Tag: #WesternCanada

Downtown Vancouver: Gastown (part 7)

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Wednesday 30th September)

A short walk from Downtown Vancouver, there is a place that really makes you feel you are in a different era, it is called ‘Gastown’, I really liked this place, it was tremendously cosmopolitan, it has so much character and independence about it and as you walk around, you can feel the historic charm and spirit.

The types of shops in and around this area are like nothing I have seen before, some shops are totally unique in the way they are presented and the things they sell.  Some shops are too expensive to even look at like ‘Versace Home’!  Impeccable boutiques are dotted around, one-of-a-kind galleries and an evident and thriving fashion scene.  The Victorian architecture I really admired, lots of colours and designs to take in.

One place that attracted the most amount of people while I was in a particular area was the ‘The Gastown Steam Clock’, the world`s first ever steam powered clock, amazing to see it work on the hour, if you have time, read what its about (there are videos you can see of this working and there is a link of the refit below earlier this year).

http://www.gastown.org/

http://www.seegastown.com/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gastown-steam-clock-more-accurate-after-refit-says-creator-1.2919411




  

Vancouver: Granville Island (part 5)

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Wednesday 30th September)

After my refreshing Seawall bike ride, I was energised to take on the next part of the day.  I had read that a very nice place to visit if time allowed was a shopping district called ‘Granville Island’.  This was about a 30 minute bus ride from Downtown Vancouver and is located near the Granville Street bridge.

The Public Market is known as the jewel in the island’s crown.  It is an absolutely fantastic place to visit, away from the hustle and bustle of Downtown Vancouver, the buzz here is quite different, much more welcoming, a little more laid back and some of the people were the nicest people I have met. The variety and the assortment of different foods that you can choose from is mind-blowing in this place, even when you have eaten, you will salivate when you walk past the next place…it is actually that good, I hope that the photos below do justice to what I am saying here (be prepared if you have a sweet tooth like me).

Again, the weather was just amazing, so blissful, it was just like being in some Mediterranean country, which just made the whole experience even richer and more enjoyable.  The feel to this place was something quite special, so much so that when I close my eyes, I can actually feel the sun shining down on me, smell the aromatic fragrances from global foods everywhere I went and sense all the pleasure I did when I was physically there.

The variety of breads reminds me that I can never participate in a low carb diet, never mind a carb free diet!  The selection of fruit was great, I particularly liked the unusually shaped grapes.  I wonder if anyone can guess what the man is whisking in the bowl?  The cakes were very inviting, ample variety of vinaigrette’s, I had never seen so many in one place, the assortment of honey looked very sticky and tasty, the Granville Island Tea Company reminded me of the UK and the Eccles Cakes were an interesting take on the ones I had when I was younger.

The final photo is of a man who was so full of energy that he basically oozed positive energy,  he displayed so many skills by playing a selection of instruments while he performed.  I captured one video before I was on my way, I thought he and his assistant did a very good job of it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://granvilleisland.com/

 

http://granvilleisland.com/discover-island/visitors-guide

 

 


  






  
  
  

   

Downtown Vancouver, Seawall (part 4)

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Wednesday 30th September)

If you visit Vancouver, a really smart way of seeing a lot of sights in a short amount of time is to hire a bike and cycle around the Seawall.  It’s basically a stone wall that was constructed around the perimeter of the famous Stanley Park to prevent the erosion of the park’s foreshore.  It’s about 9km in length around Stanley Park and I believe is part of a much longer (28km) path, apparently, the worlds longest uninterrupted waterfront path.  The path is divided into two: one for joggers and walkers, and the other for cyclists and skaters.   At your own leisure, you can cycle and see some really wonderful parts of this buzzing city.  You can obviously also walk, jog or rollerblade too if you prefer.

I decided to rent a bike that had the electric feature and a really cool ‘boost’ sort of button when you need that extra speed as you buzz around the Seawall.  I was told that there are some places where you can actually rent a bike for free, however, I did not have the time to explore this option.

I managed to bike around the Seawall and see the following things in 59 minutes, I did my trip quickly because there was so much I wanted to see, the extra rates you pay after the hour are very reasonable and won’t break the bank, I would recommend to take a little more time if you have.

