Three Days in Vancouver, BC -- September, 2014

In the fall, 2014, we drove out to Seattle, Washington and flew to Fairbanks, Alaska where we began a land tour in connection with a Princess Line cruise of the inside passage.  The cruise ship disembarked in Vancouver, British Columbia, where we spent three days exploring that beautiful city, Victoria and Butchart Gardens, before heading home. This is the journal of those three days.  

Day 16:  Wednesday, September 10, 2014 …  Bob and I disembarked the Island Princess at a different time than Jack and  Diane (whom we toured with) because we’re staying in Vancouver for a few days, and they’re going right to the airport to fly home. We caught a shuttle to our hotel, which is about 6 miles from downtown Vancouver, but it was too early to get checked into a room.  So we sat in the lobby for awhile and reserved tours to Victoria Island tomorrow and to Vancouver and the Capilano Bridge on Friday. Our room at the Sandman Signature is very nice with a wonderful view toward town and the mountains behind from the 16^th floor!

After a little nap, we learned to navigate the transportation system here, walked about a mile to the sky train and hopped the train to downtown Vancouver. Vancouver is simply beautiful … trees, trees, shrubs, flora everywhere …  trees down every street, high dense hedges along the streets in front of homes, flowers, parks everywhere, a beautiful park along the bay, interesting sculptures and building designs, hundreds of very tall buildings, many with trees or bushes growing on the roofs!  Interesting that a quick news bite along the way stated Vancouver is the healthiest City in the world!  In port we saw our Island Princess still there, and after an hour or two, she cruised out of the bay with another load of passengers! Strolling along the Bay, the temperature a perfect 70+ degrees and the sun smiling down on us was very enjoyable. The marina is very busy with ships of all sizes coming and going and small aircraft taking off and landing almost continuously.  It doesn’t get much better than having dinner at the Tap and Brewery Restaurant, sitting outside with a view of the deep blue bay and the mountain peaks behind it. Then we strolled the Gas Town District and were treated to the 7 o’clock hour whistles of the famous steam driven clock.  The streets are lined with trees and street lights, each consisting of 9 globes stacked in a grouping, all to resemble the old-time gas pumps.  For a person who has no great love of cities, I certainly am impressed by this one!

Island Princess docked
in Vancouver, BC

Strolling along Bay in Vancouver

Gas Town, Vancouver, BC

We caught the sky train back, and walked the mile back to our hotel.  At least it felt good to walk off some of those extra calories inhaled this past week!!  We must be up and ready to tour very early tomorrow … good night!

                                                             

Day 17: Thursday, September 11, 2014 … We’re ready to catch the tour bus, which picked us up at our hotel at 7:30 a.m.  From there the bus went south through a very agriculturally rich area to Tsawwassen where we boarded the marine ferry for an hour and a half ride to Vancouver Island.  Some interesting tidbits about Vancouver and the greater area … The majority of the people in British Columbia live in this area. They are the largest growers of blueberries in North America and the second largest producer of cranberries.  The climate is considered “North Mediterranean Climate”, as it rarely freezes or snows and is dry in the summer and some rain in the winter.  The spring flowers start to bloom in mid-January.  The largest industry in British Columbia is foresting, followed by mining every type of mineral there is, and then tourism.   About half the population in Vancouver is known as “visible minorities” … that is anyone who is not “white” … and the majority of those are Asian.

Vancouver Island is the largest island in the Western Americas, but most people live on the east side because of the milder climate.  The western side experiences severe storms from the Pacific in the winter. First we visited Butchart

Gardens … world renown, designated a National Historic Site of Canada and still run by the Butchart family … absolutely gorgeous gardens covering about 55 acres of the 130-acre estate.  Walking through the Sunken Garden, the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Italian Garden, the Piazza and the Mediterranean Garden … hanging baskets, huge fuchsia and begonias, coves of seating areas surrounded by greenery, switchback staircases, winding paths, ponds and fountains, huge Dahlias that the bees were thoroughly enjoying, hundreds of large rose bushes with their sweet smell in the air and arches covered with climbing roses, the calm of the dense Japanese Garden with the sound of the steam trickling through the woods, and the magnificence of the tall arborvitae hedge .. the descriptions could go on and on … each offered a unique experience.  And even Bob, who isn’t exactly into flowers, was impressed!

