Not quite the end.

Hello Everyone

My arrival in Vancouver was not auspicious but it was a long time since my last visit and I had been looking forward to it but I was extremely tired.  So I went to my hotel, got scolded for checking in early by a very efficient young lady at reception and promptly went to bed (obviously very concerned about the inconvenience I had caused- not).  I slept the sleep of the dead for about four hours and then set off on a reconnaissance mission.  Because I will be returning to Vancouver in July for the ICED conference, I decided to seek out places I would like to explore more then and booked my self on a tour of Vancouver and it was great.  We went to the area the conference will be held and we went to the area where I will be staying so now I have my bearings.  I also met Anne and Cedric from Grafton who had travelled across Canada for about three weeks and were in the last few days of their holiday.  They had had a wonderful trip.

We went to Queen Elizabeth Park with fabulous views of the city and surrounding mountains.  (Told you I had lots of photos of mountains!) It's Graduation time all over the continent and there were many young people all dressed up in their finery up there to have photos taken and the odd bride or two.

We went to Granville Island which is Carmel heaven - lots of markets and hand made things.  Oh, it also sells local produce and yummy food.

We went to Chinatown which holds the narrowest building in the world as well as Gastown which is part of the historic part of town.  We went up the lookout and saw every thing from above.  We spent some time at Stanley park which is a huge reserve of land on the edge of downtown Vancouver.  I forget how many acres it is but it's something to behold.  It contains a set of totem poles from the local indigenous people,  It contains Dead Man's Island which is now a Naval  base.  There is also the cannon which is fired every afternoon but is secured in a cage to make it University student proof.  And there is so much more to see in this wonderful area.

My hotel was in what they call West End and it wasn't dissimilar from our West End, an older area with quite a few alternative people and lots of great, cheap restaurants.  And I found a must buy accessory for my dogs .........

It's on the way as we speak!  Oh how I miss them.  However, tomorrow is another adventure.

Lotsaluv

Carmel