vancouver Keyword
Thea
Probably the one reason that drew me to Vancouver on my trip was to visit my good friends Laura and Murray to see their new baby, the very beautiful Thea. It has been a very long time since I saw Laura and her husband and it was very nice catching up with them. They are living full time in Vancouver now and raising their daughter, who is around 12 weeks old.
I had a great day with the new family, and Murray and Laura very kindly took me out in their neighbourhood for lunch where we chatted and enjoyed the wonderful weather. It was nice to take a moment out of my hectic travel schedule to stop and just enjoy a quiet afternoon.
I have to say Congratulations to Laura and Murray and a big warm welcome to Thea!
Vancouver
I hit Vancouver a little over a week ago. To be honest my time there was pretty much a blur. While I had only one very important thing to do in Vancouver I had no real plans of what to see or do in the City.
My first night there saw me join a club crawl which took in only two clubs, far from our hostel but proved to be fun none the less. It did give me a chance to meet some cool people, most of whom were Australian, much to my disappointment, but that’s Vancouver for you. It is Aussie central.
Vancouver is a pretty large city, with around 3 million people living in it and its surrounds. It is quite a nicely laid out city, with a modern feel. At the moment though the city is heaving under the weight of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. It seems that every inch of the city is undergoing some form of renovation. New train lines have opened expanding the city and linking suburbs. Roads are torn up, footpaths littered with traffic cones and building supplies. All the work made it hard to enjoy the city on its merits.
Most of my days were spent wandering the city centre, meaning I unfortunately didn’t get to see some of the famous parks that surround the city. I did manage to guide a pub crawl though on my last night in town when the hostels usual guide called in late. I had a great time leading the group, as I had been in Montreal and was soon relieved of the duty anyways when the guide finally showed her face.
Vancouver didn’t really grab me all that much, but I must admit I was in a very weird mood coming off the great experience of Montreal. I am not one to write it off so early, and I think I will have to visit again, maybe after the Olympics.