Blogging… A new passion?

Posted on November 8, 2012 by laravangemert

As long as I can remember, I have been interested in branding, in a broad sense. TV commercials, outdoor & print advertising and supermarkets have always obsessed me. Supermarkets? Yes, supermarkets! The supermarket is one of the most important places to expose your brand. I always enjoy grocery shopping abroad, don’t you? But meanwhile I even got used to the Longo’s (although I still think it’s a great supermarket!). It wasn’t a lucky coincidence that I worked for a big Dutch grocery chain for the last 3,5 years. Nowadays you can say the most important place for branding is on the web! Learning all about it during my Web Marketing Course. Websites, SEO, SEA, social media and of course… blogging! My new passion? 😉

Let’s go outside!

Posted on November 8, 2012 by laravangemert

Canadians are known as people who love to canoe, hike and go camping… Enjoying the great outdoors! This, in combination with my fabulous birthday present awakened my passion for… biking! And I have to admit that I really enjoy it. As a true metropolitan we alternate places like Niagara-on-the-Lake with tours along the coastline of Toronto. WOW! This time of the year is beautiful, even this city-orientated person is amazed by all the trees with their yellow and red leaves. However, I wasn’t such a nature lover anymore when wet and windy edges of Sandy reached Toronto. I was shaking in my bed in our beloved high-rise building! Next time I will be prepared…

First impression

Posted on November 8, 2012 by laravangemert

Where should I start? There are so many differences between Toronto/Canada and Amsterdam/the Netherlands! Let’s start with my favourite dissimilarity… Living on top of the world! Not literally, but on the 40^th floor next to the CN Tower feels a little bit like that. I love the view, especially by night when the city is lit by thousands lights. Still haven’t found out the CN Tower’s lightshow rhythm yet, but it sure is a colourful happening every night. As a result of living at high altitude, on misty days our apartment is surrounded by clouds. I can assure you, this is far from colourful! Anyway, can’t stop making pictures of the spectacular view 🙂

Besides the heights and views, I am still impressed by using cheques, squirrels in the city, (false) fire alarms in the middle of the night, school buses, sports bars, skyscrapers, the Canadian friendliness (Hi, how are you?) and so much more. Totally different from what our charming but tiny and flat country has to offer. I suppose that’s the fun of living abroad, experience the unknown!