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Saturday 2 September 2017

Wednesday August 30 – Vancouver to Brisbane

We breakfasted early, packed bags, checked out and left bags in storage at the hotel for the day. Anna was waiting for us in the lobby (Eko stayed in his room to rest and get better). We caught a hop-on hop-off bus, getting off at Stanley Park for a walk. Saw the ‘girl in wetsuit’ statue, and the totem poles.









We got back on the bus for a bit more of a look in Stanley Park then off again to get the ferry across to Granville Island. Here we walked around, seeing areas we hadn’t seen when here last. We had lunch, then watched an escapologist while eating a cake each. We also watched a Peruvian musician play beautiful music – and bought a CD each (Anna and Lesley).

engineering flowchart

beautiful fruit
 Back on the bus we completed the circuit, getting off where we started.

library, architecture inspired by the Colossium



trolley busses
We walked down to Anna and Eko’s hotel, and Eko came down. We sat in the foyer talking for about an hour. Eko is still not well, but getting better. He flies home tomorrow so he has to be OK for that. Eko went upstairs and the rest of us walked back towards our hotel. Anna left us to go window shopping in a big shopping centre, and we went back to our hotel to collect our bags, and get a taxi to the airport. We had a friendly and chatty driver, from Philippines originally.
After checking in, getting boarding passes and clearing security, we went up to the Air Canada lounge where we sat for a few hours before boarding at 11pm.

'Frozen' plane just under window of Air Canada lounge
sunset over airport



Tuesday August 29 – Vancouver

We went out around 9.30am after an unusual (for us) sleep in! We walked down to Canada Place to catch the shuttle up to Grouse Mountain. The tickets included the Sky Tram up the mountain then a chair lift to the top. In the winter this is a ski resort – lots of slopes and ski lifts in different directions.






On the way up in the chair lift we saw a mother black bear and her two cubs. This is our FIRST wild bear sighting since being away!! Apparently the bears have only been in the area for the last few days, and some of the staff haven’t seen them yet.




We watched another lumberjack show with an almost exact script as the one we saw in Ketchikan in Alaska. There was one difference though – a ‘plant’ in the audience who was to time an activity by a lumberjack, and who later ended up one of the poles, still dressed as a tourist. He sat on top of pole, juggled, did head stand, threw down his pole-climbing spurs, and his harness, and then he  pretended  to fall off the pole, but instead zip-lined down the guy rope. He was wearing a straw hat – a BUNNINGS straw hat! We didn’t ask him how he got it, but a guy at the top of the chairlift was Aussie, living in Caringbah, and another couple we met there came from Burraneer Bay! The Shire rules!









We saw a bird of prey show, and the turkey eagle went AWOL, not returning. We suppose they caught him in the end.



On our return from the mountain we found the ice cream shop we’d looked for previously, and had one each Yum. Then we went to the Art Gallery – had to pay to go in. Saw a Claude Monet exhibition, then went through the rest of the gallery. Not much appealed to us, being very modern. Saw some of the work of Emily Carr, a Canadian artist in the early 1900s. She painted Canadian forests.










On the way back to the hotel we went into a church, recommended for its lovely glass windows. It was made of wood, and was lovely and restful.

this was made up of panels of fabric - there are three such arrangements, changing for Easter, Christmas, and this normal one 

We got some Chinese takeaway (it came with disposable chopsticks and a Chinese spoon). Just as well we’d kept the plastic forks and spoons from yesterdays one!

Monday August 28 – Fairbanks to Seattle to Vancouver

We had a VERY early start, to be bussed to the airport at 3.30am. We boarded the Air Alaska plane to take off at 6.30am. It was an uneventful flight, landing at Seattle at 10m. Clocks had to be put forward one hour.





We made our way from one end of the large terminals, to get diagonally to the other end to get our connecting Air Canada flight to Vancouver. We had to go to the desk at the gate to get our boarding pass, and sat nearby to wait. The flight before ours was late, so we were given the chance to get on that flight. We did, sitting at the very front of the plane.
Mt Robson - highest mountain in Rockies


Vancouver


floating timber yard
We got a taxi to the hotel, after spending some time going through security, customs and immigration. Then we went out for a walk down to the port to watch Disney Wonder sail (imagine – a ship with a Disney theme!). The ship had two horns – the normal one they need for sailing, but there was also another one, which they ‘played’ before the ship left the dock: it was the first phrase of the Disney song!!! I don’t know who else got it, but Lesley got it immediately. So clever!! Another ship followed it.




We got some take-away and ate it in the room. Anna and Eko emailed – Eko is ill so they aren’t meeting us tomorrow. Will see a doctor instead. Poor guy.