Blogs from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, North America - page 10

We signed on for a full VIA train experience... So we got stopped by several freight trains during the night slowing us down. Then mid-morning came the announcement that there was a broken track ahead of us and we had to wait for it to be repaired. Beautiful country to sit in, lots of friendly people to talk with, things to read, wine to drink. The VIA crew pulled together enough food to serve lunch. A blues singer performed in three activity cars. Track was repaired, a replacement engineer was brought to the train, we pulled into the Vancouver train station around 6:00 pm. Bus ride to our hotel one block from English Beach, walked down to the beach before dinner to see the sunset. Beautiful ending to the day.... read more

If you are visiting Canada, I would always recommend including Vancouver in your itinerary especially if you are going in summer. The city has something for all ages – from great nature destinations to spectacular beaches to museums to a fantastic nightlife. However, flying to Vancouver may not be the best way to get there. For those who want to fly into Seattle and find other ways to get to Vancouver, here are some budget travel options for getting to Vancouver that will save you lots of money. From Seattle to Vancouver by train, bus, and ferry No matter where your journey begins, once you arrive in Seattle the different ways to get to Vancouver costs the same for everyone. So the more you saved on your flight by flying to Seattle, you will save that ... read more

Need to catch up with things done over the last 10 days. Been meaning to update but just been TOO BUSY. Been to Whistler. Fascinating place totally geared for the tourist/adventurer in the summer and the ski bunnies in the winter. We got a bus from Vancouver, a 2 hour drive along a spectacular coastal highway and arrived at Whistler Village in stinking heat and crowds of tourists just like us from all parts of the globe. Our hotel was amazingly accommodating - the booking info said check-in was from 4.00pm (far too late in my opinion) but we arrived at 12.00 and they said, "Yep, no problem, we have your room ready". From then on they were great to deal with and soooo accommodating. We heartily recommend the Aava Hotel in Whistler. At the risk ... read more

Fabulous frocks, hair and makeup, high heels being gingerly stepped into - most out of practice - lots of laughs and a general air of something good about to happen. The make-up artists arrived early and set to with their huge bags of magic lotions, creams, brushes, quinquereme of ninevah, whatever. The results were outstanding but of course they had great canvases to work on. And so the day progressed; the bride driven off in a 1933 Beaufort, us taken away in a stretch limo, the ceremony going off smoothly, flower girls perfect. A very nice wedding. We got to bed at 2.00a.m. Next day somewhat quieter as old bones recovered from a late night and long forgotten dance moves. Joints and muscles we'd grown used to ignoring were there suddenly awoken and letting us know. ... read more

We left Wellington on August 1, firstly and briefly for Auckland and then onto a direct Air New Zealand flight to Vancouver. Twelve and a half hours which seems like a long time to be sitting or trying to sleep. It was but hearing the stories of our cuzzies from Australia who also flew over for the wedding, which is the main purpose of our trip, we realised how good it is to have the direct flight from NZ. Two of then flew Melbourne - Sydney - LA. Both had delays at LA; one of 5 hours and one of 11 hours. Our total travel time, Wellington to Vancouver was around 17 hours. Theirs was up to 30 hours. Avoid LA! We got here mid afternoon, stepping out into high 20's temperature and a smoke haze ... read more