A very modern city.

This is what part of Vancouver looks like from the top of the Outlook, a tall round building just on the Waterfront. In the distance you can see part of Stanley Park, then over the water to the mountains beyond.
A very modern city, it is surrounded on three sides by water, and the area has been inhabited for millennia. Unfortunately it is also a very expensive city, the hotels here are the most expensive we have had in Canada.

Part of the waterfront is home to a float plane harbour, and we watched as they took off and landed on the bay in front of us. It is possible to get a plane from here to any of the multitude of islands around here, or up into the wilderness in the far north.

Also close by is Canada Place, where all the cruise ships
dock, and from where we will be joining the Coral Princess tomorrow. These docks can take up to five large cruise ships, but when we were there there were never more than two in. I would hate to be there when five are in, it was crowded enough with just two!




















The oldest part of town is called Gastown, which lies very close to the Waterfront. It is so called because of Gassy Jack, the first publican in the area in the 1800s, who could 'gass' for Canada and who set himself up in business at the point where his statue now stands on a whisky barrel. He's the one with the hat on.
Just along the street in the Steam Clock, reputed to be the only one in the world, it runs on steam from below the pavement, and whistles the Westminster chimes each quarter hour. Quite a novelty!

Stanley park is famous for it's gardens, in particular for its Rose Garden. Some of its trees are many hundreds of years old, but many were lost in a huge storm in the middle of the last century, and will take many years yet to replace. It is a very large park on a peninsular just off the town centre, it is around 6 Kms by 5Kms.

It was at one time a "First Nation" encampment, indeed until the 1980s the last Indians still lived there, and there is  a small section of the park devoted to Totem Poles, copies of those that stand in the indigenous villages in British Columbia.

In the water at the side of the park is the famous statue, "Girl in a Wetsuit". It is based on the Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, but occasionally the local wags dress her in other items, like long dress and tiara, or wedding dress, depending what is going on in the park at the time.

In the evening we went back to the park to see a 'Theatre Under The Stars' production of Beauty and the Beast. It was an excellent show, very professional, and we were lucky we kept dry, although the sky was threatening at times. They produce two shows each year, running alternately throughout the summer, the other being West Side Story. A good night out, but very late home!

Another view of the skyline shows the Science Dome, built for an exhibition here some years ago.

The Celebrity Millennium was in dock and taking on oil today.

A very healthy and colourful punnet of fruit we saw in the market.

A a much less healthy burger joint in the food area of a local mall. We gave this one a miss.

The nine o'clock gun, which still sounds off each day.

The Lions Gate bridge leads up to North Vancouver.