Day 47 Vancouver Wednesday 3rd June 2015
By Chris
Went to the Tandem Café bike and coffee shop for a last “brake-fast” then accompanied Jessie the wonder dog for a walk. We went to a place called Kitsilano Beach which looked to me like the Vancouver version of Brighton.
Complete with ageing men loaded with kit
And trendy looking women walking dogs.
And stand up paddlers filming each other.
We went on to the off-leash area of the beach which looks like the surface of the moon having been pockmarked by multiple paws.
I find it highly amusing watching dog owners trying to control their pets most of whom take no notice and run wild.
Ann’s dog Jessy however is the model of decorum and ignores the other dogs in order to chase his ball. Note that Jessie is surrounded by doggy paws galore!
We decide to go to the Maritime museum which is OK but surprisingly does not hold our interest of the others we have seen. Their exhibition on the exploration of the Northwest Passage is interesting as is the full scale reproduction of the bridge of a tug. I am surprised at the lack of wooden and first nation boats.
From here we go down to a dock which is owned by the Vancouver wooden boat society which has a few pretty boats moored here permanently.
We then get on the most amazingly small ferry I have ever seen-they are like small insects and buzz around what is called the False Creek area.They are a really clever design with the skipper sitting on a high chair in the middle of the boat which allows for good vision and and the passengers to sit around the sides of the boat.
We get dropped off at Granville Island and had lunch at the Farmers Market.
Ever onwards, we pick up another ferry to the Plaza of Nations and walk to the Sun Yat Sen gardens. Beautifully laid out, and as is typical of this style of garden they provide beautiful micro vistas. This visit makes us eager to see what the Japanese gardens we will see later in the year will look like?
Blog47 SunYatSen compile
3504 3514 3527 3529
3517 3520 3521 3507
Then utilising the marvellous transit system on the Canada Line we go shopping at our new favourite stores- Sports Junkies and MEC.
We brought Bug nets for up north, to drape over our hats. Mel brought some new Keens hiking boots – perfect for wide feet. A frustrating experience for her trying to get store staff to understand that buying shoes is not an easy experience for her.
Return home for dinner. We decide that we need to purchase some wine and beer and I get sent out on this simple errand but can’t find the liquor store. When I return empty handed I have set up such an expectation that Ann in disgust drives me to the store- which in my defence is hidden next to a bank.
There I discover that the delightful liquor lady loves craft beer-in fact when I ask for some recommendations she suggests” I like this one so much I would marry it!”. So I amble out with an armful of strangely sized bottles all about 550 mls but very decorative as you can see below.
A lovely dinner with the tasty beers – ranked as per the photo! With the Witbier being voted beer of the night closely followed by the tangerine one.
Yet another rotten day in Vancouver -as described by one of my colleagues in an email today as a bit of a “shit-hole”. That is Australian humour for you ;-).For any Canadians reading this it is an example of inverse praise-he meant the opposite.
