Vancouver

After a long 30 hour transit (lots of waiting around airports) we finally arrived in the very lovely Vancouver. We had a fantastic location in the city within walking distance of most things and with a variety of bus routes running by our door. The above photo is taken from our unit on the 21st floor. We could see the water and mountains in 2 different directions from our dining room which was a treat.

We spent the greater part of one day visiting Granville Island, seen above. It was within walking distance of our unit and we took this as we walked over the bridge. The markets here were our point for visiting and we were both in raptures. Me over the fresh produce - huge punnets of berries, stalls of gorgeous vegetables and herbs, the brightest coloured salmon you've ever seen, fresh meats and I could go on. All I wanted to do was shop up and go home and cook up a meal worthy of the produce. My sweet, darling husband however nearly went into a state of paralytic indecision when he came upon this counter (which goes on around the corner for much the same distance). His not-to-be-denied sweet tooth almost went into meltdown at all the sugary goodness awaiting it. We are so very different!

We shared a table and a huge punnet of cherries with the sweetest Chilean lady who lives in Sydney with her daughter. She was off on a cruise to Alaska as were nearly all the other Aussies and Kiwis that we met.

Another day we spent wandering down to Gas Town which really emphasised the European feel of Vancouver with wrought iron lamps and fixtures, cobbles, cafes and the like. We took an obligatory look at the steam clock which was a novel experience. It appealed to Jeff's mechanical engineering background, where as I was rather more taken by how it blew steam and tooted like a train to signal the hour. Oh my sophisticated views. Upon reflection it was lucky we took these early in the morning before the crowds set in and swallowed it in a sea of people. We found that shops opened later than at home so we beat the crowds by chance rather than good planning.

I shall post more on Vancouver and our trip tomorrow. Sorry it's taken so long, I didn't have blog access whilst on the road and have hit the ground running since I arrived home.