03 August - Wednesday - Vancouver

G'day All,

Opened the curtains this morning to a typical Vancouver day, raining... to be expected really as they do receive about 1,200 mm a year at the airport and around 2,400 mm in /north Vancouver about 20 km from the airport.

View from the 17th floor of the Rosedale on Robson this morning (rainy day ahead)

After breakfast we walked a few blocks to get to Canada Place to catch the Hop On op Off (HOHO) bus. As we left the hotel we met a couple of ladies heading the same direction, also to catch the HOHO, turned out they were from Brisbane (Caboolture and Burpengary). The HOHO voucher was exchanged OK, this was he one we purchased in Australia to be used on our first stay in Vancouver (before we went to Victoria) but were assured we could use today (guess sometimes you can trust the sales people) :-).

We are beginning to think that all bus drivers in Canada complete the Mad Max school of driving to get their licence as the rides we've had have been quite the adventure. We did the full green circuit which leaves from Canada Place at the port and goes through Stanley Island. From there we hopped off at the False Creek Ferry and took the huge ferry (photo below) across to Granville Island to browse the markets, shops and galleries.

The ferry that holds about 12 people.

Some of the fresh produce at the Granville markets.

From there we picked up the red circuit with another HOHO bus and driver who obviously used the same driver program. In all the green and red circuits cover 33 stops around Vancouver city.

The second HOHO trolley bus we took.

Museum of Vancouver

Crab sculpture at the Museum of Vancouver

Unusual car art.

Victorian style clock (actually circa 1970's) blows stream whistles on the hour.

Gassy Jack - founder of Gastown

International Village sculpture.

Prospect Point lookout to North Vancouver

Street Lamps and flowers

We stayed on until we made it back to Canada Place and decided to walk back to Gastown as it looked interesting and also had some nice shops for last minute gifts. It also appeared to had some darker areas with a lot more homeless and a line up at the methadone clinic. The homeless / beggars are everywhere in the city and nearly always approach with the line "I don't want any money but if you can spare some..." They can be seen sleeping on the streets from 1:30 pm, this guy was had an unusual approach, crouching down and hiding his head under the cardboard...

Not quite sure of this guys strategy, but it wasn't working for him, the cup was empty.

Not the brightest photo to end our holiday in Canada, so below is one of the more memorable photos from the trip, a family catch up. All packed and heading to the airport and we are both feeling that it's about time to come home, unless of course there has been a lotto win we don't know about . . .

The Canadian family selfie - Gary, Samantha, Penny and Oliver

Brisvegas, we are heading home...

P.S. For those interested in how many photos I took for the trip, lets just say it was more than 12,000 and I am going to be very busy sorting them out to compile our vacation book :-)

Cheers

Gary and Penny

30 June 16 - Thursday - Brisbane Overnight

G'day Everyone,
These last couple of weeks seemed to fly past with a lot happening on the home front prior to our departure :-( We seem to have been pretty organised for this trip and only cut it fine with last minute deliveries of Canadian cash this morning and our free Global Sim card delivered by snail mail an hour before we left home to get to the hotel. We are taking a few items (an entire suitcase) over to Samantha and Oliver as well as some Aussie gifts for friends but all in all managed to pack a suitcase each for the trip. Was difficult to judge what we would need due to it being a Canadian summer but with a chilly trip to Alaska thrown in.

To avoid possible Friday traffic during the school holidays we decided it would be a nice idea to book into the Novotel Brisbane Airport the night before we fly out as we had a free night's accommodation to use. Emily dropped us off and we had one last meal together before we headed back the hotel and Em headed home.

So tonight will be time for last minute checks, not that there's too much we can do if we've left something at home :-). Although I get the feeling the locks won't be coming off until we get to Canada. Novatel run a shuttle to the airport every 30 mins from 5 am to 9 am so we've booked a ride to the airport in the morning @ $5 a head, much better than a taxi ride or long term parking, hoping it will mean a more relaxed check in. All going well we will lift off from Brisbane @ 10:40 am direct to Vancouver (13.5 hr flight) with 1 hr 45 mins to get through customs and catch the connecting flight to Toronto which will more than likely be the next opportunity for a blog update.

Just knocked back a couple of complimentary drinks at the Novatel and now chilling watching TV until sleepy time.


Until tomorrow...
Cheers
Gary and Penny

Preparing for Canada

It is early days yet as we don't officially depart Australia until the 01 July 2016, but time stops still for nobody and it won't be long before it's upon us.

The tickets are booked and the itinerary is starting to take shape. We'll be flying with Air Canada as they now fly direct and non-stop from Brisbane, Australia to Vancouver, Canada taking about 13.5 hours. Not a bad run really, well for me at least, as Penny is not that fussed on flying :-)

Once we hit Vancouver we'll have an hour or so before catching a connecting flight to Toronto before settling down there for a couple of days. From there it's off to Niagara Falls to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary for a few days before flying to Calgary to meet up with our eldest Samantha and her better half Oliver.

A couple of weeks in Calgary to meet some new friends and take in the Calgary Stampede, Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper before we head out on the next leg of the journey.

From Jasper its time to relax on the Rocky Mountaineer through Quesnel and on to Whistler and Vancouver. From here we hook up with Holland America cruises to head north to Alaska. Seven fun filled days of cruising on the ms Nieuw Amsterdam up the inside passage to Tracy Arm Inlet and back via Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan before returning to Vancouver.

From Vancouver its off to Victoria for a couple of days before returning once again to Vancouver to spend the last couple of days in the city before finishing up the vacation. It's a midnight flight from Vancouver back to Brisbane, losing a day to the international date line and ending 5 weeks of fun and frivolity.

The aim will be to update this blog frequently throughout the trip to keep you up to date on the activities, fun times and I guess all those events that will make the trip one to remember.

So for now, it's time to sign off, finalise the itinerary and secure those bookings, until we get a little closer to the departure date.

P.S. All the bookings mostly done and the tickets, itinerary and paperwork picked up, a big thanks to Samantha at Booval Flight Centre for her insight, enthusiasm and great communication in assisting us with the planning for the trip. :-)

Cheers
Gary and Penny