Day 3: Grouse Mountain and Lynn Canyon.

Good morning folks!  Exploring Vancouver continues and today I'm checking out Grouse Mountain and Lynn Canyon.  Took a ferry then a bus to get me to Grouse Mountain.  Once again, the sunshine was out.  I was so excited that I was going to see snow!!!!  Bought my ticket then caught the Skyride  to the top, taking in the sights as I ascended.  Had a bit of a look around the bottom of the mountain then caught another chairlift to the very top.  What a spectacular view.  Despite there being snow, it wasn't cold.  Had another look around, took a few photos then went back down.

Found my way to the bear habitat and hiding between the trees was a bear!  A real life bear.  Unfortunately s/he was sleeping but I finally saw a bear!  I could hear the lumberjack show going on, so made my way down there to watch a "competition" between two "lumberjacks".   Was a funny show, plus one of the "lumberjacks"......hello!

After the show, I went and got a Beaver Tail.  No, I didn't eat roadkill!  It's kinda like a churro meets donut meets pastry.  I settled on plain old cinnamon sugar (other flavours include Lemon and Sugar, Nutella, Salted Caramel and of course, Maple).  Once again, delicious!

Even though I have not really had much to eat, everything I have been having has been delicious LOL.  What can I say, I love my food 😆.

After Grouse Mountain, caught another bus to take me to Lynn Canyon.  I chose LC over Capilano Suspension Bridge as LC was free, whereas CSB had an entry fee.  I'm not being a tightarse with my money, but I'll take free things over paid things where I can and according to folks on Trip Advisor, LC is just as good as CSB.

The LC Suspension Bridge sits 50t above the bottom of the canyon.

There are signs everywhere through the park, warning of black bears.  Thankfully I didn't see any otherwise I'm sure I would have pooped by pants.

After the bridge, there were two paths: Twin Falls Loop and then Thirty Foot Pool Loop.  Did TFL then the TFPL.  There were a lot of people dipping their toes in the water, so of course I did too.  It was FREEZING!  My feet were turning red from icy cold water.  Dried off and walked a bit further to the Thirty Foot Pool and there were people swimming there.  Maybe they were used to the cold water?!  Anywho, the water was a spectacular green colour.

Then I looked up.....dreaded stairs to get back to the top.  I should be used to them, seeing as we did so many walks through Hawaii and a shitload of stairs, but I still hate them.  No option really, is there?!

Time to head back to the City, so waited for the bus to take me back to the ferry terminal.  Decided on Whole Foods for dinner.  It was way down the other end of my hotel and a decent walk.  I wanted to take a bus but all of them were full.  Bought enough so I'd have enough for dinner tomorrow night.  Ended up walking as again, every bus was full.  At least I'm getting my FitBit steps in!

I was yet to decide what I'm going to do tomorrow as I had done the main things I wanted to see.  I'm sure there are a lot more things to see and do in and around Vancouver but losing a day threw a spanner in the works.  Oh well, I'll decide tomorrow.

Day 2 - Granville Island and Stanley Park.

After a restful nights sleep, I woke up and had my breakfast which I picked up from IGA yesterday, iced coffee and a mini croissant.

Found my way down to the False Creek Ferry dock and waited for the ferry ($4.50 one way) to take me to Granville Island, which is a peninsula and shopping district known for its public market, brewery and artist community.

I loved browsing the fresh produce area and of course, the sweets.  All looked absolutely delicious.  I was tempted to buy the Nainamo Bar but I somehow resisted.

After the market, I explored the rest of the area, filled with other little stores.  I was trying to kill time before lunch, as it had been recommended to me to go to The Keg, which is where I had my first Canadian beer, a Molson.  Wasn't bad if I do say so myself (me, the beer connoisseur lol).

After lunch, I caught another ferry to take me across to the Aquatic Centre so I could catch a bus to take me to Stanley Park.  I must say, public transport in Vancouver is a breeze.

I had plans to walk the Seawall but was confused about the distance LOL....I read somewhere it was 9km, then somewhere I saw 27km....the latter of which I found out later was 27km of forest trails within the park....hey, gimme a break, I still have jet lag!  Any who, I walked a bit of the Seawall then took a forest trail to Second Beach, walked to Third Beach then backtracked.

Once again, the weather was perfect with the sunshine out all day.

Caught a bus to take me half way to the city then walked around another shopping area with Nordstrom, Old Navy and the like being in the area, so had a quick look around to see if any worthy bargains.  Not at Nordstrom but ON had some good deals...but need to refrain from shopping as I have no luggage space currently, as I have a suitcase full of gifts for family, which once offloaded...hello shopping!

Time for a coffee to perk me up so I thought I'd check out Tim Hortons.  I heard the donuts there are delish so naturally, I had to try one.  Decided on a "latte" and I had a maple donut...coffee was, well, I've had better but the donut certainly made up for that.  Yum yum yum!

Back to my room and had the rest of my dinner from last night.  Showered and early bed as tomorrow I'm off to Grouse Mountain and Lynn Canyon.