From there we drove down to Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. We had lunch on the edge of the marina, then had an opportunity to explore the main area of town, China Town, the Market Square where we met the author of many historical novels of the area (and we bought 2 of them, which he autographed!), many gift shops, crafters along the lower causeway, plus enjoyed the entertainment of the many entrepreneurs along the sidewalks who played for our enjoyment and in hopes of making a few $$$.  The grandest building of all is the Fairmont Empress, once the largest hotel in the country, is huge, architecturally unique and exquisitely landscaped.  The ferry back glided between the forest-lined mountains that come down to the water, but no sea wildlife was spotted … I was hoping for another glimpse of killer whales!  The brilliant red sunset was beautiful, as was the HUGE yellow moon coming up over the horizon. We then returned to the marine ferry, another hour and a half ride back to the mainland, and were dropped off at the front door of our hotel!  Lots of walking today. After a drink and a bowl of soup … it’s late and bed time once again.  It was very long, but another great day!

China Town, Victoria

Fairmont Empress, Victoria, BC

Suspension Bridges through the Forest
Victoria, BC

Day 18:  Friday, September 12, 2014 … After a late morning and breakfast, we took another tour, this time of the City of Vancouver and the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  The park with the suspension bridge was so beautiful.  The bridge spans 450 feet across a 230-foot deep gorge of Capilano Canyon in North Vancouver.  Wiggles and jiggles, swaying and balancing … all of the challenges to overcome when walking across the bridge … but it’s really a piece of cake!  From

Steel-girded walkway

Capilano Suspension Bridge
Vancouver, BC

there we went over seven other suspension bridges 98 feet up in the very tall Douglas fir and cedar trees, from one platform in the trees to another … rather like zip-lining, only walking slower!!  It was fun.  We also did a nature walk through the tall and huge trees, plus the cliff walk, a steel-girded walkway bolted into the side of this 230-foot cliff, climbing up and down steps, closer and farther out from the wall, looking down deep into the gorge. Exciting!  A suspension bridge was first done in 1889 and has been rebuilt four more times.  It certainly is a beautiful and serene setting. 

The highlights of the City of Vancouver were: 

 1)  going through Stanley Park … a 1,001-acre park bordering Vancouver but almost completely surrounded by water that has a sea wall built all around it. It is largely a dense forest, but there are trails through the woods, gorgeous scenery of the English Bay harbor and all the activity that takes place there daily, a hiking and biking trail along the water’s edge, a larger fresh-water pool that can hold up to 2,000 people and many other features. 

2) Granville Island … is a peninsula and shopping district. It was once an industrial manufacturing area, but today is the hot spot for tourism and entertainment and Emily Carr University of Art & Design. The students also practiced their designs on the

The creativity at
Emily Carr University of Art
and Design
Granville Island, Vancouver

neighboring cement factory towers and cement trucks … interesting!  Most of the buildings are constructed of corrugated steel on the outside, so it still looks warehouse-like.  But walking through the Public Market was jaw-dropping … it is a farmers’ market with over 50 permanent retailers and over 100 day vendors in stalls throughout the market selling a variety of artisan cottage-industry foods and handmade crafts. Amazing and overwhelming.  Bob left me to wander around by myself … then we sat outside at a little joint and had a glass of very delicious beer while listening to the guy across the street entertaining all who walked by! 

3) China town … Vancouver has a rather large China town.  We didn’t stop here, but it was interesting to drive through and view the many shops, many with their goods displayed in plastic tubs along the sidewalks.  Our driver told us another interesting fact … that there are as many tunnels under the streets with as much activity going on as there is on the street.  He is an ex-Canadian Mounted Police officer, so he knew! 

4) Gas Town … we had walked down a portion of it on Wednesday, but it was interesting to see how much bigger it is. The area is a national historic site in Vancouver and is actually where the city first began when a steamboat captain and bar tender opened a saloon in the area in 1867. 

I am again amazed at the beauty of the city, how clean it is, the uniqueness of the architecture taking advantage of every space to plant something green, the many “gardens” of trimmed hedges, etc, (as opposed to the yards and lawns we have in MN) … for someone who prefers nature, the woods and the mountains, I find this city is very appealing.  Expensive … but appealing!  Also, living in an area which has so much green, so much blue from the gorgeous bays and Pacific in view of the mountains, yet rarely gets snow is also very appealing. Alas, even dinner at Denny’s this evening was costly! Another weather-perfect day.  Must pack up again to leave tomorrow a.m.