 08:40:04 These are my feet. Isn't it weird how striped my feet have become from being in the sun in sandals?  08:40:14 Heading out for breakfast we pass by the Vancouver Public Library where they are set up to film a movie or television show. This is a common sight in Vancouver, of course. The city is known as Hollywood North, in fact. I did a quick scan of the support trucks and dressing rooms to see if it felt like something where a major star might be involved, but it's just a small scale production. I forgot to check the cameras they were using, but I would guess it's for some minor television show of some kind.  08:51:44 And speaking of television and movie production... in the heart of downtown Vancouver is a nice little oasis of tranquillity called Robson Square. Check out the series of waterfalls that pass over the buildings in the square. (Not just the big one in the foreground, but the two other ones in the distance as well.) If I worked in downtown Vancouver I think I would come here to sit and eat my lunch. (Or I would WANT to do that until I ended up never leaving the office during the whole day... and even if I did I would discover that everyone else eats their lunch here too, so it's not as tranquil over the lunch hour.) Anyway, the reason this has to do with television and movie production is that the movie Shoot To Kill (Sidney Poitier, Tom Berrenger, Kirstie Alley before she got fat) had a very prominent scene filmed here. Sidney Poitier was chasing a kidnapper/murderer and he was crouched right up against the wall on the stairs just at the right of this photo. I remember the scene vividly because I not only knew the location, but it was also one of those movies that was filmed in Vancouver and the movie itself was actually SET in Vancouver. In other words they didn't try to dress up the streets and parks of Vancouver to look like somewhere else, as is often the case.  To illustrate my point about how they dress things up in movies to look like completely different places.... Here's a photo that I stole from www.hollywoodnorthreport.com that PERFECTLY shows what I am talking about. This photo is of a set from the filming of The Fantastic Four in Vancouver. It shows downtown Vancouver posing as New York City... East 58 Street and Madison Avenue, to be exact. Notice that the stairs down to the subway don't exist.  Vancouver is actually a great place to film stuff because right in downtown there is a wide variety of different locations from back-alleys to modern city skyscrapers to quaint little quiet streets to forest and ocean. Check out the larger version of this map to see just a few of the movies that were filmed in Vancouver. (For X-Files just put that all over the map because they filmed that show all over Vancouver.) This map is FAR from comprehensive, because there just has been too much stuff filmed here. But notice that Little Women, a film set in the 1800s New England, was filmed partly on location in Robson Square in downtown Vancouver. There are some nice tree areas there in the square and in a movie as long as the camera doesn't see the skyscraper in the background then no one will ever be the wiser, right?  08:52:44 Here's a view from the middle of Robson Square toward the former Eaton's Centre (now Sears), the Toronto Dominion building and the Vancouver Art Gallery at the bottom left.  08:52:54 A view of that cruise ship funnel shaped building as seen from the upper waterfalls of Robson Square.  08:54:34 A view of the roof of the Hotel Vancouver as seen from Robson Square.  09:34:25 So, I spared you the walk all the way down Robson Street to the opposite end of downtown where we now stop for breakfast at De Dutch Pannekoek Huis. Once again I forget to focus the camera on the foreground for this picture.  09:34:45 And yet again I forget to properly focus the camera so as to have the things in the foreground in focus. Dammit! But anyway, that's my breakfast... a pannekoek with aardbei, banaan and slagroom.  10:13:49 After a hearty breakfast we rent some bicycles and head out for a ride around Stanley Park. Our first stop is the Lost Lagoon. If you consult the Vancouver Movie Map you will see that the X-Files was filmed here.  10:17:07 Perhaps a map orientation is called for? Here's a map of Stanley Park on which I've marked our projected cycling route around the entire circumference with a purple line. For bikes the paths are one-way, so we have to go around in a counter-clockwise direction.  10:17:07 A view across the marina in Coal Harbour toward downtown Vancouver.  10:20:14  10:24:07 The totem poles! (A famous attraction of Stanley Park...)  10:24:57 No visit to Stanley Park is complete without visiting the Peter Guernsey Memorial Fountain. (If you have no idea what this is about... please see earlier Canada trips... or remember that this is the fountain for Neil's uncle, who is not dead, but who never had a place to get a drink when he jogged through Stanley Park so his wife got him this fountain for his 50th birthday.)  