Hello Vancouver

After another great hotel breakfast, which had a great assortment, we got on the road en-route to Vancouver.  Big cities are amazing for their culture, activities and history.  They do however come with a challenge and that is traffic.  It was another slow drive as we made our way into Vancouver.  It certainly wasn’t as bad as our Montreal experience but we knew it would be a slower trip when all the brake lights came on about 25 minutes from downtown.

The kids with downtown Vancouver behind them

We went to the Visitor Information Centre, which has been like a home away from home, to get some maps and ask some questions.  This was the busiest information centre we have seen, you needed to select your number and when it was called someone would answer our questions.    We decided on getting the family trolley ride pass which would allow us to park the van and tour the City with someone else driving and narrating about the different districts and attractions.

Daddy and David riding the trolley

Next we proceeded to our hotel to see if we could park the car for the day because it was before check in time.   After parking the car,  we packed our backpack and headed to the first trolley stop.  As we rounded the corner it was pulling away but we were able to flag him down and he stopped.  It didn’t take long to see that our trolley pass investment, which wasn’t cheap, would be well worth it.  The information provided and the locations of the city we saw enroute was great.  The kids eyes were certainly opened as to the different way that people live.  There was the different types of food on display through China Town, little boutique shop owners hustling for a buck and homeless people trying to pan for money.  

The puppet show battle

Our trolley destination was Stanley Park, which was highly recommended from friends and we had read about it before arriving.   This weekend is also Vancouver’s 125 celebration and they have a free festival in the Park.  We got off the trolley and headed to the huge totem poles which Natalie advised us that Vancouver is famous for them.  She had read that in one of her books.

Rodney and Naomi on their beautiful back deck

After taking a few photos at the totem poles we hit the festival where a sound check was taking place at the main stage.  When they hit the bass on the guitar you could feel your body shake.  I’m sure the place will be rocking there tonight.  We proceeded to check out the activities and sample some of the free foods they were offering.  The kids enjoyed a Taiwanese puppet show that had these little puppets that moved so realistically it was crazy.   David really enjoyed the fight scene between two samurais.

Rodney and Francois - Ottawa U grads of 1996

After the festival we jumped on the trolley again and made our way back towards our hotel.  We got off about 10 blocks from our hotel and walked the rest of the way.  There are no shortage of people on the sidewalks here and we often catch the kids staring at something they have never seen before.  We then checked into the hotel and the kids were very excited to hear that we were on the 10th floor.  The second we walked into the room, they raced to the window to see the view.  The kids were very excited to look out the window to see Rogers Arena where the Canucks play.  Also directly across from the room is BC Place where I am looking up at workers who are busy building the retractable roof.  It’s impressive watching them walk along the cables and medal beams, not sure if I could do it.

On the bridge

For supper we went to a friend’s house that I had met when I was going to school in Ottawa.  Rodney and his wife Naomi invited us over for a barbecue which was great.  Naomi could only stay for a little while because she had a baby shower to go to but we were able to spend the evening with Rodney.  After a wonderful supper Rodney asked if we were up to going for a walk on the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge.

All day the tour operators were promoting the Capilano suspension bridge but Rodney told us we would get a similar thrill on this one but it was free of charge.  He was certainly right about that one and after we walked across, Andrea turned to me and said “how do we get back across?” and after I told her the same way we came she had this look of disgust on her face.  The bridge was 50M high and went over a beautiful waterfall at the bottom of a canyon. 

Sort of on the bridge

The other really neat thing around this bridge was the beautiful large trees.  They were redwood cedars and douglas firs and the colors and size were spectacular.  It was very picturesque.

After the bridge we headed back to the hotel and Tanya got the kids ready for bed while I headed out to a pub with Rodney.  It was great hanging out and reminiscing about our time together at Ottawa University and the few trips we had taken together which included one summer that we toured the Midwest of the US with Baseball Canada.  Thanks to Rodney for being a wonderful host and a great tour guide.

Tanya and Francois in Stanley Park

Tomorrow we plan to visit more of the downtown area.

Francois