Vancouver: Days 1 – 3

Tuesday (day 1)

Top notch! Flight was fine... I changed my seat to the very back window seat on the right side. No one else had reserved the two seats next to that one, so I figured I’d have a whole row to sprawl out if I wanted! And let me tell you... totally worth it! It made a huge difference and I didn’t feel uncomfortable or claustrophobic at all.

So I was all set to chill out and watch Dexter S3 on my work laptop... I go to put the DVD in and the computer and to my surprise, it needed to be told which region it should play DVDs at. Okay, no problem... it’s Region 1... but when I go to click ‘okay’, this pops up:



Nooooooooo!!! Omg SO disappointed... I forgot to have our tech people fix this issue at work, cause I just switched to a laptop a few months ago... uber sigh...

So I ended up reading my book the whole time, while listening to a little girl, traveling alone, bug the flight attendants and befriend another little girl on the plane, then proceed to jump around in her seat and run up and down the aisle a lot. Yeah.

Finally the plane lands and I get into the Customs line to ‘declare’ nothing I brought with me. I get up to the booth and this small, young female takes my claims form and passport, and begins to INTERROGATE me about why I’m in Canada.

Woman: Why are you visiting?
Me: I’m on vacation.

Woman: What are you going to do in Vancouver?
Me (confused): Um, see the city and hang out...

Woman (now glaring at me like I’m some sort of liar): Who do you know here?
Me: Uh, my friend Manna Wescott.

Woman (angry): How do you know her?
Me: I met her at a conference a few years ago...

Woman (full of smug): So what are you going to do here?
Me [thinking that she already asked me this question]: Um, hang out and check out the sights...

Woman (now changing her purpose): What do you do for work in the U.S.?
Me (thoroughly irritated, yet feeling like I should be guilty of something): I work at Target Corp. in the Marketing department.

Woman: Mm, what type of work do you do?
Me (c’mon already!): Design.

Then she didn’t really speak after that, but stamped my claims form and handed it back to me.

So WTF was that!?! Flustered by this event, I forgot she gave me back my claims form to give to the guys at the exit door... figured that one out quickly. :P

So anyway, Manna met me in the Arrival area after I exchanged my filthy American money for pretty Canadian ones! We then took their version of the Light Rail into downtown.

As we’re walking to my hotel, we come to a cross-walk and a woman with a walkie-talkie asks us to wait to cross... I’m a bit confused and give Manna a look, and she says “oh, this happens a lot here...”. Turns out, they were shooting a scene for a Nissan commercial!!! :D I witnessed my first Vancouver filming in my second hour here! I don’t know why I’m totally in awe of that... it’s just so cool to have to wait to go into an area because they’re filming something for TV... ca-razy!

Anyway, after my brush with fame, we get to my hotel and check-in and she goes back to work. Overall, the rooms are very nice. They ‘upgraded’ me to a double-bed room with a better view. I can see the bay, city, and some mountains all from my sliding door!







This evening, Manna and I checked out the Vancouver Museum of Art (free Tuesdays!). They had a Rembrandt show going on, which turned out to be multiple artists overall... so we whipped through the exhibit and went to eat at an Italian place on Robson Street (the equivalent of our Nicollet Mall, but with much more specialized and independent shops/restaurants).

Now I’m back in the hotel room, exhausted after a LONG 20-hour day with not-so-great sleep the previous night. Feels like two days ago already!

***

Wednesday (day 2)

Okay, 2 things to always remember when traveling and sleeping in a bed that’s not yours: 1- if you use a special pillow, like a Memory Pillow, BRING IT! Squishy/lumpy pillows are yuck for the neck! And 2- if you sleep with a loud amount of white noise, it would be best to bring something equivalent, instead of relying on the room fan — because it’s not always going to be as loud as you assume and the seagulls just love to yap to each other from 6am to 9am! :(

After breakfast, I walked around Stanley park a bit, then took a ride on a horse-drawn carriage through the east section!


Eeeee! That's King on the left... can't remember the other guys name, but they were both precious!

After that, I walked even farther through the park, checking out their rose garden and really peculiar trees.



The weather here is quite like Minneapolis, but much more shifty in temperature... this morning it was overcast and cloudy (no rain though). So I dressed appropriately and while I was out, the sky cleared up within minutes and it was hot and sunny! During the carriage ride, it was very warm until we turned the corner and faced the water – which brought about a very brisk wind. Needless to say, I’m a bit sunburned. :P







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Walked to the other main shopping/eating street tonight (Denman Street), took some great pictures at a public beach, and ate an incredibly yummy dinner at The Boathouse restaurant that overlooked the sunset!




SNEAT! :D

I also purchased a cupcake from a cute specialty shop and then we picked up our PNE tickets at a grocery store. PNE is essentially the equivalent of Minnesota’s State Fair. They have yummy food, concerts, rides, and animal/farm stuff. I’m excited to go, especially since I won’t be able to enjoy our State Fair this year.

Aside from the abundant Asian population here, look what else I saw! :)



These Canadian Geese would let you get SO close to them without hissing! I could literally pet this one if I wanted... unlike those mean Minnesota Canadian Geese... huh?

***

Day 3 (Thursday)

Rainy and a chilly 15°C this morning, so we’re gonna do PNE tomorrow instead.

Have I mentioned this creepy public art thing outside my window?



It’s hard to see, but the statues are life-sized people in a crouch position... yeah, creepy... but people seem to like playing on them.

Today I took the Sea Bus across the water to North Vancouver! There was a cute little market there with all sorts of shops and food and touristy items. I bought myself a sweet little Nelson Family Crest pin from this beautiful Celtic store.



Here’s what the info card says: The surname Nelson is an English patronymic name, being derived from Nell, Neil or Neal as its origin. One of the most noted was Lod Horatio Nelson, of British naval fame. The name today is found in its greatest numers in America, where it ranks as the 39th most numerous of names.
Variants: Neilson, Neels, Niles.
Name Meaning: Neil’s son.

I also bought a Raven print!!!



I wrote a paper about the Raven Haida in college. Raven is, to put it plainly, the creator of human life on the planet; yet he is the ultimate trickster who enjoys messing with his creations, but is also required to teach them how to hunt for food and survive in the natural world. Needless to say, my eyes lit up when I saw it! :D

I also experienced a wonderful moment of euphoria while shopping at the Celtic store! This woman was playing her guitar and singing a Perfect Circle song SO beautifully and slowly... it was really relaxing!

So, after taking the boat back I checked out Gastown, which is where all the old historical buildings are, along with some cute little specialty shops.

This evening, Manna drove us up to a park on the north part of the city (across the bridge), then up the mountain a bit to get a great view of the ENTIRE city! The sun wasn’t very cooperate, so the pictures are a bit washed out, but you get the idea of how HUGE this city really is...



Took a quick video to show a better view...



Then we went to a great little bar/restaurant for their famous Fish ‘N Chips! Omg they were yummers!

*I took many more pictures of course, but I'll probably post those on Flickr or something when I get home!