Walking tour and Granville Island

Hello all,

We slept in a bit this morning after two early starts in a row. Then we walked to the waterfront area where we joined a free walking tour. Our guide was Cameron, who lives for two weeks here with his wife, then works as a mining engineer further north for two weeks. Today’s weather was stunning, and we were able to appreciate the beautiful Cascade Mountains even more due to the sunny backdrop at our tour meeting point.

We rounded a corner and saw the Olympic Cauldron that was installed in this area for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. The flames were on today to commemorate a day recognising workplace safety. Cameron said it’s hardly ever on and he hasn’t seen it lit up since November for the World Cup, so we were lucky!! Apparently the public weren’t too happy about the expense of hosting the games so soon after the GFC, but the city gained the airport train line and some other infrastructure as a result, and apparently the freeway we will be driving to Whistler on on Sunday was upgraded as it used to be very dangerous.

We then saw lots of interesting buildings and places over the next two or so hours. We learned that the Spanish arrived here first but it was the George Vancouver who was the first European to settle. Originally it was called Granville Town after the governor general, but in 1888 was deemed a city and the name changed to Vancouver. At one point, five fire trucks drove past in a big hurry, but we can't find anything on the news about what was going on!

The Hotel Vancouver was a particularly beautiful building that we went past, built between 1929-1939. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company bought Fairmont and owns all the Fairmont hotels in Canada including this one. Next we went past the Vancouver Art Gallery which was previously a courthouse. Then we saw a monument to 200 students that were found buried at a residential school in Kamloops that was in operation until 1969 and sort to induct First Nations children into the Euro Canadian society.

We had a short break at the Vancouver Public Library, which was built to look like the Colosseum and acknowledge the power of the mind. Rob went and got a coffee while I went up to the beautiful rooftop garden. We then passed the stadium where Vancouver's soccer team play, and the one their hockey team, the Canucks, play at as well. They've never won a title apparently, but have lost two grand finals! Here, Cameron told us a story about a black bear hitching a ride inside a garbage truck across the bridge to Vancouver one day and then roaming the streets until it was captured and returned to North Vancouver.

We ended up over near Gastown, the older more historic part of Vancouver that was settled earlier on. We waited to see the steam clock play part of the Westminster tune at 12.30 and watched it steam thereafter. Apparently it isn't very good at keeping time! It was installed here in 1977 in memory of 'Gassy Jack', an Englishman that moved here in 1858 for the gold rush and started a bar and was known to be "gassy" (talkative) and likeable.

We finished up by going inside the beautiful Waterfront station and then returning to our starting point. Then Rob and I caught the bus to Granville Island for lunch. At this point it was quite warm and a gorgeous sunny day. Granville Island was built using dredged soil on top of a mud flat in 1916. It was used by First Nations people as a fishing ground prior to this. After 1916, it was turned into an industrial island supporting the growth of Vancouver, contributing to WWII. After the war, the demand for industrial goods such as these declined and the island became quite run down. In 1979, the government turned it into a public market and today it holds 50 businesses. We enjoyed some donuts from 'Lee's Donuts' which Adam and Rhiannon had recommended. Its huge queue moved fast and the donuts were delicious. We also shared a beef stew pie and sitting in the sun facing the CBD.

Afterwards, we caught the bus back and walked along the harbour sea wall to our hotel. We had a rest here and then went for a walk in Stanley Park which was lovely in the evening sun - we even saw a seal! We walked to Nan and Pa's tree, and you could still see their ashes around the tree's trunk. I guess they'll settle in more once it rains on Sunday.

Tonight we bought dinner at the supermarket. I had some soup and Rob cooked a flatbread pizza. We then cooked some vegetables. It's great having an oven in our room here!

Love to all
Claire
Xoxox