The cows of nicbil@xxx: Vancouver, B.C. and Troy, Texas

One of my best friends has lived in Vancouver for some years, more precisely in Richmond. We’ve known each other for ever, both our husbands used to work together as pilots on the Baie-James hydro electric project. Nicole (nicbil@xxx is part of her email address) enjoys walking, laughing, talking and reading as much as I do. While our husbands talked about helicopters, Nicole and I talked about everything.



We both like to walk in Steveston, a suburb of Vancouver, along the Fraser River Delta and the Strait of Georgia, more precisely "West Dyke Trail". This pedestrian pathway links the fishermen village of Steveston to Richmond where Nicole lives. At Steveston, you can buy shrimps, salmon and all kinds of fish directly from the fishing boats at the dock.

When we go to Steveston, at lunchtime Nicole and I stuff ourselves with fish and chips in a broken down restaurant on the wharf. Afterwards we enjoy a frozen yogurt placed in a hot cone made and shaped on location in a small restaurant in the marina. When she thinks that I am looking at the boats, Nicole gives pieces of her cone to my dog TouFou. He adores her also: she is his appointed dog sitter. Then we tell ourselves that we ate too much, we will gain weight so we ABSOLUTELY have to go for a walk. What a pleasant punishment to walk together, happiness is so easy when we are together. You are probably wondering why I called this chronicle Nicole’s cows??? - I am getting there.



After eating the cone, Nicole tells me that she made a discovery… We get on the West Dyke Trail. Halfway along the trail, an old farm, that seems abandoned, becomes visible in front of us. Nicole takes us in the direction of the farm. I am behind TouFou. All of a sudden, near the stable, a herd of weird looking cows emerges. They are Belted Galloway cows, a rare breed of Scottish beef cattle that were introduced to the United States back in the 1950's. They are black with a belt of white hair of twelve inches that looks like sheep wool. We examine them. They look at us and seem to appreciate our visit. They are really splendid.

A few months later, while travelling with the motorhome between Austin and Waco in Texas, more precisely near Troy, I saw a herd of Belted Galloway cows. I laughed when I thought that Nicole’s cows had relatives in the United States. That night, I wrote a long email to my friend and I missed her very much.

If you ever go to Vancouver, I recommend the following restaurants:

Café Crêpe: 1032 Robson. For breakfast: delicious Breton pancakes.
Joe Fortes Seafood House: 777 Thurlow. For salmon dishes. You can eat on a lovely terrace on the first floor during the summer.
Don Francesco: 860 Burrard. Italian cuisine at its best.
Il Giardino: 1382 Hornby. Everything is good and the interior decoration is outstanding.
Sala Thai: on Burrard near Vancouver Hotel. One of the best Thai food restaurants there.
Vij’s: 1480 W 11th Avenue: the best Indian cuisine in Canada, the chef-owner says the best in the world. Click on Vijs Rangoli to see his restaurant. It is very small, no reservations. Dinner is served from 5h30 pm but the line-up starts at 4h30 pm.