After the breakfast I had at Tree Organic, this was a welcome workout, I saw some very expensive boats, lovely accommodation, amazing colourful ‘changing’ trees, seaplanes, very cool horse carriages, hundreds of geese, more local talent, magnificent bridges, the famous Stanley Park, a woman who looked like a mermaid and a bird impersonating her, log formations on a beach, fantastic views of Downtown Vancouver and a laughing tree!  What else might I see during the rest of my day in Downtown Vancouver?

http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/seawall.aspx

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seawall_(Vancouver)


  

          

      

  

  
  

Downtown Vancouver, breakfast (part 3)

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, Uncategorized2 Comments

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Wednesday 30th September)

So far, I have travelled on the Sky Train, the SeaBus, I have been delighted by some local talent, but now, and I know this sounds like I have the Canadian bug of coffee, but I really need some coffee!  I wanted something different, no disrespect but I was a little fed up of Tim Horton’s.

I walked past a few places and then came across ‘Trees Organic Coffee and Roasting House’.  Very nice set up, incredibly happy and polite staff, the coffee was near perfect but the treats I had, well, I had by far the best almond croissant I have ever had, big, crispy, fresh, plenty of filling and just the right balance of sweetness.

Sorry, it did not stop there my friends, as I had just walked into a place that claimed to have the best Cheesecake in Vancouver it would be foolish, maybe even disrespectful not to try some, right?  So I got some cheesecake too…

I had experienced heaven while eating this  because it was truly bliss, I know this sounds far fetched, but if you believe (as I do) that you can actually experience aspects of heaven and hell here on this temporal earth, then you will know exactly what I mean.   I think I did ‘transcend all time and space’…please do make a special visit and come here if you visit Vancouver, if you would like excellent quality coffee, if almond croissants are one of your favourites or if you simply want to enter another existence for a short time while eating the most delectable cheesecake, then this is the place to come…my mouth is watering as I write this so I will stop now!

http://treescoffee.com/


  
  

Downtown Vancouver (part 1)

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Wednesday 30th September)

After my whale watching adventure, my next two days were planned to spend and see as much as possible of Vancouver.  I was so excited to be in Vancouver, I heard so much about this place and was keen to experience a little of why some people believe this to be one of the best places to live, and if that is not possible, to at least visit.  Vancouver officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada.

It was interesting to find out that Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English, in addition to this, Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality.  Another interesting fact was that major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America, earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North.

There were so many brilliant things about Vancouver, and that is why I will be posting 8 parts to my 2 day visit to Vancouver and the surrounding areas.  When I think about it now, I don’t know how I did it, but I covered a lot of ground in the time I had and saw some truly wonderful sights, sounds and tastes.

Below are some photos of the very cool Sky Train which I found very effective and convenient to get around, I strongly recommend this if you want to be cost effective and get from A to B pretty quickly.  I took the SeaBus to North Vancouver, to be honest, I did this simply to come back towards Downtown Vancouver and capture the splendid city form afar and be able to approach it from the water, I thought the skyline was really something to take in early in the morning.   The last bit of this post was this wonderfully talented man who I thought was incredibly innovative with his bagpipes and beat boxing fusion (and later with his steel drum)…I had never seen anything like it before…I suppose its a bit like Marmite, you will either love it or hate it (I am not sure what the North American equivalent would be, maybe peanut butter and jelly?).
http://vancouver.ca/

SKY TRAIN:


SEABUS TO NORTH VANCOUVER AND THEN BACK TO DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER





LOCAL TALENT

Vancouver Island, Downtown Victoria, Rogers’ Chocolates

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Tuesday 29th September)

I suppose any trip you take in life should involve some sort of sweets, particularly I would say chocolate, after all, chocolate comes from cocoa, cocoa comes from a tree, and that technically makes it a salad (well, that’s how I like to rationalise it anyway).

I was so west of Canada, I had travelled so far during this road trip, I wanted to get some chocolates for Nour (I know this is a sweet thing to do, but I don’t think I would hear the end of it if I did not bring home some chocolates).  I was after some good, and if possible, locally made chocolate with a bit of history.  I came across Rogers’ Chocolates, very good, rich and prestigious chocolates from what I believe is the oldest chocolatier in British Colombia, I am pretty sure that I came to the original store too. The way the store was furnished and decorated takes you back in time, it was a very nice experience.

