Vancouver, BC (Canada) 3

Not quite the USA ….

I suppose the official start of our tour however not quite in the USA yet. Our cruise sets off in a couple of days so we have a chance to take in some of the sights of Vancouver before we board.

Our flight from Narita had us arriving late morning and we took the airtrain to Vancouver Waterfront station before a short 3 minute walk to our stop for 2 nights – the Exchange Hotel Vancouver.

Weather was a bit overcast, but warm, and a lot of smoke haze around from the British Columbia region wildfires.

The hotel is only a couple of blocks away from Canada Place where the cruise terminal is – so it will just be a roll downhill with our bags when its time to board. Our room was ready when we arrived – a nice suite on the top floor with a few extra perks (snacks and drinks) available – and after dropping our bags we head off on a bit of a walk. Adrienne had some essential shopping needed first and then we wandered down to Canada Place briefly before making our way to “Gastown” – Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood and a tourst area a bit like the Rocks in Sydney – an area of old buildings, cobblestones and vintage lamp posts.

Full of cafes, retaurants and souvenir shops, there is also a steam powered clock which “toots” every 15 minutes. We wandered around a bit before a brief stop back at the hotel, then back down to Canada Place to hunt out somewhere for dinner.

We settled on the “Cactus Club Cafe” near the wharf which was quite busy allowing for a Friday evening. We didn’t have to wait too long before getting a table. We shared mini chicken “sandwiches” (sliders) and both had tasty crab cakes as a main. Then it was back to our hotel to put our feet upo for the evening.

Day 2 in Vancouver and we had booked a car for the day to get around to a few of the nearby sights. Just north was our first stop at Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Weather today was much sunnier and hot, but again a lot of smoke haze.

The Vancouver area comprises a number of deep U Shaped valleys. This bridge crosses one of these, high above the Capilano River. It is 70 metres above the river and stretches 140 metres from side to side. On one side (opposite to the main entrance) is also a tree top suspended walk through the fir tree forest and on the other a cliff face walk high above the river.

We had come early to beat the crowds which had been a good choice – by the time we left a few hours later the queues to get to the bridge were very long !

Next stop was Stanley Park. This area of over 400 hectares takes up the northwestern part of the “downtown” peninsula. It borders the harbour so the walking and cycling paths have fantastic views and are very popular. The roadway through the park weaves through the forest and along the waterfront. There were even a couple of cricket matches in progress in parts of the park.

One section also has a collection of totem poles which celebrate the First Nations people who frequented the area. There are nine in total telling stories of different people and cultures throughout Britsh Columbia. It began in the 1920’s and the most recent came in 2009.

Next we tried to visit Granville Island, a small peninsula on Fall Creek near downtown. It is a market/shopping area below Granville Bridge with views back to downtown. So popular in fact that despite 2 separate attempts to get there, we drove around the loop road and through the carparks without being able to find a spot to park.

Instead we went to Queen Elizabeth Park which is on top of a hill with views back to the city. There are also two gardens which have been created inside old quarries on the hillside and a large glass conservatory garden on the hilltop. Unfortunately with the smoke haze the views back to the city weren’t great.

We returned the car about mid afternoon passing BC Place – Vancouver’s multi-pupose stadium – where it was game day for the BC Lions, who were playing the Tiger Cats in the Canadian Football League (Gridiron) and after a brief stop at our hotel again headed down to Canada Place to watch a couple of the cruise ships depart and the numerous seaplanes come and go.

After a late lunch / early dinner at “Tap & Barrel” – starters of deep fried pickles and tasty fish & chips to finish off – we strolled along the waterfront area of Coal Harbour. This is a newer area with a lot of apartment building, a large boat marina in the bay and the “water aerodrome” nearby. It was a very popular place on a warm, sunny, late Saturday afternoon.

Eventually we headed back to our hotel to get organised for our cruise boarding tomorrow.