Advertisement
Published: September 13th 2013
Edit Blog Post
DSC06488
Granville Island bridge Plan for the day was: Granville Island, Chinese gardens and Gastown.
Hotel staff were happy to help us work out our travel plans for the day so we got on the bus and went over to Granville Island market place - A good 1/2 hour bus ride away.
The Granville Public Market sells local fresh produce and is a very popular place for locals and tourists alike. Great fresh foods, vibrant colours of fresh flowers and plenty of fresh foods to Sample along the way.
Stopped at the Granville Island Brewery and had a sampler of beers. We both agreed the beers were just ok but we've tasted much better - still it was good to have a coldie and sit down for a while.
Next was a ride on the Aqua Bus along False Creek and dropping us off near China town. At China Town we visited Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese garden. There are two parts to the gardens - the public area called the park - which is free and the other section is called the gardens - where you pay an admission of $14 which gets you a guided tour of the Classical
Panorama Granville Island
panorama of the waterfront Chinese garden.
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Garden is the first of its kind to be built outside of China. 53 master craftsmen came from China with 950 crates of material and constructed the garden using traditional Chinese methods - no glue, screws, or power tools were used. The tour guide was very informative and it was obvious that he was passionate about the gardens and the history behind the chinese elites and their families.
Ming Dynasty Scholars were the elite of their time and were highly educated officials in the imperial Chinese Government in the 15th century. The walls, pathways and hallways were crafted to blend in with the natural elements and gives the feeling of an enchanted space with the perfect balance of ying and yang.
After we finished at the gardens we started to walk towards Gastown - took a bit of a wrong turn past China Town and ended up in the "not so nice" part of Vancouver. We were on West Hastings Street and neither of us have ever seen such a concentration of homelessness in any of our travels. It was very confronting and not a sight we want to see
DSC06509
granville markets sign again for a while. I'm not into looking at the negative side of places we visit so I won't go on about it - just wanted to make folks aware that this exists and should be avoided by tourists (We had been warned by hotel staff when we first arrived in Vancouver but we just took a wrong turn by accident). Never mind you live and learn!
Finally when we got to Gastown we were able to relax and enjoy the scenery and vibe of the place. It is said that Vancouver was born in Gastown. It has become a destination of cobble style streets full of fashion, architecture, dining and nightlife.
Spent a couple of hours walking the streets and checking out the shops. Had an early dinner at the "flying pig" pub before heading off to the bus and back to the hotel...
Well we achieved our plans for the day and we have managed to get a feel for this Capital City in British Columbia.
Tomorrow we pick up our RV and start the next leg of our journey. Looking forward to getting back on the road!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.206s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 72; dbt: 0.0821s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
judithchaffer
non-member comment
The gardens look amazing !!! The mass numbers of homeless people in America is a huge culture shock for travelling Aussies very sad indeed!! love the pictures!!