Take off...one day later.

Had set my alarm for 4.00am.  Finally after Friday's hiccup, I'm finally leaving for Canada!!!!  Left for the airport at 5.00am as I had to be at the airport three hours before my departure at 9.25am.  Didn't know if there would be any roadworks on the Tulla so I'd rather arrive earlier with time to spare than be running around like a madman.

No roadworks thankfully and a short queue to check in for the flight.  Now to kill two hours!  Went to  a bar and had coffee and waited for other family members to arrive to bid me adieu.  Close to 8.00am, I was getting a bit antsy and I wanted to go through and clear Customs etc because the lines tends to be long there too.  Breezed through no issues.

No flight is enjoyable, whether it is a long or short one.  I just want to get to my destination.

Meals were OK and I amused myself by watching Criminal Minds on my iPad.  Tried to sleep but can't exactly get comfortable.

Landed at Los Angeles, cleared Immigration, collected my bags (even though they were checked through to Vancouver) and dumped them at the baggage drop off.  After sitting for 15 hours, I had to walk to the next terminal, which was about 10 minutes away, plus I needed fresh air.  Was hanging out for a coffee, so found the nearest Starbucks, stocked up on US trash mags then made myself comfortable waiting for my onward flight to Vancouver.

Actually started to get a little emotional when walking through "the gates" as I'm used to having someone to greet us...just not this time :'(.

I must say, Vancouver Airport is....WOW!  Shits over Melbourne (they're renovating international departures....AGAIN!).  LAX was also undergoing renovations too, so nothing flash there.

Was going to train it to my accommodation but with two heavy suitcases (both nudged the limit of 23kg!), I caught a cab instead.  Enjoyed the sights as they whizzed past and the sun was out, was absolutely glorious weather!

Unfortunately my room wasn't ready yet, but I was able to leave my bags and I could go exploring somewhat and to try and stay away to keep the jet lag at bay.

Checked out one of the shopping strips, Robson Street.  I made it as far as the IGA so being a supermarket, naturally I had to go check it out!  It was more to compare prices to back home, see what I couldn't get back home and pick up a few supplies like water and coughchocolatebarscough.

Finally made to my room and went to lie down for an hour as fatigue was started to hit....woke up three hours later!  Oops!  Lucky the sun sets very late here, after 10.00pm.

Feeling refreshed, I went out exploring again, so whilst still light, found my way down to Gastown to see the famous steam clock and look around the shops there.  It's a very popular strip with restaurants and bars amongst the many souvenir shops.  Found my way down to Canada Place, which is where the cruise ship terminal is.

As it was getting late and I had yet to have dinner (TBH, I didn't know what I felt like), walked back to my hotel and decided to go to Boston Pizza.  I was able to get a half serve of a main, which would allow me to have dinner tonight and the following night, as there was a little kitchenette a few doors down from my room.

After a shower, my head finally hit the pillow at around 11.00pm.

Tomorrow I start exploring Vancouver properly.

Friday 3rd June...leaving tomorrow...or so I thought.

The time had come where I was finally going to leave for Canada, six months after booking.

Or so I thought

I was on my way to see Geelong v Adelaide play at Simonds Stadium.  Went early so we could have a bite to eat...and then I got a text from United Airlines, stating that my flight tomorrow morning was cancelled due to mechanical issues.  Although I was confused as the text was saying my flight from Sydney to San Francisco was cancelled, which was not my flight.

So I called UA to try and find out exactly what was going on...except no one was there, despite it being a 24/7 service.  Not Happy Jan.  Then I thought I would try Melbourne Airport and the agent couldn't really help me, but she was going to transfer me to UA but I told her that I got a recorded message.  She too said herself it should be a 24/7 service.  So transferred and again, recorded message.

Inside I'm confused, frustrated and upset.

So I had no choice but to call UA in the United States.  After close to one hour between speaking to someone and being transferred and being put on hold, I was given two options, neither of which were really suitable but what could I do?

Option 1 (and if I heard correctly): Fly to Sydney from Melbourne then onto San Francisco on Saturday but as there were no other flights going that day, I'd either have been stuck in Sydney for the night or San Francisco.  As I said, I didn't understand the agent properly.

Option 2: Depart on Sunday as I would have on Saturday.

Either way, I'd lose a day in Vancouver.

On the upside, I managed to get upgraded to Economy Plus, which gave me that little bit of extra leg room.

So until Sunday....ciao.

3 weeks to go!

I can't believe that in three weeks time, I'll be off to Canada.

I'm anxious, nervous and excited.  The first two will undoubtedly grow in the coming weeks.

I've yet to even put any thought into packing and deciding which suitcases to take.  After years of travel, I've learnt to take minimal clothes etc as a lot never gets worn.  For my last trip to Hawaii, I managed to pack almost all my clothes into just carry on.  Although I'm sure I'll be taking quite a few gifts for the homesick cousin in Canada, so one case will be just gifts lol.

Seeing as I'm flying United, I hope all goes smoothly, considering how much drama there has been over the last few weeks.