Summary of time:
· Time to Relax
· Go for walks around downtown Vancouver
· Hop on/off Bus
· Aquarium – baby beluga whales
Handy hints –
§ Get a map of the city, and take the hop on/off to help get bearings, or talk to other people for ideas.
§ Good camera for the views
§ Take time to stop and enjoy the places where you are
It was a long bus journey, with several stops along the way, and it was the same route that dad and i had done to the Rockies, although the greyhound stops were on the edge of towns. Greyhound was also carrying parcels, for delivery at other stops. We had 3 different drivers, as we crossed areas. There was one man on the bus who had been travelling for 5 days from Montreal to get to Vancouver......
We actually got into Vancouver slightly ahead of schedule, but i still got a taxi, i just didn’t want the hassle of trying to work out the public transport system at this time of night.
Getting into my room, all i was ready to do was to collapse into bed, which is about what i did. At the downtown hostel breakfast was between 8 and 9.15, so you had to be up to get something, which i did, and not wanting to face the hoards of people in the dining area, i went out to the patio, and enjoyed the “quietness”, and the smokers. This hostel is near Davie Street, one of the vibrant shopping / eating roads, but we were in a residential area, so it was relatively quiet.
A couple of the other girls in my room, who were British, were in Canada for several months / a year, so trying to sort out all the practicalities, bank account, mobile phones, somewhere to live, get a job......
They were soon out and off doing their things, so i was able to have peace and quiet in the room, i was able to catch up with myself, and stop....do emails, and just relax.
Vancouver is the 3rd largest city in Canada, after Toronto and Montreal, it is a much laid back place, without loads of skyscrapers, and the summers are long and sunny (less rain than in the Caribbean), but from October to May, there are many days of rain....it’s not called the “Wet Coast” for nothing. This city lies between the craggy Coast Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. It is not the Capital of British Columbia, which is Victoria on Vancouver Island, but downtown is the region’s economic and cultural centre. It’s not far before you are out on the mountains to walk in the summer, or ski in winter. Also there is plenty of water for you to “play” on.
Many cruise ships stop here in the summer months on their way up to Alaska, over 300 ships stop by, and it is possible to see as many as 4 of them berthed at Canada Place.
The fledging city, which came from the fur trade, and the gold rush, meant there were thousands of people around by the1850’s, which led the British to claim it a colony. A Yorkshire man arrived with a barrel of beer called Jack Deighton, and encouraged the “locals” to build him an inn, and place for his family, for payment in beer, in 1867. This was quickly done in a few days, and the first bar was up and running. He got the nick name of “Gassy” Jack. Other properties soon were built in an area known as “Gastown”.
It was soon linked to the rest of Canada by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886, but was soon destroyed in the “Great Fire”, which only lasted about 20 mins. There was a big rebuild of the city and what is now downtown started to take shape. CPR was given a large plot of land as an incentive to complete the railway to Vancouver, and they built one of their Fairmont Hotels at the “end of the line”.
Stanley Park on the North West corner was at first the town’s military reserve, but in 1891 it was opened as a public recreational space.
Vancouver relied on its port to help build its commercial status, and became a hub of industry, importing thousands of immigrants to help in its growth. To this day, the port is still a major hub on industry, sometimes you can see 9/10 container ships waiting out in the bay to be brought in to unload.
Chinatown also started around the same time, and is one of the largest and most historic in North America.
With WWI and the Wall St crash in 1929, Vancouver had massive unemployment, which led to rioting and demonstrations. With WWII, things changed with increases in ship building and armaments.
In 1986 it held a World Fair called Expo ’86 which led to a huge wave of modern development and skyscrapers.
And the next time the world’s eye will be on Vancouver......Winter Olympics 2010, it is gearing itself up, and you will not be able to get a hotel room in the city, unless you are on an official Olympic Package Holiday. Major works are being done to improve the city, including the new sky-train that recently opened from the airport to downtown.
Not wanting to waste all day in my room, i went out in the early afternoon with a map to start to get my bearings. I headed north arriving near Canada Place, which is easily recognisable as it has a series of big sails on top of the building. I headed west, along the sea wall path, in front of the Convention Centre, which is being increased in size for the Olympics, and is distinctive for its roof....it is covered in grass, in some places there are different types of grass to make it into a piece of art.
Walking around Vancouver, there are currently many painted eagles, 109 in all, done for free by different artistes, installed for free, and will be sold off after the Olympics, with no commission to raise funds for local charities. Some of these eagles can also be seen in Victoria.
