Smitten with Squamish

One of the main things I wanted to do while out in Canada was go up the mountains and see some snow. That dream came true today with our visit out to Squamish. We caught the bus out of town and rode the gondala up almost above the cloud line into the frost dusted peaks. There were a multitude of view points and short hikes to go on, the latter of which took us along some fairytale looking routes through a snowy mountain trail. Rebecca wasn't quite wearing the right shoes for the trek though, so I effectively became one of those plastic penguins on skates that they give to children to hold into at ice skating rinks. I was her crutch for the slippy patches but she did really well considering. I was too smitten with the scenery to pay much mind.

Stanley Park

After five days of rain the weather finally let up so we ventured out into the mighty Stanley Park - a hunk of nature only a bus ride away from downtown. It's vast, wild and gorgeous. We took a walk up and through it before ending up on the Sea Wall. The views there were spectacular so we just kept on walking, marvelling the whole time about how one skyline could contain trees, a metropolis, mountains and oil tankers all in one.

We he back to the same bar as yesterday, the beer menu was longer than my arm so I still had plenty to choose from but we really wanted to try the food. I had a near religious experience with a burger in one hand and a dark IPA in the other. It set us up for a cinema trip to see Project Hail Mary - a book Rebecca and I have both enjoyed. This is also my first real movie-going experience in another country. Aside from the adverts, it was pretty similar as it turns out. I was low-key expecting more whooping from the audience, guess they used up all that enthusiasm for the hockey game. 

Go Cannucks, Go

With the rain reaching its zenith today, we decided to take it very slow - a kind of mini recharge day. We popped out to a trendy cafe for brunch and coffee then headed Downtown a bit later on to check out the library. That passed the time til the big ice hockey game in the evening anyway. We hit up a bar on the way to get some cheap happy hour drinks, that at least got me just buzzed enough to get hyped about eating stadium food. I was gassed for Poutine, but that's more of an East Coast thing we discovered so it had to be a hot dog for me. I was a bit nonplussed when they handed it to me, but then they gestured to the condiment bar where I rekindled my love affair for sauerkraut.

Going into the hockey stadium I was once again reminded that North Americans don't do sports in small measures. It was huge, with pumping music and a jumbo screen. The hype for the Home team was built up to legendary proportions, before the game even started we were treated to a massively overproduced video starring all the Vancouver players as they literally save the world from an alien invasion. Thank goodness I was half cut because I don't think my retinas could survive a sober eye roll. Then after witnessing all the hype and build up, the home team got totally glazed, losing by four goals. But they had a lotta heart and in my books that counts for something.

Another Big, Wet Walk

We naively thought we saw the last of the rain, but the weather instead doubled down, giving us a deluge just in time for another big outdoorsy walk. We caught a bus to the outskirts of the city to visit another suspension bridge followed by a mini hike along the river. By the end my jeans needed to be peeled off my thighs. I hung them up to dry and slid into my only other pair of trousers: my pyjamas. I had to slip my still wet jeans in once more though to head out for dinner for an Asian fusion place that provided the best meal of the holiday so far. Vancouver's weather occasionally leaves something to be desired, good thing the restaurants don't disappoint.

Vancouver Suspension Bridge

With the weather still being rainy in the Rainy City, what better place to spend the day than in a rainforest? The world famous suspension bridge was our daily destination, a chance to marvel at the engineering and to climb high above the canyons and the treetops. It's certainly a one of a kind attraction, at several moments Rebecca and I just had to pause to take it all in. Doing it in a raincloud kinda made the whole thing a bit more unique too, misty vistas and the constant downpour gave it all a tone I don't think you'd get on a clear day. Our clothes need a day or two to dry out but it was well worth it.

Fair Weather Ferry

The rain threatened our plans but we adapted and endured. The best place to be in a drizzle is down by the docks, so we bought a day pass on the City's ferries so we could spend some time on the water and visiting the places that would have otherwise been a mission to get to. We sampled the markets on Granville Island and took a rainy stroll along Kitsilano Beach. Back home we caught 40 winks then moved on to get a North American staple: a good old burger. Luckily we have a half dozen pubs in our area and finding a good watering hole was easy enough. Now we're both a mite tipsy, but that might help us sleep off the last bit of Jetlag.

Jetlagged to the Max

Day 1 in Vancouver was a real 'get to know the place' kinda day. We started off with coffee and a pastry from a place just a few doors down from our Air B&B. From there we caught the Sky train to Downtown, we stood along the seaplane strip, watching them take off and land while quietly processing the fact there's mountains next to a metropolis. 

I firmly believed I could best jetlag, yet I found myself at its mercy halfway through the day. I couldn't quite muster a nap in the afternoon but an early night should help me recoup. We both had ambitions to head into a bar for happy hour, but after dinner we both just wanted to crawl into our pajamas .