Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Canada & Hawaii 2016
Vancouver revisited
I
took the customary peek through the curtains soon after waking up
and was pleased to see early-morning signs that the weather was
probably set fair. In due course, following a nice breakfast of
cooked-to-order Eggs Benedict (with salmon) in the hotel restaurant
Fresh, I set off and bought another transit day pass,
noting with a raised eyebrow how much cheaper it was when purchased
somewhere other than the airport. As on Friday afternoon, a
driverless Skytrain quickly and efficiently delivered me to
the Waterfront area via the Canada Line.
I began by taking a few minutes to appreciate the reassuringly solid bulk and classical beauty of Waterfront Station itself. The current building was opened by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1914, for the company's long-distance trains. Now used by a several transport modes and a number of different operators, it has evolved into a key interchange point in Vancouver's public transport network. On leaving the station, I couldn't help noticing that Princess Cruises was showing a presence at the Canada Place terminal, in the shape of Star Princess. Not surprisingly, this again made me think of the previous year's brief visit to the city, when Bruce and I had boarded Grand Princess - also on a Saturday - for Alaska.
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As more than ten years had elapsed since my last 'proper' visit to BC's largest city, I decided to start with a couple of basic essentials from the Vancouver tourist trail: a short walk to Gastown to see the steam clock and say hello to Gassy Jack, followed by a visit to the observation deck of the Harbour Centre.
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With those 'staples' out of the way, my next move was to chalk up a couple of consecutive first-time visits. First up was Christ Church Cathedral, seat of the Bishop of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada. I nearly missed it altogether, as the exterior of the building was covered in scaffolding to facilitate installation of a new roof. A look around indoors proved to be more fruitful, showing what I thought was a successful blend of modern and traditional. Secondly, and less than two blocks away, was Vancouver Art Gallery. This was founded as an institution in 1931 and has been occupying its present site - a former courthouse on Hornby Street - since 1983. The other side of the building also has a high profile as part of the modern Robson Square complex. At the time of my visit, the gallery featured a temporary exhibit Picasso: The Artist and his Muses, which was proving to be very popular.
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RIGHT: Constantly looking upwards, on a stroll from the Harbour Centre to Christ Church Cathedral |
| THIS PANEL: A brief look around the interior of Christ Church Cathedral |
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GREY PANEL: Vancouver Art Gallery, which featured a temporary Picasso exhibit |
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With
the considerable progress made so far, the prospect of a light lunch and somewhere
to sit down for half an hour seemed like a combination made in
heaven. I was therefore happy to find a reasonably
attractive-looking café in the gallery, where I enjoyed some quiche
and salad (noting that my 'egg count' was getting rather high for
today). Duly refreshed, I walked the short distance to City Centre
station and took a short Skytrain hop to Yaletown-Roundhouse,
where I boarded one of the busy little ferryboats for Granville Island.
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| ABOVE: Post-lunch stroll though Robson Square and adjacent streets | BELOW: Ferryboat ride from Yaletown to Granville Island | ||||
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I had a fairly swift look around the extraordinarily busy Granville Island and then boarded another small ferry for the Olympic Village dock, close to the distinctive shape of Science World, from where I was able to catch an Expo-Millennium Line train back into town and change onto the Canada Line to get back to base.
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I used my second free-drink voucher to get a
refreshing cold beer immediately on arrival back at the Radisson,
then it was off to my room for a well earned rest - well, I thought
I deserved it! 
Later, I had a light dinner of white bean soup and a small,
flatbread pizza in the hotel restaurant.