Rogers’ Chocolates are renowned for their excellent chocolate quality and their specialty being chocolate creams which are very nice if you like that sort of thing…not cheap I have to say, but very yummy and very delicious!  Time for another hike I think to work off the calories?

https://www.rogerschocolates.com/

https://www.rogerschocolates.com/our-story


  

Vancouver Island, Downtown Victoria  

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, Uncategorized2 Comments

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Tuesday 29th September)

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada, and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific coast. A truly beautiful place that was in mind boggling bloom, although it was the end of September, the colours were absolutely magnificent and a pleasure to the eyes.

Named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and, at the time, British North America, Victoria is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest.  Two of the most famous landmarks are the Legislative buildings (finished in 1857) and the Empress hotel (opened in 1908). The city’s Chinatown is the second oldest in North America after San Francisco’s, which I unfortunately did not have time to visit.

According to some reviews, Victoria is in the top twenty of world cities for quality-of-life, I can believe this and can see why.  The beautiful and rugged shorelines and beaches make Victoria very popular for boaters.  Victoria is also popular with retirees, who come to enjoy the temperate and usually snow-free climate of the area as well as the usually relaxed pace of the city.  Keep this in mind Nour, I have my eye on this place (wishful thinking you may say, but hope and wishes can definitely be actualised!).

http://www.victoria.ca/

http://www.tourismvictoria.com/


  


  


  


  
  


  
  
  


  
  

Vancouver Island, Victoria – Prince of Whales expedition 

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Tuesday 29th September)

Whale watching wonders is one way of putting this truly incredible experience.  A fantastic trip that I can only be grateful for, grateful that I saw what I saw.  With tours like this, there are no guarantees, after all, it is nature we are talking about here, nature in their own environment, their own back yard if you will.  As a result, several tour companies do offer a certain amount of discount if you do not see any whales during the tour, others offer another tour on the same or another day.

In the photos below, you can see three images where there is a huge group of birds, this was very exciting, as it was usually a good sign that there are whales nearby, we did wait a while but then moved on as the whales had clearly moved on.

Seeing the Killer Whales (Orcas) was breathtaking, there was a large group all moving, incredibly swiftly, in one direction away from Victoria.  You may not be able to appreciate, but they were moving very fast, we exercised caution and respect and kept our distance so that we did not disturb them, there was a risk that we would annoy them and in turn, lose the privilege of seeing such beauties in the water.  The captain told us that these particular whales he recognised and had not seen this group for at least two years, it was indeed a privilege.

We then moved on and passed by some land where there were hundreds of Sea Lions, some of them were massive, they were very noisy, there was lots of fighting going on as they wrestled for their own piece of land, and OMG, it absolutely stank, with respect to the Sea Lions, the smell for me was repugnant, not for me I’m afraid.

The icing on the cake, the gem of the tour, the part of the tour that was utterly memorable was seeing the Humpback whale, a totally amazing highlight that we were blessed with.  We saw one early on, very briefly, but it disappeared, we did wait for it to resurface, but there was no sign so we moved on as we were told that there was some exciting activity happening amongst the Killer Whales.  To come across this again was utterly fantastic.   To capture what I did was so beautiful, so amazing, they are truly, truly magnificent!  After my river and jeep safari in Blue River, I did not think my trip could get any better,  this was just a fortunate, timely blessing.

The boat ride back was really nice as I got to see parts of Victoria from the water.  The Norwegian Sun cruiser was a treat, the water taxi was really cool, a great view of the government buildings too and the fancy boats, well, they were not mine let’s put it that way.  At the end of the trip I felt like a prince of whales!  A staggering morning and early afternoon…exploring downtown Victoria coming up.

http://princeofwhales.com/

http://www.bcwhalewatchingtours.com/


  

  


  


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Ferry from Tsawwassen Bay to Vancouver Island, Victoria…

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Tuesday 29th September)

After arriving in Vancouver, there was a short drive to nearby Richmond where I was due to stay for three nights so that I could explore Vancouver.  I was so excited, I could not believe I was here, somewhere I had always wanted to visit was now unfolding for me.

I planned to visit Victoria (the capital of British Colombia, Canada) on Vancouver Island (the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand).  I was told that this was a good place to do whale watching, advice was given by several people so it would have been foolish to go anywhere else, or not do it at all.  I decided to do this on my first day of three so that I could have time to explore other parts of Vancouver (if I could) with the remainder of the time I had.

The day was going to be totally manic, tight schedule that I had to adhere to, otherwise I would not be able to travel to Victoria, do whale watching and explore downtown Vctoria in the day I had.  I went to bed after 2am planning the day.

I got up at 5am and left my accommodation at 5.30am.  From where I was staying, I had a 15 minute walk to the nearest bus loop (bus station), the bus was due to leave at 6.05am.  I realised after about 6 or 7 minutes that I was walking in the wrong direction, I should have turned right instead of left at the main road, if  I missed this bus, it would ruin my day, I simply would not have enough time!  There was no sign of anyone, until after walking for about 10minutes, there was a gas station (petrol station).  I asked 3 workers inside if they new where the bus loop was and none of them did!  I walked out and one guy was filling up, I asked him, and it just so happened that he was going in that direction and he knew where I had to go, he offered to take me… I got on the bus at 6.04am, it left the station 1 minute later!

I arrived at the ferry port at 6.40am and the ferry from Tsawwasen Bay was due to leave at 7am to get to Victoria just after 8.30am.  Then I got a bus from the ferry bay to downtown Victoria, I arrived just before 9.30am, I then ran and booked a whale watching tour which I thought was going to start at 10am, but this was not available so I did the 11am.  It was due to last 3 1/2 hours.  In total, I needed to allow around four hours to get back to Richmond.  Below are the photos of my ferry trip from Tsawwasen to Victoria.  After whale watching and trekking around downtown Victoria, I got to my accommodation, safe and sound just after 11pm, long but hugely fulfilling day.

Absolutely stunning sunrise, spectacular scenery along the way.  My favourite part of the ferry trip was definitely passing the multiple small islands on route to Victoria.  On the way back, I explored the inside of the ferry further and realised it was like a floating  city.  Again, I could not believe my luck with the weather, it was blissful!


  
  



  
  


  
  


  
  
  

Whistler downtown and drive to Vancouver

On By mubeenazamIn September 2015, UncategorizedLeave a comment

(My solo road trip of western Canada – Monday 28th September)

Before visiting Whistler, I had seen photos of the place, it looked absolutely amazing in all weather conditions throughout the year, I was very excited about visiting.  Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada.  It is only about 125 km north of Vancouver, the next place on my road trip.  I was surprised to discover that it has a stable population of around 10,000, not sure how true this is but can’t see it being much more to be honest.

Over two million people visit Whistler annually, primarily for alpine skiing and snowboarding and, in summer, mountain biking at Whistler Blackcomb. Its pedestrian village has won numerous design awards and Whistler has been voted among the top destinations in North America by major ski magazines since the mid-1990s. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Whistler hosted most of the alpine, Nordic, luge, skeleton, and bobsled events.

Downtown Whistler I found very beautiful, the scenery was spectacular, I really liked the architecture, the changing trees were fantastic to see at this time of the year and it was incredibly clean, and on top of that, my good fortune…truly incredible weather continued which made the whole experience even more memorable.  Oh, and some of the houses were so stupendous, instead of taking photos, I just brought home a Real Estate magazine, prices ranged from $1 million to over $20 million!!!

I found out that Whistler does not have a garbage collection service as they have such a high concentration of bears, so the residents have to take their own garbage to a central location!

The drive down to Vancouver was fantastic, incredibly scenic and at time, literally took my breath away!  I drove on Highway 99, the drive was so fantastic and was complemented with its really cool name: The Sea to Sky Highway!  There was so much more beauty along the drive but there were not many opportunities to capture them because of the windy mountain roads.  (The second photo is of my hostel accommodation which was by far the best hostel accommodation I have ever stayed in).

http://www.whistler.com/