Walking past the convention centre you will pass the seaplane port, and hear it as well!! The views are awesome, Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge, North Vancouver, and the mountains, even the big industrial port along the river.
Stopping for a meal, it was great just to sit back and relax. I continued on the sea wall path, around Coal Harbour, and the marina with its hundreds of boats, towards Stanley Park. Today was not the day to walk around the 9km path, so i turned south heading up and down Denman Street, towards English Bay, and then turning up Davie Street back to the hostel. Downtown Vancouver is slightly hilly, although none of them big, some of the roads up are steep.
It had been a day of meandering, all gentle and relaxing.
The next day i was up again in time for breakfast, and once more (and actually every day) i went outside to have breakfast on the patio, it was slightly cool at the start and end of my time in Vancouver, but most days with the first sun it was quite warm out on the patio.
My second day again was a day for wandering around the streets of down town, finding the shopping malls, meandering along part of the waterfront, in amongst the buildings of downtown, no specific plan in place.
Sunday i was determined to get to church, the first time in many weeks, and i found first Baptist church on the corner of Burrand, so made it in time for the 11am service. After church i wandered down to Gastown, and caught the hop on/off bus, getting the 2 day ticket with a discounted ticket for the aquarium. There are many stops on the tour, which are mainly at hotels, as there are not as many places to stop for the tourists.
I still learnt quite a bit about the city:
Old Colonial Courthouse – this has been converted and is now the Art Gallery, showing a myriad of different art, classic to modern, paintings to photography. Outside on its steps you will often see demonstration meetings. Also on the north side is a modern sculpture with a clock on either side, showing the countdown to the start of the Winter Olympics, and Paralympics in 2010
Christ Church Cathedral – was started in 1889 but due to shortage of funds for many years it didn’t have a roof. It got to a point in time, where the city said if it was not completed within a specific time it would be pulled down, the congregation and some its resourceful members, raised the funds and it was completed in 1885. It is opposite the CPR Fairmont hotel.
Marine Building – after the building of the Gettysburg building in New York, a wealthy business man wanted to have something similar in Vancouver. He hired a couple of architects who designed and built the building. Around the outside of the building you will see carving’s in the stone of marine life – seahorse’s, fish etc – as well as boats and trains (the ways to get to Vancouver at the time). At the time of its construction it costs C$2m, but recently cost in the region of C$30m to renovate it.
New Courthouses – these cover a couple of blocks, and are over 7 floors (a couple of which are underground). It has a lot of glass in its structure.
English Bay – this is the first area that was written about by the British explorers, and now has some expensive apartments over looking it. One apartment block, the architect wanted to include something relevant to history, therefore on its 11th floor a tree was installed. This is to signify the height of the trees that were seen by those explorers. The top apartment has had some famous owners, and the current is a very logical person. On sunny days there are many people sunning themselves, and it is a great place to watch the sun set (as well as at Sunset Beach a bit further along).
You will also see an Inukshuk statue by the beach, which is an ancient rock sculpture of the Inuit people. There were piles of rock slabs in the form of people, they had many functions – to be trail markers for travellers, places of good fishing, mark territory of a family group, to guide/channel caribou to where Inuit hunters could catch them, and have now evolved into a more spiritual significance symbolising strength through unity – and for this last reason it has become the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
I got off part way round the route at Stanley Park, to go to the Aquarium, due to an event in the park during the afternoon i was not dropped off in the usual spot, which meant that i didn’t find it later to catch the bus back.
I had a good couple of hours in the Aquarium. It had a mini Amazon Rain Forest, which included parrots and tamarin monkeys. There was a tropic zone with lots of fish, seahorses, and even some small black-tipped sharks. I decided not to enjoy the experience of the 4D theatre, where you get splashed with water. But I enjoyed watching the Dolphins in their training session. In the Beluga tank were two mums, one youngster who was just over a year and a baby that was born in June. I saw a bit of their training session, but as i was late, i didn’t get much of a view.
This aquarium is much smaller than the one at Chicago, but i did still enjoy it.
Leaving the aquarium, i went off in search of the bus stop, but had been misinformed by some people who tried to help, so i eventually decided to walk back, which was not really too far. Shortly after i saw one of the buses, which had obviously been at the stop! Walking back i decided to walk back along Robson Street, which is the high end shopping street.