10:26:40 A view across Coal Harbour to the Canada Place cruise ship terminal.  10:28:46 This is the so-called "Nine O'clock Gun" at Brockton Point. Every day at 21h00 this cannon fires off with a gigantic bang that rattles the waterfront windows facing it on Coal Harbour and can be heard throughout downtown Vancouver (if you listen for it). The cannon was brought here to be used as signal to local fisherman to cease fishing at 6 PM on Sundays (prior to the cannon's arrival the method of signalling was to have the nearby lighthouse keeper set off a stick of dynamite). This use later became unnecessary and the firing time was changed to 9 PM as a time signal for the residents of Vancouver.  10:29:11 A view from behind the Nine O'clock Gun toward Canada Place.  10:33:16 Coal Harbour is a busy "airport" for seaplanes. You can see them taking off and landing constantly throughout the day. And might I also mention, once again.... How great is the weather AGAIN today?  10:33:36 There are some cruise ships docked at Canada Place today, as you can see.  10:34:21 A nice view across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver. And.... correct me if I am wrong, but did these posts used to have poles running THROUGH them that were subsequently replaced by the bars we see here... and then they plastered in the holes where the previous poles went?!??? What a waste of work is that?!?? And what's the point?  10:34:31  10:37:51 Burrard Inlet is also home to the SeaBus, both of which we see here in this well-timed photo (we rode on them yesterday, remember?). The SeaBus is one of three main ways by which people get back and forth between downtown Vancouver and North Vancouver. There are two SeaBusses (the Burrard Otter and the Burrard Beaver) which go back and forth during the day, passing each other in mid-stream (as it were) just like this every fifteen minutes. In the distance behind the SeaBusses is the Second Narrows Bridge which is another of the three main ways that people get from Vancouver to North Vancouver. Also visible in this photo is Simon Fraser University... or should I say that the big hill upon which Simon Fraser University is located is visible in this photo. The big hill at the right half of the picture is home to one of Vancouver's two main universities. We'll see more on Simon Fraser University later in this trip.  10:44:28 This is the Brockton Point Lighthouse, formerly home to the dude who set off the dynamite sticks before they installed the Nine O'clock Gun.  10:45:03 A view from the lighthouse toward the Lion's Gate Bridge, which is the third of the three ways by which people get from Vancouver to North Vancouver.  10:46:44 I love this Celtic cross right in the trees of Stanley Park. It's some kind of memorial to some victims of some ship that sank... or something. But I like it because it reminds me of Ireland. The plaque reads: In memory of eight persons who lost their lives on the Chehalis sunk by the Princess Victoria on July 21, 1906 at 2PM opposite this spot.  10:48:09 Here we see a statue called Girl In A Wetsuit, which is Vancouver's answer to Copenhagen's Little Mermaid. In the background of this photo we see the Brockton Point Lighthouse where we just were, as well as the Second Narrows Bridge and Simon Fraser University.  10:52:50 This is a replica of the figurehead of a ship named the Empress of Japan that used to run the trade routes across the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver to the Far East.  10:57:18 The Lion's Gate Bridge draws nearer....  11:07:42 And now the Lion's Gate Bridge falls behind us. I wanted to take a picture from underneath but there was all this construction so you couldn't really see anything anyway.  11:08:33 A view across the Burrard Inlet and West Vancouver toward the so-called Sunshine Coast.  11:12:01 Up ahead in the distance Siwash Rock comes into view.  11:13:16 A couple years ago I cut-and-pasted the whole story of Siwash Rock into a Travelogue. It's pretty long, so I won't repeat that here. Let's just enjoy it as an interesting rock formation and not worry about whatever legends might surround it that aren't true anyway.  11:16:33 Something I DEFINITELY mention every time I see scenes like this is that this is how a beach in a city should look. Not full of cafés, tents, naked kids, too bloody many people, etc. Take a lesson Europe.  11:20:35 We decide to stop for a break at the so-called Third Beach.  11:20:35 Why don't I use the previous photo to show our progress around the park thus far? (Marked with a purple line...)  11:21:55 This will probably be the last time that we visit the beach on this trip.  11:27:37 A view back along the so-called Sea Wall on which we've been riding around Stanley Park. As you can see, many people (tourists and locals alike) enjoy these pathways around and through the park.  11:32:24 Oh! There's a seaplane overhead that just took off from Coal Harbour on the opposite side of the park.  11:40:39 After a short stop we continue on once again. (Notice the big boat at the right of the photo, which apparently belongs to some Russian Billionaire who gets helicopter'ed in and out of the city from there.)  