Good Good is a blog that always makes me smile. Marisa finds the coolest art, music and internet goodness. She also supplied me with a fabulous list of suggestions for my cross-country road trip. In short, she and her blog are awesome.
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Hello SoHo readers! I'm so honoured that Natalie asked me to do a guest post for her while she is off on her cross-country adventure. Having driven across the northern states myself, I know she is going to have an awesome time. For those of you who do not know me, I'm Marisa from Good Good. I'm an illustrator and graphic designer hailing from Vancouver and am currently in my last year of school in Milwaukee. Pleased to meet you.
Since I chose to move so far away for school, I am fortunate enough to have two cities that I call home. First and foremost in my heart is Vancouver, British Columbia. (I'll try to write this without turning it into a novella but I am a West Coast girl through and through and could really go on for pages why I love this city). Location-wise, I'd be pretty hard-pressed to find a better situated city. Vancouver has the perfect mix of natural elements: you can be on top of a mountain at lunchtime and on the beach by dinner. I also don't mind the rain. (And after enduring three Wisconsin winters over the past few years, I am now a big fan of the rain. I love the rain. You can rain on my parade any day, Vancouver. Just don't snow on it). I also love the diversity of each of the neighbourhoods. Each has such a distinct personality and unique things to offer. Fun fact: Vancouver is home to North America's third largest China town. I love the diversity of culture in general that this city offers that make things like the Richmond Summer Night Market (an amazing night bazaar that happens every summer) possible. On top of all of this awesomeness, there are of course the many, many amazing dining and shopping opportunities in this city. Really Vancouver, you are beautiful and fun. Give some other cities a chance.
As for my second home, I've been attending school in Milwaukee, WI for the past three and a half years. I'll be honest with you, I was not a fan of Milwaukee when I moved here. To put it nicely, I thought it was a hole. I had left my mountains and my ocean and what had I been rewarded with? The gross part of Lake Michigan and coooooold winters. (I'm not doing such a great job of explaining why I love this city, am I? Don't worry, it gets better. I promise). I think Milwaukee is just one of those cities that you have to spend some time with before you start to love it. It doesn't give you everything up front but sort of plays it cool for a bit. But after sticking around for a bit, I've really come to embrace this city. It has a lovely lakefront that I like to walk along in the summer (and sometimes pretend that Lake Michigan is the Pacific Ocean). There are also miles of great bike paths and the beautiful Lake Park (part of a park system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted!). It seems that there is just festival after festival during the summer not to mention the weekly Jazz in the Park and Fish Fry & Flick (free outdoor movie night) every week. And I've even learned to love it during the winter. Outdoor skating at Red Arrow Park downtown, Art vs Craft Fair and the giant Christmas tree in Catalano Square (this tree is the highlight of my holiday season. If I hated everything about Milwaukee, this tree might be enough to save it, that is how much I love this tree).
Now that I am graduating soon, I don't know what city my life will take me to next but I'm glad that I have gotten to spend time in both of these cities. This is really just the tip of the iceberg of what I love about Vancouver and Milwaukee. If you are ever in either of my cities and would like some suggestions of sights to see, places to shop, and food to eat please don't hesitate to email me: marisamidori22 [at] gmail.com. Thanks again to Natalie for having me on the blog, and I hope to see you around Good Good!
[photos courtesy of: Danil Glinenko and Michael Newman]
Vancouver is on my too travel too list, for sure =)
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