· Time to Relax
· Go for walks around downtown Vancouver
· Hop on/off Bus
· Aquarium – baby beluga whales
Handy hints –
§ Get a map of the city, and take the hop on/off to help get bearings, or talk to other people for ideas.
§ Good camera for the views
§ Take time to stop and enjoy the places where you are
It was a long bus journey, with several stops along the way, and it was the same route that dad and i had done to the Rockies, although the greyhound stops were on the edge of towns. Greyhound was also carrying parcels, for delivery at other stops. We had 3 different drivers, as we crossed areas. There was one man on the bus who had been travelling for 5 days from Montreal to get to Vancouver......
We actually got into Vancouver slightly ahead of schedule, but i still got a taxi, i just didn’t want the hassle of trying to work out the public transport system at this time of night.
Getting into my room, all i was ready to do was to collapse into bed, which is about what i did. At the downtown hostel breakfast was between 8 and 9.15, so you had to be up to get something, which i did, and not wanting to face the hoards of people in the dining area, i went out to the patio, and enjoyed the “quietness”, and the smokers. This hostel is near Davie Street, one of the vibrant shopping / eating roads, but we were in a residential area, so it was relatively quiet.
A couple of the other girls in my room, who were British, were in Canada for several months / a year, so trying to sort out all the practicalities, bank account, mobile phones, somewhere to live, get a job......
They were soon out and off doing their things, so i was able to have peace and quiet in the room, i was able to catch up with myself, and stop....do emails, and just relax.
Vancouver is the 3rd largest city in Canada, after Toronto and Montreal, it is a much laid back place, without loads of skyscrapers, and the summers are long and sunny (less rain than in the Caribbean), but from October to May, there are many days of rain....it’s not called the “Wet Coast” for nothing. This city lies between the craggy Coast Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean. It is not the Capital of British Columbia, which is Victoria on Vancouver Island, but downtown is the region’s economic and cultural centre. It’s not far before you are out on the mountains to walk in the summer, or ski in winter. Also there is plenty of water for you to “play” on.
Many cruise ships stop here in the summer months on their way up to Alaska, over 300 ships stop by, and it is possible to see as many as 4 of them berthed at Canada Place.
The fledging city, which came from the fur trade, and the gold rush, meant there were thousands of people around by the1850’s, which led the British to claim it a colony. A Yorkshire man arrived with a barrel of beer called Jack Deighton, and encouraged the “locals” to build him an inn, and place for his family, for payment in beer, in 1867. This was quickly done in a few days, and the first bar was up and running. He got the nick name of “Gassy” Jack. Other properties soon were built in an area known as “Gastown”.
It was soon linked to the rest of Canada by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886, but was soon destroyed in the “Great Fire”, which only lasted about 20 mins. There was a big rebuild of the city and what is now downtown started to take shape. CPR was given a large plot of land as an incentive to complete the railway to Vancouver, and they built one of their Fairmont Hotels at the “end of the line”.
Stanley Park on the North West corner was at first the town’s military reserve, but in 1891 it was opened as a public recreational space.
Vancouver relied on its port to help build its commercial status, and became a hub of industry, importing thousands of immigrants to help in its growth. To this day, the port is still a major hub on industry, sometimes you can see 9/10 container ships waiting out in the bay to be brought in to unload.
Chinatown also started around the same time, and is one of the largest and most historic in North America.
With WWI and the Wall St crash in 1929, Vancouver had massive unemployment, which led to rioting and demonstrations. With WWII, things changed with increases in ship building and armaments.
In 1986 it held a World Fair called Expo ’86 which led to a huge wave of modern development and skyscrapers.
And the next time the world’s eye will be on Vancouver......Winter Olympics 2010, it is gearing itself up, and you will not be able to get a hotel room in the city, unless you are on an official Olympic Package Holiday. Major works are being done to improve the city, including the new sky-train that recently opened from the airport to downtown.
Not wanting to waste all day in my room, i went out in the early afternoon with a map to start to get my bearings. I headed north arriving near Canada Place, which is easily recognisable as it has a series of big sails on top of the building. I headed west, along the sea wall path, in front of the Convention Centre, which is being increased in size for the Olympics, and is distinctive for its roof....it is covered in grass, in some places there are different types of grass to make it into a piece of art.
Walking around Vancouver, there are currently many painted eagles, 109 in all, done for free by different artistes, installed for free, and will be sold off after the Olympics, with no commission to raise funds for local charities. Some of these eagles can also be seen in Victoria.
