My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
On Friday morning, Emily woke up early to catch a taxi to the airport. All day yesterday I was trying to think– there was someone I knew who had lived in Vancouver… who was it? I checked Facebook and Mike had made a comment on one of my pictures. Of course! It was Mike! From Canada (though now he lives in Macedonia). I gave him a call (since he’s still on the Caribbean with the fast wifi) and asked is there anything in Vancouver that I can’t miss? I have one day and so far my plan is to get on down to Gastown. He said I really should go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and the Sea to Sky Gondola, and the bridge there, and a hike if I wanted to, and catch a show at two different theaters… I looked up my options and there was a free shuttle to the Capilano Bridge that left down the street from my hotel every 10 minutes! Perfect! I caught the shuttle with no trouble and soon we were driving over the bridge that I had biked under two days before.
The driver ended up answering a couple of questions that Emily and I had been pondering over the last couple of days. Vancouver was packed with big glass buildings that looked like they were residential buildings with floor to ceiling windows. We wondered what the cost of living was. We’d figured out that the population was just a little larger than Denver. We were also trying to figure out if Vancouver got winter. It was on the water. Was the winter like San Francisco? But it’s in Canada. And I’m pretty sure there are coastal cities that still get a snowy winter. On our way to the bridge, the driver entertained us with some local facts– Vancouver had some of the most expensive real estate in North America. A teeny tiny apartment was at least $1 million. And it turns out Vancouver is the only city in Canada that doesn’t get winter!
The suspension bridge reminded me of a much sturdier version of the one I crossed in Northern Ireland (which is still the wallpaper on my phone).
Then it was just pretty.
I took too many pictures
So many that I couldn’t decide what to delete.
So enjoy.
Then I looked up and saw some paths in the trees!
I figured out how to get up there
And then I looked down.
I crossed back over the big bridge
And took the stairs down to the cliffwalk
On the way back I could see the bike path where we’d ride our bikes, and the light house!
The shuttle dropped me back off in Canada place. It was time to bring it on down to Gastown. In Washington Heights there is a grocery store called Foodtown, and it just seems like there’s a Justin Timberlake/Jimmy Fallon song about Bringing it on down there. I feel the same way about Gastown. Mike said it was only a couple of blocks (he didn’t sound that into it– like if you like shopping?). As I made my way down the road, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to tell I was there, but suddenly everything changed.
Gastown is Vancouver’s first downtown area, named after a guy named Jack Deighton, the owner of the first Saloon. Jack had a reputation for being “gassy.” (I got this information from Wikipedia. Wikipedia, however, did not mention…
This place was so charming! Sure there were shops and restaurants, but I was more delighted by the brick buildings, the cobblestone streets, the old clocks, the lamps.
I was getting hungry. On one curved street, I saw a restaurant with a great patio right on the street– one of my favorite things. They had a grilled cheese with tomato soup that they seemed to be really excited aboot.
I ordered the grilled cheese, several of the waitresses reacted like I’d done something much more exciting and important. Then the food came.
Oh my gosh. I mean, there were a bunch of cheeses melted on the inside of the sandwich, but it had been toasted with melted cheese on the outside too! This is what they were talking about! I was blown away. Once again, Vancouver had totally delivered in the food department. The crumbles in the tomato soup were a nice touch too.
Well, this is it! As I write this in real time, it’s 5am and I’m about to gather my things to join the Golden Princess in Vancouver! My friend Matt is the Entertainment Director. I tell the guests that I got this job because whenever I go on vacation, I never want it to end–I don’t want to go home. I can’t remember the last time I was excited to go back to work, if it’s ever happened, but here I am! This ship doesn’t have the new fast wifi that the Caribbean Princess has, so (though I plan on taking more notes this time) the next flood of posts will likely commence next time I’m on land (with strong internet) again. Bye! Have fun! See you on the other side!