I don't know what I was expecting, but not this. Ocean, mountains, sailing, hiking and to top it off a clean and beautiful city to go along with it. No wonder this city is rated in the top five for the highest quality of life.
When in any city, I figure the best way to get around is to, well, plan nothing. Just walk and enjoy. Or in my case, rent a bike! Call me old fashioned but this whole bike thing is sort of a rediscovery for me. I forgot how fantastic they are and I definitely recommend this to anyone seeing Vancouver for the first time.
One thing everyone does in Vancouver is visit Stanley Park. Big, beautiful, old trees are well maintained here, and a complete walking and biking path surrounds it for whatever your pleasure. There are many bike shops situated at the park entrance on Georgia Street, and you can get a bike for a half day (four hours) for about $20...well worth it. Biking around the seawall and other areas gave me a great feel for the city, and an efficient and healthy way to be a tourist as well.
One thing I wanted to do was to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This bridge is situated high above the trees in Vancouver's forest and is great for photos and a little bit of excitement. But at $30/person just to walk across a bridge, it's pretty pricey. Thankfully I have a friend who lives in Vancouver and suggested we go to Lynn Canyon. Oh, how I love to have friends in city's. Lynn Canyon is only a few kilometres from the Capilano Bridge, and guess what? Not only is there a suspension bridge there (a little smaller, but still...) but it's also FREE. I love "free". So our group enjoyed an afternoon of hiking (sans millions of tourists) in the forests of North Vancouver and took our pictures peacefully and quietly.
For a couple of drinks later on, we head down to Gastown and enjoy the nightlife and some of the breweries along Water Street and just take in the city's vibe. Vancouver is a great place to just take in the surroundings, it's a fairly safe city and very easy to get around in (probably due somewhat to the 2010 Olympics but hey, I'm not complaining.)
Don't forget if you're hungry, check out the Food Critique for the latest Vancouver restaurant postings.
Onwards we go, driving through wine country...
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