Advertisement
Published: August 29th 2015
Edit Blog Post
The trip's over and we could sleep in. However old habits die hard & we were up at sparrow f..t -well 8.30ish. Removing the gear off our bikes that wanted totake home (GPS etc) we then rode to Eddies shop - Motorcycle World where we were leaving the bikes in storage & cancelling our insurance & surrendering our plates. Back to English Bay Motel by train& bus, we cleaned all our gear in the process changing the colour of the bath & for that matter most of the bathroom! (we actually restored it to its original averageness when we finished.
English Bay is like a cross between Mission Bay & the viaduct in Auckland with all the restaurants of both those areas & Ponsonby thrown into one main road- Denman Street. Out for lunch after our big cleanup, we had a few beers to celebrate how well everything had gone. In the main square here there were at least a dozen larger than life sculptures of stylised figures designed to make you smile - & they do (see attached photo).
After our lunch Bryan & Ian hired bikes to ride around the cycle ways out to Granville Island, over
the Burrand Bridge where they could look down on an impressive marina. I got a haircut then returned to the hotel sorted my gear, wrote the blog & was about to commence my afternoon nap when they returned with the exciting news that Cactus Cafe were having a happy hour on the beach. Rushing down to join in we found a queue stretching along the beach & possibly up into the Rockies which hover majestically over this city. We adjourned to a different bar for a few drinks before walking up Denman St. to a Japanese /Korean restaurant Ian & Bryan had spotted earlier. A great Japanese meal at a very reasonable price capped off a relaxing day.
Vancouver Day 2. Waking to intermittent heavy rain we scrapped the cycle hire followed by a ferry trip plan, and opted for a "hop on hop off" bus tour around Vancouver. Really worthwhile & a great way to get an idea of this leafy city, plus a loop through Stanley Park which is pretty stunning given that is right next to the city. It is 1000 acres with some great cycleways, a seawall walk, a First Nation Totem Pole park
among many other interesting features. Hopping off the bus back in English Bay we gave Cactus Cafe another try and found the service & the views to be stunning mainly inside* the restaurant and acceptable outside as well.(* For more information send a request on a $100 note)! After this enjoyable lunch we walked along the walkway inside the seawall and caught a "Captain Pugwash" ferry to Granville Island. There are dozens of these small ferrys servicing False Creek which is really the harbour. Wandering around the market on Granville Island we bought or nearly bought a few nick-nacks before catching a ferry back to near English Bay, retracing our 1km walk to pick up our luggage at the hotel and taxiing to the airport. Now writing the blog sitting in a lounge testing various Canadian & American red wines.
Random Observations from our travels: Canadians & Americans are generally extremely friendly, relaxed and are genuinely interested in what you are doing. They are "can do positive" people who try & provide a solution to a request rather than saying no.
NZ has a "bucket-list" reputation here and as soon as say you are from NZ the
All Blacks are mentioned.
Suzuki DR650s are a fantastic bike straight out of the box & great value for money.
North American businesses provide fantastic service even in situations where they won't get a tip.
Drivers in North America are polite, non aggressive and cautious but fast. Speed limits seem to be only a general guideline and you hardly ever see bad driving or Police Cars patrolling the roads. Turning right on red lights after stopping is allowed and frees up traffic congestion (why cant we allow turning left on red lights in NZ?) In spite of all this apparent laxity, Canada's road toll is 50%!l(MISSING)ess than NZs??? Drivers only use the fast lane or passing lane for overtaking on dual carriageways. There are signs to only use the fast lane for overtaking - this should be introduced & policed here as well.
NZ doesn't have a monopoly on great scenery. (Check this sample from Alberta Tourism)
Remember To Breathe Alaska & remote Canada are expensive places to travel.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.36s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 15; qc: 71; dbt: 0.1231s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb