A few months ago, I was having an argument with a friend on pronunciation, you know the tomato-potato one. Of course it was an argument with no end, until I said how do you pronounce that country that is north of the United States? KAN NU DUH ( Canada) ? I said no I say CA-NA-DA….  Good luck getting that out of your head.

Vancouver has been on my list for years and with the long holiday weekend, it was a great excuse to finally visit.

I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, which is located in the Downtown area.  Vancouver is quite tourist friendly. They have great street maps every few blocks that highlight the different areas and gives you a general idea of how long it would take to walk somewhere. I took adventure of the dry weather and walked. I checked out Chinatown and Gastown, including the famous steam clock. It really was a beautiful day.

It had a crazy few days for me before leaving on this trip. So crazy I forgot my camera, (I took pics with my phone), I almost forgot my passport and I did not pack properly for the weather.  In my defense, it was quite hot in Chicago and I could not imagine that I would need hat and gloves.  So to alleviate some of the craziness, I booked a spa treatment at Life Luxe Spa. I had an amazing experience. I highly recommend it.

The next day I went in search of Willy. While I did not find Willy, I found some of his cousins.

Whale watching is interesting. I would akin it to safari. You spend a lot of time traveling for a few moments of reward. It was worth it to me, but I see why it would not be for everyone. There was a group of about 25 and we had an open air boat. So we had to wear anti-exposure suits, which you need because it can get quite chilly.  I was worried about getting seasick, but I was did ok. I would not recommend drinking a lot of fluids prior or while on board. Remember, you have to wear the anti-exposure suit, and while there was facilities on the boat, yeah well, you were warned. I choose to go with  Wild Whales Vancouver, because they leave from Granville Island.  After sitting on a boat for 7 hours, I was happy to be on land. So I toured around the island. They have a fun public market and lots of cute little boutiques and food stands. And loads and loads of tourist.

The next day, I headed to Stanley Park. It was an easy walk from my hotel. I walked around the seawall a bit, but it’s like 9km’s, so I opted to take a tour around instead. I lucked out again in the weather department.

I really enjoy visiting Vancouver. I would definitely recommend it. I don’t think a few days really does it justice as there is so much more to do and see.  I am sure I will be back again, if only to get a better shot of Willy or his cousins.

On a not so funny note, I managed to leave my Kindle on the plane. I am actually surprised, given the amount of travel that I do that I don’t lose stuff more often. I did file a claim, so hopefully it will resurface.
If only I had brought my new SeatPak with me………

Until my next adventures- Safe Travels…..