Despite their reputation as 'just unarmed Americans with healthcare', visitors will be struck by how friendly Canadians are, particularly in Vancouver, which combines a softer 'west coast' feel with the old-fashioned decency typical in small Canadian towns.

Not everything is glossy in Vancouver - it has the warmest winter temperatures of any Canadian city and there are a lot of street-sleepers, even more than you would find in other large cities like Toronto or London (UK). While the right response is charity and compassion, you may encounter aggressive behaviour if you do try to give money - this happened to me twice in three days last month.

Despite that, a big thumbs up to the gentle people of Vancouver... now if only they could do something about the rain.

Everywhere, especially in coffee shops (try Blenz: www.blenz.com/stores.aspx) and Stanley Park

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