According to some important-sounding economists you should know about, the leading cities of the future will those with the most creative populations. The measure of an economy’s importance is shifting from knowledge and information to inventiveness. The innovators, the dreamers, the right brainers will win.

Governments are listening and tinkering with their economies to foster creative industries like design, architecture, software, video games, and film. The benefits, those important-sounding economists say, are multiple: urban regeneration, higher wages as jobs upgrade from service and manufacturing, flourishing cultural scenes that attract tourism, modernized educational programs that generate talent… the list goes on.

Travel guidebooks are great, but nothing beats locals for tips on great food for little cash. The smart traveler wants to know where the locals hang, not where the tourism bureau has promotional partnerships.
We were lucky to know a lot of people in Vancouver, long-time residents, who told us the best places to go. We [...]

There were no naked people at Vancouver’s Wreck Beach, but there was a greying hippie feeding seagulls and a friendly bearded fella named Cloud.

This would have to suffice as a taste of this naturist mecca, where in the summer, thousands gather wearing nothing but a smile.

We happened on this notorious beach by chance: the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia was charging $14 a person, a few notches above the limits of reason for budget travelers.

Bob Blumer is a madman, and therefore, my favourite TV chef. So when we were invited to an event promoting BC tourism with him as host, we had no choice but to go.

Vancouver has a lot in common with Rio de Janeiro. I don’t just mean the blend of sea and mountains. It’s that the sun here, like there, at times doubles as make-up. It can take something naturally lovely into the sublime. It highlights the curves, enhances the fears and brightens the eyes of the city. Without it, the same city awakens hungover with a flat face. THe shapes remain but the sensuality and exuberance are gone.

Until now I had to settle for a rainy Vancouver lacking entirely in glamour. If you wait for the rain to stop, so the water-proof citizens say, you will never leave the house.