Day Seven- Walks, Walmarts and Wins

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I would love to report that we woke up early and refreshed, ready to hit the town for our last day in Vancouver, however that would be a lie. We didn’t set alarms and so accidentally slept in until about 12pm. I fully blame the fact that we’re staying in a basement, and the fact that Vancouver is very dark itself at the moment, so it says nice and dark and comfy down here.

Anyway, we did eventually leave at about 1pm, and we headed straight to Frenchie’s for lunch (allegedly home of the best poutine in Vancouver). One thing we have learnt this past week is that while there’s a chance of regretting it if we both get a meal, it’s very unlikely to regret only getting one. So we shared a veggie poutine (I think my body was crying tears of happiness to finally see a vegetable) and it was amazing! Frenchie’s has got my vote for best poutine in Vancouver (although having only tried this one and the one at Wendy’s I would say I didn’t really have to deliberate on my vote). Frenchie’s is mostly a bar, so while we were having our first meal of the day, others were coming in for beers. It was a bit of a shock actually, considering we kept thinking it was only 9am.

Back to day seven. One thing that was on the list to do before Banff (which is tomorrow) is to buy ski pants. It costs a bit to rent them for 5 days so we figured we may as well buy them if we could find them at a cheaper price than the rental. Turns out Walmart sell ski pants (which were $20-$30, much cheaper than renting), and it also turns out that the closest Walmart was a whopping two hour walk away. So, of course, we walked there.

It was a long, cold walk. It actually was pretty warm today (3 degrees- MUCH warmer than the -7 we’ve been experiencing recently) and the sun was out so it shouldn’t have been a cold walk at all. But the sun coming out means that the snow was starting to melt, which means we were constantly stepping in huge puddles that look exactly like pavement, except your legs go right through. Now, my dr marten’s are pretty good, they keep my toes warm and they’re very water resistant. But water RESISTANT doesn’t help when you dunk them into cold, dirty melted snow puddles, and my feet soon became soaked. So it was a cold walk.

Anyway, cut to when we finally make it to Walmart. That huge, blue sign with the hideous yellow text normally looks like your general, Walmart sign, but to us it looked like heaven. We made our way past giant packs of cocktail prawns, baby car seats, gardening tools, and finally found the clothing (I have to say it is the strangest store I have ever been in).

And guess what? You’ll never guess. Actually, I think you might have guessed it, but you’re also thinking “no, surely not. Not after a 2 hour walk”. Nah, you guessed it. THIS particular Walmart does not stock ski pants. The employee we asked said that because Vancouver didn’t get any snow last year, they weren’t sent any ski pants this year. So that was disappointing. But we got some great photos of the Vancouver skyline on the walk, and it was a beautiful time of day, so I definitely wouldn’t consider it a waste of time.

In saying that, there was absolutely no way we were walking all the way back, so we found a train station that took us straight to Rogers Arena. Why Rogers Arena, you ask? Because we managed to get tickets to the ice hockey- Vancouver Canucks vs the Arizona Coyotes!!

Neither of us follow the NHL religiously (actually we don’t follow it at all) so we had to do a bit of research on the teams- the Coyotes were expected to win, but we still cheered for the Canucks. Also due to our lack of knowledge about ice hockey, we had absolutely no idea what was going on the whole game. Thankfully, there was a little boy behind us who was constantly asking his dad what things meant. Literally every time something new happened and Adam and I gave each other confused looks, the kid behind us would immediately ask his dad. The dad explained everything to him in detail, so we actually learnt quite a lot. Just don’t ask me what we learnt, because I’ve forgotten.

We got beers and dinner at the game (Adam got a grilled cheese and I got a turkey quinoa salad- body was again crying out for some health) and witnessed the insane experience of going to a Canucks game.

It was crazy! There was a guy walking around the entire arena with a gong, psyching people up and getting them to clap and cheer (he was wearing a jersey that said Crazy P, and after a quick google I realised he’s the local, unofficial hype man for the Canucks). Every time the Canucks scored the crowd went absolutely wild. The trash talk was so different as well, one person would yell out something about a Coyotes player being a hoser and everyone around him would laugh and laugh and repeat whatever he said. It was really something.

Another interesting thing was that with 20 seconds to go, the Canucks scored a goal that put them in the lead 3-1. The crowd went mental, and then people started to leave? Obviously the Coyotes couldn’t score two goals in 20 seconds, so the Canucks definitely had the game, but I thought it was really weird that hardly anyone stayed for the last few seconds.

After we won (I say “we” like I have actually followed and supported the Canucks for longer than two hours) we began the half hour walk home- literally nothing compared to our gruelling afternoon walk. On the way we stopped in at a place I have been excited to try ever since we booked Vancouver- Lucy’s Eastside Diner! There was something so cosy about having coffee and apple pie inside a 24hr diner while it snows outside. Felt like a dream.

Anyway, that was day seven of our thirty-five day trip. The days are going by so quickly, I need time to slow down!! Our flight to Calgary leaves at 8am, and I have a feeling we’ll be very weary travellers when we get there.

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Comments

[Fay Florence]

Thank goodness for the vegetables!
Sorry not to have done this sooner - lost the connection somehow. Thanks Lucy for your wonderful details. It’s like being there. Sorry you didn’t think too much about SF though. Loved the b....substitution! You’re writing up a storm keep it up. Love N & G