Exploring Northwest US and Canada: Week 2, Day 12, Vancouver

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7/22 Touring Vancouver This morning we met with friends Paula and Ken who we met on the train, who also come from Florida and are living in The Villages. They agreed to join us to share a cab to tour Vancouver using our friend Huel's guide as a reference. We began our cab tour around Stanley Park stopping for totem pole photo ops and the Lions Gate Suspension Bridge. Although not raining, it was very overcast and consequently no reason to stop more often. We passed the famous Tea House as they were preparing for a wedding, near the termination point for the running race around the park. Leaving Stanley Park, we drove through the wealthy West End overlooking cricket matches and the English Bay Beach where home prices began in the millions. We asked the taxi to let us off at UBC (University of British Columbia) to see the new totem installation and the beautiful UBC Rose Gardensoverlooking the Pacific Ocean. Our cab ride from the hotel around Stanley Park and to UBC was about $30 per couple. Nice to be able to share the cost with new found friends.



We crossed the street to the famous Museum of Anthropology (MOA) on the campus of UBC to spend the day exploring the various indigenous cultures of First Nation People in Canada and South America. I had been here 20 years ago and wasn't prepared for the gorgeous new glass walled building displaying large totems and decorated boats, sculptures and other amazing specimens of cultural heritage all bathed in soft natural light from the enormous glass walls. We entered the Bill Reid Rotunda to view his amazing wood carved origin story sculpture of the Tidal People titled The Raven and the First Men. Bill Reid is an internationally acclaimed Haida artist and I wish we had more time to spend with his works. There were many smaller rooms to explore displaying feathered headdresses and decorative items from South America, musical instruments, masks, basketry, tools and religious items from various indigenous peoples.



We stumbled upon a dark room with a Japanese installation from TeamLab of ever changing kaleidoscope-like projections on three walls, a 360 degree computer generated space. These colorful interactive projections changed when you put your hand in front of the calligraphy to create whole new designs and just as in nature, no two moments are repeated. Soft music played in the background tempting four of us to pleasantly nod off despite the squealing children activating the beautiful changing scenes. It was a spectacle I won't soon forget! We wrapped up our tour of the exhibits and went to lunch at the MOA Museum Cafe. I shopped after lunch in the beautiful MOA shop where I purchased a lovely scarf that whenever I wear it I will remember this remarkable museum.



We could have spent more time at the MOA but time is not what we had so we left the museum by taxi to see the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden on the other side of the city, on the edge of Chinatown close to our hotel. The cab ride from MOA to the Chinese Garden was about $15 per couple. We arrived just in time to catch the docent-led tour of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens learning about the the architecture and placement of land, building and walkways to best achieve chi as historic Chinese design requires. All this was done by Chinese experts who brought materials and their expertise from China under the direction of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. The classical Chinese garden is the first of its kind constructed outside of China and first of its kind in North America. Construction began in 1985 and opened in 1986 after a 52 member team of experts from Suzhou spent over a year in its construction modeling it after private classical gardens in the city of Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty. We learned about the importance of balance of yin and yang in buildings and garden designs, the elements of water, rocks and “Leak Windows”. We enjoyed a sip of Chinese hot tea before walking back to our hotel.



We had planned to take the water taxi to Granville Island for dinner but since it was still cloudy and after this long day we opted for a light dinner near the hotel and early bed. We wanted to grab a quick bite so Dave and I went to Bogarts Bar and Restaurant near our hotel where we (wanting not to over eat or over spend) split a Margherita pizza and a Caesar salad. The pizza was a nice thin crust but what I would call very small with a large sized price. The Caesar salad was light and very good and again, unusually small. In so many other restaurants we have been able to split a meal with more generous portions. Not here. We opted out on the $4 happy hour beers afraid we would pass out because we were so tired.





We walked around the corner back to our Georgian Court Hotel where we asked the staff about morning cafe options. They were consistent in their lack of knowledge, lack of help and basic rudeness. Sad. We did not choose to hang around the lobby since the air conditioning was likely set to 60 degrees, probably in an attempt to keep people from hanging around asking questions they didn't have answers to or the inclination to answer. There were no pitchers of water or coffee in the lobby (as they had at the Hampton Inn next door) and the coffee in the room was a machine with packets of poor quality espresso. Not great options. At least the room was quiet on the 11th non-smoking floor and otherwise clean and well appointed including complementary chocolates to celebrate our anniversary (likely due to the Fresh Tracks request who we booked through.)

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