Tales from my trip out west: Part 1 of...a lot.
The Vancouver Experience
After having been told what a beautiful city Vancouver is, I experienced it myself first hand in the last two days of my trip out west. Majestic mountains and shimmering waters set the nature-istic feel. Well-dressed people (although not as well dressed as Montrealers but much better dressed than the Kamloopians - that's inhabitants of Kamloops for those of you not in the know) dotted the streets and a good variety of retail shops and tempting eateries lined the avenues downtown. Bubble tea and sushi places were plentiful in Richmond.
We got into Vancouver late Friday afternoon, and decided to head straight downtown to make the most of the rest of the day. I was sitting shotgun, and consulting our only street map of Vancouver and trying to give directions to John, who upon entering the city, decided to unleash his Quebec-style driving onto the unsuspecting natives. So there we were, cruising along East Hastings street at full speed, discussing the local geography and completely unaware that we were only in one of the most ghetto areas of Vancouver. "Isn't Vancouver on an island?" Alex asked from the backseat.
"No it isn't," I said, starting to unfold the partially folded map in my lap.
"I think it is, Ange," Alex insisted.
"No it's -" I started, but I never got my chance to point it out on the map. FWAP! The words had not even left my mouth as the map ripped violently out of my hands and sailed out the car window, which had been completely rolled down - partly because John's car doesn't have air conditioning, and partly because the best way to drive through an unfamiliar ghetto neighbourhood is with the music blaring and audible for a 3 block radius.
I involuntarily clapped my hand over my mouth and turned around quickly to look out the back. In a weird mixture of horror and fascination, Alex and I watched as our map, our only map of Vancouver tore through the air as if possessed before abruptly diving to the ground, kamikaze style. And before I could even entertain the thought of asking John to stop the car so I could go retrieve it, it was promptly run over by an SUV.
"Wow, Ange" said John, after he and Alex regained their composure several minutes following a fit of laughter, "You really didn't need to throw the map out the window."
Somehow, we made our way down towards the shore where we parked the car and took the ferry to Granville Island. It's a bit touristy but the hustle and bustle of the public produce market gives the place a down-to-earth, rustic feel. There were also a lot of interesting little stands where local artists were touting their work, but we were rather hungry after having arrived on the island so we decided to scout the market for some snacking food before doing some serious perusing. Half an hour later we planted ourselved by the marina and between the three of us, devoured an entire baguette and a gigantic slice of brie. After our hunger was satisfied, we were ready to go and resume our tour of the island and we made our way back
to the shops.
Alex was the first one to reach the stores. He tried to open it but it was locked. "That's weird," he said and we headed over to the next one. Locked again. And the door on the next building over was locked as well - it looked like all the stores were closing for the day. I looked at my watch and checked the time - 5 minutes past 6. We had only been there for an hour. So, essentially we had taken the ferry to Granville Island over so we could eat bread and cheese.