Walking past the convention centre you will pass the seaplane port, and hear it as well!! The views are awesome, Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge, North Vancouver, and the mountains, even the big industrial port along the river.
Stopping for a meal, it was great just to sit back and relax. I continued on the sea wall path, around Coal Harbour, and the marina with its hundreds of boats, towards Stanley Park. Today was not the day to walk around the 9km path, so i turned south heading up and down Denman Street, towards English Bay, and then turning up Davie Street back to the hostel. Downtown Vancouver is slightly hilly, although none of them big, some of the roads up are steep.
It had been a day of meandering, all gentle and relaxing.
The next day i was up again in time for breakfast, and once more (and actually every day) i went outside to have breakfast on the patio, it was slightly cool at the start and end of my time in Vancouver, but most days with the first sun it was quite warm out on the patio.
My second day again was a day for wandering around the streets of down town, finding the shopping malls, meandering along part of the waterfront, in amongst the buildings of downtown, no specific plan in place.
Sunday i was determined to get to church, the first time in many weeks, and i found first Baptist church on the corner of Burrand, so made it in time for the 11am service. After church i wandered down to Gastown, and caught the hop on/off bus, getting the 2 day ticket with a discounted ticket for the aquarium. There are many stops on the tour, which are mainly at hotels, as there are not as many places to stop for the tourists.
I still learnt quite a bit about the city:
Old Colonial Courthouse – this has been converted and is now the Art Gallery, showing a myriad of different art, classic to modern, paintings to photography. Outside on its steps you will often see demonstration meetings. Also on the north side is a modern sculpture with a clock on either side, showing the countdown to the start of the Winter Olympics, and Paralympics in 2010
Christ Church Cathedral – was started in 1889 but due to shortage of funds for many years it didn’t have a roof. It got to a point in time, where the city said if it was not completed within a specific time it would be pulled down, the congregation and some its resourceful members, raised the funds and it was completed in 1885. It is opposite the CPR Fairmont hotel.
Marine Building – after the building of the Gettysburg building in New York, a wealthy business man wanted to have something similar in Vancouver. He hired a couple of architects who designed and built the building. Around the outside of the building you will see carving’s in the stone of marine life – seahorse’s, fish etc – as well as boats and trains (the ways to get to Vancouver at the time). At the time of its construction it costs C$2m, but recently cost in the region of C$30m to renovate it.
New Courthouses – these cover a couple of blocks, and are over 7 floors (a couple of which are underground). It has a lot of glass in its structure.
English Bay – this is the first area that was written about by the British explorers, and now has some expensive apartments over looking it. One apartment block, the architect wanted to include something relevant to history, therefore on its 11th floor a tree was installed. This is to signify the height of the trees that were seen by those explorers. The top apartment has had some famous owners, and the current is a very logical person. On sunny days there are many people sunning themselves, and it is a great place to watch the sun set (as well as at Sunset Beach a bit further along).
You will also see an Inukshuk statue by the beach, which is an ancient rock sculpture of the Inuit people. There were piles of rock slabs in the form of people, they had many functions – to be trail markers for travellers, places of good fishing, mark territory of a family group, to guide/channel caribou to where Inuit hunters could catch them, and have now evolved into a more spiritual significance symbolising strength through unity – and for this last reason it has become the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
I got off part way round the route at Stanley Park, to go to the Aquarium, due to an event in the park during the afternoon i was not dropped off in the usual spot, which meant that i didn’t find it later to catch the bus back.
I had a good couple of hours in the Aquarium. It had a mini Amazon Rain Forest, which included parrots and tamarin monkeys. There was a tropic zone with lots of fish, seahorses, and even some small black-tipped sharks. I decided not to enjoy the experience of the 4D theatre, where you get splashed with water. But I enjoyed watching the Dolphins in their training session. In the Beluga tank were two mums, one youngster who was just over a year and a baby that was born in June. I saw a bit of their training session, but as i was late, i didn’t get much of a view.
This aquarium is much smaller than the one at Chicago, but i did still enjoy it.
Leaving the aquarium, i went off in search of the bus stop, but had been misinformed by some people who tried to help, so i eventually decided to walk back, which was not really too far. Shortly after i saw one of the buses, which had obviously been at the stop! Walking back i decided to walk back along Robson Street, which is the high end shopping street.
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