Ready for the Christmas Holidays...first stop, back to Vancouver!

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One more time, we have reached the Christmas Holidays. For once, this time, we are heading to the cold! Our first stop is Vancouver. Fun to think that I arrived last in Vancouver 14 months ago on my own, by train from the East, just to go from the train station to the airport by the skytrain to catch a plane back home. That trip was more focused...on the polar bears! So this is my fourth trip here, and the second one for Leslie and Tiffany.



We arrived late evening under the rain after a long flight via Hong Kong. It's cold, it's rainy, welcome to Vancouver in the winter! Last visit of Tiffany and Leslie was in the middle of the summer, I knew this little stop would be slightly different. To make it easy, we are staying in a hotel next to the airport for our first night in town. First aim for me, making sure these two teenagers survive pretty well the jetlag...after all, we are only 15 hours behind Bangkok time...and managing jetlag is what we do pretty well. Advise if you have ever to do this, on a night flight from HK...don't sleep, or try not to too much....and once you arrive on the West Coast of North America, you'll be happy to meet your bed in the late evening, just to wake up in time for a fresh morning, well rested!



So early morning we made our way by skytrain to Downtown Vancouver. I will not say cold morning, as it is not freezing! Good news, it doesn't rain anymore...and better news....it didn't rain for the all day! How lucky are we?!?



So this day is planned on things we never did before, and activities that will be easy to do even if we had encountered a rainy winter day! We checked-in early at the Westin Bayshore....no suite today, but a gorgeous view of the nature of Vancouver from our balcony....even if the hotel is clearly Downtown! So this morning on the program, we give you the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the University of British Columbia. The place is a good 40 minutes out of Downtown by bus. Cool first to have Leslie touring a University Campus, I believe it is a first in his teenager years...thinking there is only over two years for him before moving to University.



The Museum of Anthropology is not huge, but it is a beautiful exhibition of First Nations people lives. One more way for the kids to discover the way of life of the Natives in these northern place. We spend most of our morning here before going back to town. Next stop, the Granville Island. There are lots of restaurants and tourist shops around here. We spent some time at the Granville Island Public Market. The inside market is very similar to the Pike Market that you will find in Seattle. We could have had lunch here, but prices are clearly targeting tourists here...so lunch will be later on in a food court Downtown.



We did the little tourist boat ride all the way to the Science Museum. Saw two seals....but sadly, these guys were way too fast and far to make it into the picture frame. Little stop at the Olympic Village to stock on some nice wine for the coming few days...back to Downtown for more shopping after this. Mission is to try to find a swimsuit for Tiffany who had the great idea of forgetting her own one back at home...as there will be some water activities later on this trip. Mission failed, it will have to wait another stop of this trip. Living in Asia, we seem to believe we can find anything, anytime in the year...welcome to the real world...you don't find a swim suit for a young teenager at a decent price in the winter in Vancouver! Simple.



As this is winter time, night is coming pretty early. Went to stock on some sushi for dinner back at the hotel. Tonight we are early in bed, because tomorrow, it's up at 5am. As you can guess....it's just outside Vancouver that the fun is during winter time! Snow...we are coming!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Merry Christmas
Happy holidays in Canada

[Maisondubonheur]

Merry Christmas!
Thanks a lot...after the North, we are already South...already late on the blogging...