11:43:18 This whole stone-man thing is getting out of control. There are all these stone "figures" constructed all over the rocks.  11:44:16 Barely visible in the distance across the water is the Burrard Street Bridge and Kitsilano and the Planetarium at the right side.  11:56:11 This is an "official" stone-man thing... albeit out of place as there are no Eskimos around here and really never were.  11:57:00 Right next to the official stone-man there are more of those informally constructed stone figures.  11:57:16 More stone figures, with the Burrard Bridge and Planetarium in the background.  11:58:42 Once again... this is a beach. Take note Europeans. A beach is a place to enjoy nature. It is not a place to sardine yourself in-between 2000 other people with your tent that you rented from the local vendors after you had a coffee at the nearA beach is a place to enjoy nature. It is not a place to sardine yourself in-between 2000 other people with your tent that you rented from the local vendors after you had a coffee at the nearby café constructed on the beach. And most important.... not everyone in the entire city has to visit the beach at one time. Notice the buffer space between each beach-goer in this photo. Yes, I know that Europe (specifically Holland) has less space than Canada. But this is right in the middle of the city, and I assure you that Vancouver not only has a significantly higher population than (for example) Scheveningen, but it also draws significantly more visitors each year than Scheveningen does. Stupid European beaches. It's not even going to the beach as far as I am concerned. Why not go lie around on a parking lot with 5000 other people? European beaches are like recreational concentration camps.  12:22:05 So, I'll spare you the ride across downtown and the fun of returning our rental bikes and skip right ahead to the Robson Public Market where I feel compelled to take a photo of these gigantic peaches! No one does peaches like the Okanogan, do they? The Oka-what? (asks everyone who isn't from Canada)  12:26:01 After a long bicycle ride I think that I deserve a litre and a half of slush... don't you think? The more important question is why didn't I buy a litre of Oreo Cookie Ice Cream that was RIGHT THERE in the freezer in the background.  12:27:22 And so we continue up Robson Street back toward our hotel. (And notice the weather, once again... sorry to keep harping on it, but I just can't believe it.) This tower ahead of us is the Landmark hotel, which is one of my favourite hotels when I visit Vancouver. If the YWCA wasn't so great and affordable and well-located, I would probably be staying there on this trip, in fact.  13:16:05 Which brings us to the intersection of Robson and Thurlow streets... probably the only place in the world at one point in time to have had Starbucks outlets on THREE of the four corners. Fortunately for the universe, in an unprecedented move the Starbucks corporation actually REDUCED the number of Starbucks in the world and closed one of them. That said, however, there are still two of them right here within 10 metres of each other.  13:26:04 We're covering a lot of ground today, aren't we? Here we are back at Robson Square with a different view of those waterfalls. (For those who don't know... Robson Street is really long and we've basically now walked from one extreme end of it to the other, plus cycled around Stanley Park, in the course of a few hours.)  13:47:04 All this walking calls for a bit of a snack... This is the Kiwi Pie Company and if I may be so bold as to make sweeping generalisations I would like to say that these people make the BEST meat pies I have EVER had in my entire life.  15:03:36 Wow... they really are busy filming stuff in Vancouver this week. Here is yet another film crew setting up. This café had to be closed the entire day for them to film here. You can't see it in this photo but right next to the tables on the patio of this café is a big lighted sign for the hotel next door, the Hampton Inn and Suites. They removed the Hampton Inn sign and put in "Jughead's Coffee" instead in yet another altering of reality that is so common in film-making.  15:13:29 Look at this great weather we're having again! It seems like a perfect afternoon for a swim, don't you think? (By the way... we're in a taxi now heading back to Stanley Park to go swimming, so we're covering a lot of ground quickly.) Check out this guy's penthouse apartment... they've got a TREE!  15:20:08 Which brings us to the swimming pool at Stanley Park's so-called Second Beach. How short is this kid?!?? The bird is half its size!  15:20:14 The view from poolside toward Kitsilano.  16:11:57 Actually, that last photo wasn't very effective because you didn't get a sense that you were at the pool. How about this one instead?  