By the way Sky Trains do not have a driver. We discovered this disconcerting fact on the way to Braid in Coquitlam on Tuesday night. We realised that we could see both ends of the train and no driver. Apparently they are all controlled from one central point. It does feel slightly odd but it is only because we are used to the joys of Scotrail. The other difference is that all trains are "Fare Paid" which means you put money into a machine and buy a ticket. There are no ticket offices at the stations. We have been told that random checks are made but we have yet to see one and yet everyone buys their tickets. We noticed this in other cities as well. Face it the Canadians are either very honest or afraid of getting caught. When we commented on the lack of real rules we were told there are all sorts of rules but the country is so big it is hard for many to be enforced. For instance, in Vancouver you are only allowed to water your garden on certain days according to whether you are an odd or even number. Bearing in mind the amount of rain they get this water ban appears to err on the cautious side.
Back to our day ... the Sky Train links to the Sea Bus, a frequent ferry service between downtown and North Vancouver. We walked onto that, 15 minutes later we were in North Vancouver and Longsdale Quay a truly superb market and shopping destination. We then caught a bus from there to Grouse Market and took the cable car to the top. However it was 3000 feet higher up and colder and mistier there. We did see bears and a lumberjack show...
It was another occasion when our brains were wired to stupid. We were staying in the city so we were in city mode. We grabbed sunglasses and a waterproof and headed off to explore North Vancouver. We explored Longsdale Quay which offers a mix of fruit and vegetable stalls, craft stalls and food concessions with independent shops on the floor above. Shopped out we hopped on the bus to the mountain. Funny that word "mountain" did not ring a bell, after all we have spent a considerable time in the unpredictable mountains with the colder weather, mist, mosquitoes and bears. Anyway we were completely unprepared - I had my crocs on, Eilidh her converse, Gordon his open toed sandals. The bus ride from the quay to the mountain was between 15 and 20 mins and then the cable car took 6 minutes. We stepped off into another world of mist, rain and cold. We were assaulted by zillions of blasted mosquitoes and there were bears. It was all a shock to the system. Catching the efficient transit links we were back in downtown in 40 minutes. Shopping and people watching - what a contrast. As it was our last night Eilidh agreed we could have sushi again as long as we followed it by crepes on the way home.
The pictures below show Gordon and I with Larry and Loreen at the Beach, Dr Sun Yat Sen Garden, Gastown steam clock and environs and creatures we encountered whilst on Grouse Mountain.
Well not much I can add except to say that it has just been awesome. All expectations more than met and exceeded. Flicking back through this rambling blog is a great reminder of the times we have had, but it makes it more difficult to come to terms with the fact that, in less than 24hrs, we will be back home. It goes without saying that I am going to be sorry to leave.
I hope the pictures have given a good account of our trip. No doubt I will bore the pants of some of you poor folk with the full package of pics back in Glasgow, but until then, its bye from the three of us here in Vancouver.
