MaryinVancity

09/14/2026

Mark your calendars, October 4, Surrey’s Empress Palace Ballroom will come alive the unmistakable spirit of Mardi Gras for the 2026 High Fashion & High Tea fundraiser.

09/11/2026

Thai video was created, edited and scripted by DJ.
Solly’s Craft Soda is a sponsor for this year’s Picklefest™.
Verdict? It’s a soda, it’s pickles it’s tasty!

09/08/2026

Pompeii survived a volcanic eruption. Now it’s being invaded by giant lobsters. 🦞

British pop artist Philip Colbert has scattered more than 30 larger-than-life lobster sculptures throughout the ancient city, inspired by a Pompeian mosaic of a lobster battling an octopus and a moray eel.

Ancient ruins, modern pop art and giant cartoon crustaceans. It’s weird, colourful and completely unexpected—and I kind of love it.

What do you think: brilliant or completely out of place?

09/06/2026

In Sicily, cannoli are more than dessert. They’re part of the culture, proudly displayed in pastry cases and immortalized as magnets and souvenirs. Naturally, I had to skip the fridge magnet and try the real thing.

Crispy shell, creamy ricotta and absolutely no regrets.

09/05/2026

Day one in Italy and apparently Josh Rimer and I decided to start small… with 2,000 years of history.

The Colosseum, the Roman Forum, a coin tossed into the Trevi Fountain, gelato (obviously), and a ride in an elevator so ancient I’m pretty sure it was installed sometime shortly after the fall of Rome.

Rome is chaotic, beautiful, ridiculously old, slightly unhinged and absolutely magnificent. Basically, I love her already.

Not bad for day one.

09/04/2026

They say if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you’re guaranteed to return to Rome. So obviously, I wasn’t taking any chances.

Was it hot? Very. Was it crowded? So crowded. Did I still fight my way close enough to toss my coin over my shoulder like every other tourist with a Roman holiday fantasy? Absolutely.

And honestly, the Trevi is worth the chaos.

Completed in 1762, the fountain was designed by Nicola Salvi and marks the end of the ancient Aqua Virgo aqueduct, which has carried water into Rome since 19 BC. At its centre is Oceanus, dramatically commanding his chariot through rushing water, because apparently even Rome’s fountains need a little theatre.

Nearly 2,000 years of history, Baroque drama, blazing Roman sunshine and several thousand of my closest tourist friends.

But when you finally stand in front of it, none of that really matters. The Trevi Fountain is ridiculously beautiful. Bigger, louder and more spectacular than photographs ever manage to capture.

Coin tossed. Wish made. Rome, I’ll be back.

09/03/2026

Taking place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the City Centre Artist Lodge, Picklefest is much more than an excuse to eat your weight in dill pickles.

Taking place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at the City Centre Artist Lodge, Picklefest is much more than an excuse to eat your weight in dill pickles

09/03/2026

The tower actually sits in Piazza dei Miracoli — the Square of Miracles — which nobody puts on a postcard, because apparently a leaning building beats an entire square named after miracles. It was built on soft, unstable ground, and the tilt started before construction was even finished. Not a design choice. A mistake that stuck around for 800 years and became the whole brand.

300 steps to the top, every one of them slightly off-axis, which is its own kind of workout. And the thing weighs about 14,500 tonnes, all resting on soil that was never built to hold it. Somehow that’s still standing.

Mussolini hated it. Thought it was an embarrassment, tried to force it straight — and ended up making the lean worse. Sometimes the fix is the problem.

Pisa got famous by accident and then decided to lean into it.

09/02/2026

Walking through the Roman Forum is basically walking through 2,000 years of gossip, politics, power and spectacularly bad decisions.

This was the beating heart of ancient Rome, where emperors showed off, senators plotted, politicians gave speeches, merchants did business, temples filled with worshippers and the occasional public ex*****on reminded everyone to behave.

Today it’s ruins, broken columns and stones baking under the Roman sun, but standing there, it’s surprisingly easy to imagine the chaos of the city that once ruled an empire.

Rome didn’t just make history. Rome made drama. And the Forum had a front-row seat to all of it.

08/31/2026

Medieval artists really said: you’re hot, you’re rich, you’re fabulous… and you’re still going to die.

Inside Pisa’s Camposanto are some extraordinary medieval frescoes, including The Triumph of Death, where wealthy, fashionable people are confronted with corpses in various stages of decay.

The message? Beauty fades. Money won’t save you. Status means nothing to Death.

Subtle? Absolutely not.

But apparently medieval Europe understood something we’re still figuring out: enjoy the outfit, drink the w**e, take the trip… because nobody gets out of this alive.