16:13:35 A view toward the North Shore....  16:14:16 A view towards UBC (the University of British Columbia)...  16:17:08 Isn't this a great place to come and swim laps?  16:17:39 What the hell?!?? I JUST TOOK THIS PICTURE!!!!! (Actually, this one is better than the other one that was exactly the same...)  16:19:23 And as always, what would a day be without an awful picture of me?  How about TWO awful pictures of me in a single day? Fortunately you can't really see much of me in this picture, can you?  I was trying to get fancy and get a half under water, half above water photo but failed and just got a picture of some dude's ass as he swims laps.  Again trying to be fancy and failing miserably....  See here's the view from the pool... what do you think? Isn't this the best located pool ever?  16:29:24 After swimming it's time to relax a bit beside the pool before we have to head out to meet Neil and Landon for dinner.  16:43:35 Neil should be home some time soon, so we leave the pool behind us and head off at a leisurely pace toward his house.  17:06:04 Hmmmm.... we're actually a bit early now. It didn't take that long to walk up to Neil's neighbourhood (Vancouver's West End) and we stop for a coffee at Denman and Nelson streets.  17:52:19 And so we meet up with Neil at his apartment who serves us some lovely snacks including stuffed Jalapeños and a fantastic pear salsa.  17:50:59 Yay! This is one of the rare times on this trip I actually remember to focus my camera properly. This is my attempt to be artistic and show that Neil is an avid grower of stuff and has some peppers growing on his balcony. Actually, those little baby green peppers look yummy! I think I'll have one of those.  17:55:24 OH MY GOD!!!!! ! !! ! ! !!! ! ! !! THOSE WEREN'T GREEN PEPPERS!!!!!!! Much to my misfortune the pepper I just ate was not a nice juicy sweet baby green pepper, as I'd thought. It was, in fact, the world's hottest pepper... the dreaded Habanero Pepper. Here's some information from the Internet regarding Habanero Peppers: Habanero means "from Havana" and is an extremely hot pepper believed to originally have been taken to the Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba. About 1,500 tons of habaneros are harvested each year in the Yucatan. They are also grown to a lesser extent in Belize, Costa Rica, Texas and California. (www.thescarms.com) Habaneros can have heat scores that range anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville heat units or more (a typical Jalapeno pepper is about 4,500 Scoville units). Use caution when handling these chiles. Habaneros are so hot that they can instantly irritate the skin on the hands and it can be excruciating if they come in contact with the eyes. Wear thin disposable surgical gloves while working with hot chiles, and don’t touch your face until gloves are removed. Use fresh habaneros sparingly in salsas and hot sauces. (www.truestarhealth.com)  18:04:48 So my ability to taste things and be happy is pretty much ruined for the rest of the evening.... I am not a spicy food person at all, but I am sucking back these stuffed Chilli Peppers like there's no tomorrow just because they have cheese in them, and frankly, a Jalapeño can't hurt me at this point. Luckily Neil's snacks include a lot of fatty dairy products that I consume with gusto so as to alleviate the burning swelling sensation in my face, mouth and lungs.  18:10:44 Hey! Landon's here! Now we can go to dinner!  Dinner this evening will be at the Fish House in Stanley Park, a respected and well-known restaurant around Vancouver. Perhaps a bit too sophisticated for me and my sandals, but then again, as Landon says, this is Vancouver. I have no idea what this particular dish is, but it definitely looks appetising.  Hmmmm. Whatever Neil is having looks pretty good too. And if you look across the table from him (top right) you can see my Clam Chowder, which has arrived.  In addition to my starter of Clam Chowder I then had some Flaming Prawns (which, of course, you see being flamed here). I have no rants regarding flaming prawns, although if you really think about it it's a bit more showmanship than superior cooking to actually flame them right in front of you.  