Recently, a long weekend gave myself and two mates an excuse to road-trip it down to Sydney and get sand between our toes.

The weather was fine and clear on our first night, so after a six-hour drive we simply bunked down at Safety Beach. Not a bad decision.

Nature’s radiant alarm clock woke us up to an inviting coastline and revealed the remains of our tasty nightcap. The A.K. Damm we sipped the night before was lightly carbonated, smooth and malty – reflective of the brewing methods Estrella founder August Kuentzmann Damm would have been familiar with back home in Alsace.

With a group of Queenslanders down in Sydney, the trip involved less sight-seeing and more beer-inspired revelry. Luckily our base for the weekend was at a friend’s apartment in Kirribilli so it wasn’t hard to spot the major landmarks.

That day, we also made it to The Rocks Markets. A wagyu burger fresh off the bbq and a side of Franziskaner Hefe-Weiss at Lowenbrau Keller was the perfect way to begin our final day and night in Sydney.

On my next trip to Sydney I’ll have to be hungover less and caffeinated more. There is too much quality espresso to be had in Australia’s unofficial capital!

It’ll just be in the southern hemisphere…

Until I get back to New York.

Usually there is not a lot to be said about hostels. You go there to occasionally sleep, hope that your bag doesn’t get raided and that you stay athlete’s-foot-free.

Samesun proved otherwise. The hostel seemed to house like-minded people in a surprisingly comfortable environment. A bar in the lobby helps but the showers were also hot and the beds were comfortable.

There did happen to be a proliferation of Australians, which is good and bad. But it’s rare that every single person in one dorm get along so well (in my room, there was a suitable two-to-six ratio of Aussies to other foreigners).

I had some incredible times with my dorm roommates as well as every other local I met. Promises of seeing each other again will not be taken in vain.

I’m not going to lie. The primary purpose for my stay in Vancouver was New Year’s Eve. I needed to get back to Manhattan in January but I didn’t want to battle the crowds or explain to every single person why I stood waiting for eight hours to see the ball drop.

This year Vancouver really was the right choice. The nightlife is prime. Five nights of craziness before the big night tested my stamina. But as soon as I woke up from a pre-party nap on the last day of 2011, I was feeling good and ready for what awaited.

My cousin in Edmonton, who also DJ’s in Victoria, shares a similar interest in dance music to myself. So I took his recommendation of going to a Hed Kandi party at Ginger 62.

To him, I congratulate and am ever thankful. This was the best New Year’s Eve I’ve ever had. With poor organization and high expectations, the night usually disappoints. This one had it all.

The main strip of Granville was exclusively filled with pedestrian revellers. Every single one of them had a giddy smile on their face.

By 10:45pm there was a decent-sized line outside the club, but it moved. With a glass of complimentary champagne in my hand, I was inside under an hour before midnight. The smaller venue was just right with a big-enough dance floor, a well-serviced bar and a lounge area quiet enough to talk in.

DJ Steven Quarre was incredible, playing house with quality sound. The bass was felt in the chest, the treble was clean and the volume was just right. If I could specify the kit he was playing on, I would. But at the time I wasn’t in a state to notice or really care. The vibe was unreal.

Besides things to do by night, there is plenty to see by day. Even though there was as much rain to say you spent nearly a week within a cloud, Vancouver can truly be appreciated for its outdoors.

Stanley park sits at the north end of the city in between two bays. Its huge. 1,000 acres huge. My friends and I probably only saw a quarter of it. If we knew how to navigate the park we might have made it to the western see walls. At times the height of the thick pinewoods made the city seem distant and forgotten.

A day trip to Granville Island was an indulgent way to pass the time as well. The markets were crammed full of people seeking out delicious food and drink.

My espresso at JJ Bean had endless crema with hints of blackberry and a salty finish. A short walk to Granville Island Brewing extended my tastebuds further.

• Maple Cream Ale – the maple syrup is suitably restrained and finishes very soft. Very session-able.
• IPA – sharp and hoppy and with hints of light honey. Reminiscent of an amber ale.
• Winter Ale – heavy notes of Kaluah with a vanilla aroma. Good for one or two.

Like much of the west coast, the “mild” climate brings a lot of homeless people. The ski slopes close by bring all the tourists, especially the winter-addicted Australians.

Overall, I now see why so many people live, work and play in this city. There’s beauty and opportunity in a friendly and liberal environment.

Both of those are great when you are younger. The West Edmonton mall can hardly be known merely as a shopping venue with its zoo, theme park and ice skating rink and It’s always nice catching up with my father’s side of the family.

But this time I was looking for something more. Surely the largest most northerly city on the continent had more than snow and an oversized mall.

Not only motivated by my legal drinking status and my caffeine addiction, I had travelled to Europe twice and parts of Asia and was looking to get more out of Edmonton. Mission accomplished.

Amazingly, I knew a local besides my family who could show me around. Back in Brisbane, I met an exchange student from Edmonton. She promised to give me a tour when and if I ever returned to Edmonton. Like an unwritten travellers code, she made good on her offer and introduced me to the places a 20-something would explore.

Whyte Avenue sits just off the University of Alberta campus, an impressive area in itself. It’s block-to-block full of bars, restaurants, shops and cafes. With the rest of the city almost devoid of anything similar, it’s almost like an explosion of culture and entertainment happened to go off right here.

The result – an amazing coffee at Transcend Coffee, some solid last minute Christmas shopping and one of the best vegetarian meals I’ve ever had.

Arriving just before Whyte Avenue, Transcend was the perfect location to fuel an exploration further down the way.

The space was open and clean but the friendly service and exposed brick provided the warmth. My macchiato was executed almost perfectly. Rich body with subtle chocolate came through over the satisfyingly smooth milk.

I try not to overstate things, so I’ll justify my comment above about my vegetarian meal at Cafe Mosaics being one of the best I’ve ever had. I am virtually a carnivore.

I eat meat just about three times a day and every time I talk to someone about being vegetarian, I’m usually intrigued and enlightened yet still yearning for something killed.

So I haven’t had a lot of vegetarian meals but I still love my vegetables and I still love to try new things. A HUGE Caesar salad came out with grilled teriyaki tofu replacing the chicken. I came away full and satisfied that I ate one more vegetarian meal which also happened to be sourced organically.

I’m glad to have seen more of Edmonton but new and different things are still there to be seen when I return. I’ve only ever experienced the city in winter, apparently they have summer too.

Even with snowfall over Christmas at its lowest in 56 years, it was still nice to eat, drink and be merry overlooking some patches of white in the background.

For those unfamiliar with Ukrainian cuisine, homemade perogies, cabbage rolls and nalysnyky could pehaps be the most comforting food in a wintry Alberta climate.

Served with fried onions, sour cream and bacon, keeping track of how many perogies you’ve eaten in one siting becomes hard. The light and puffy dumplings are filled with saurkraut, potato and cheese. It’s completely an indulgent carb fest.

It’s hard to believe, but cabbage rolls probably require even more preparation than perogies. Many pinkie-sized rolls of cabbage leaves have to be filled with a tasty rice filling, stacked in an earthenware dish, then cooked in a light stock.

Nalysnky don’t take as long but they sure are tricky to prepare. It was pretty intense keeping up with my aunt, rolling a thin egg batter fresh from the frying pan with cottage cheese at rapid fire speed. I feel like I could probably be qualified to work for a Cuban cigar company now.

As soon as digestion had set in, some chin wagging and a few beverages at the neighbour’s place on a surprisingly mild evening was a nice way to wrap up Christmas.