigrants (and capital) from all over the world, new government funded (imagine that!) subway/metro lines are being constructed (see the pic above where a metro line is being built that runs right through the middle of the central business district all the way to the airport), and tens of thousands of new apartment buildings in the process of being constructed. So near Parisian density in some parts of the city, but the apartment buildings are designed in a rather different way, needless to say.
The other big item of news is Jan was also accepted into the local Marie (City Hall) French class that runs during the day four times per week so she is thrilled. So a busy and educational rest of stay here on another level which is great.
Better get ready to take the boys to school...