I have to say something about these fancy restaurants and their Clam Chowder though... now, I don't want to be a barbarian or uncouth, but would it kill them to take the bloody shells out?!?? There's nothing fancy about leaving the shells in the soup. That's not sophisticated. It's just annoying. Do an internet search for Clam Chowder recipes. You know what the first step is for every single one of them?!? Step 1: Remove clams from shells It seems to me that if the BC Ferries (who, by the way, also have outstanding Clam Chowder) can take the shells out then how about when I pay five times as much for a smaller bowl of chowder do you think you could maybe take the shells out before you give it to me? I don't know... maybe I am just an un-cultured yokel and there actually is a good reason for leaving them on... but whatever that reason might be it certainly won't be affected if, at the last second before they bring the bowl to you, they take a spoon and fish the shells out because really, that's what I am going to be doing about thirty seconds after the put it in front of me. Maybe they think it stresses the fact that they've used fresh clams or something? But hey... I believe you. If I didn't I wouldn't be paying $10 for 200ml of soup. Just remember the difference between sophistication and pretension. And don't get caught up in self-important bullshit. Don't think something is good just because elitist fashion or so-called etiquette says it is. Make your own decisions about whether something has worth or not. But other than that the Clam Chowder was quite good.  Please, have some oysters! (says Neil graciously... check out the hand gesture) Now, one thing I have to say about the oysters here (and by extension of that the entire West Coast of Canada) is that they were absolutely mind bogglingly amazingly incredibly first class. I have had oysters in some of the finer restaurants in Paris. I've had them off the street from fish market stalls. I've had them at cosy little seaside restaurants. But all of my oyster eating experience began once I moved to Europe and as such this was my first experience with North American oysters and I have to say that they were really completely outstanding. The Fish House has a daily selection of catches from different locations in the region, each of which has their own characteristics. We tried out two different locales in our oyster sampling for the night and of the two the second was very good, but the first ones that we tried were absolutely extraordinary. But one aspect of oysters that I miss out on is the consumption of wine to complement their taste. Ernest Hemingway wrote: "As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank from their liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans..." (As Seth observed in the movie City of Angels, Hemingway always has a way of explaining how things taste and making them sound mouth-wateringly good. He even made Gazpacho sound good. But you know what? It's not.) White wine and oysters go hand in hand, it seems, but since I don't like the taste of alcohol in even the most remote sense I am left as an outsider in this particular facet of oyster appreciation. And I sense that this particular wine-to-food connection has some real basis to it, unlike many of the "rules" regarding what wine should be served with what foods. You know what wine goes with fish? Whatever one YOU think tastes good with fish, not whatever wine some elitist wine snob says goes with it. And if you like your red wine chilled, then drink it chilled. We all know that it's uncouth to put ice cubes in wine, but the reason we don't do it has nothing to do with sophistication. It's the same reason that we don't put ice cubes in milk. It just doesn't really work. Don't let some wine-Nazis dictate to you what is the right way to drink wine and what is barbaric. It's a beverage. Drink it however you like to drink it. Not that there were any elitist snobs around the Fish House, of course. Or none that I was aware of anyway. It's not some French café on the Champs Elysées with contemptuous waiters. The service was outstanding, as was the food. But had any arrogance reared its ugly head we always had a deadly riposte up our sleeve. Never in my oyster eating experience have I EVER seen them served with any kind of sauces. Is that ketchup and mayonnaise on the side?!?? Now who's the elitist? If people like their oysters with ketchup then don't look down your nose at them, right? Nah. Screw that. That's just barbaric. The TGIFriday's is just down the street Cletus.  21:38:20 After dinner we take a leisurely stroll along the English Bay and back down Denman Street to Neil's house. Along the way we come across the Doggy Style Deli... a new way to feed your dog!  21:38:34 This is a crappy picture, but it's the only way to show what the Doggy Style Deli is all about without writing a thousand words about it that no one will read anyway. Pretty cute huh?  Which brings us to the end of yet another exciting day and another exciting satellite orientation map. Our walking and cycling route is marked in yellow and I took the liberty of marking the locations of a few of today's highlights. (Notice how clearly you can see the swimming pool from space.) Until tomorrow then. Good night. Today's Travel Information De Dutch Pannekoek Huis www.dedutch.com 1725 Robson Street Vancouver, BC V6G 1C9 (604) 687-7065 The Kiwi Pie Company www.thekiwipiecompany.com #2/3337 Kingsway Vancouver, BC V5R 5K6 (604) 454-1914 The Fish House In Stanley Park www.fishhousestanleypark.com 8901 Stanley Park Drive Vancouver, BC (604) 681-7275 / 1-877-681-7275 The Doggy Style Deli www.doggystyledeli.com 985 Denman Street Vancouver, BC V6G 2M3 (604) 488-0388 
|