Vancouver
For more or less as long as I've been out here, I've been planning to take some time off to visit Vancouver. Reasons being both just to experience the place, as well as visit my friend Alexandra who lives there. The fact that I've been working so much lately just made me want to go that much more, simply to have some days to relax.
I was, however, pretty uncertain about whether I would get the time off. Since we ARE working 6 day weeks that implies that giving time off is not something that can be done easily. But, luckily, they managed to make it work. So booked my room in the Hotel Vancouver (yay company perks! $70 a night? Yeah I can swing that) checked the bus schedules, and e-mailed Alex. In order to maximize my time there, I decided to catch the bus that arrived at the village at 1:50 AM, having finished work at 10:30 that same night. I show up at about 1:40, willing to conceed a short wait in order to make sure I catch the bus. 1:50 rolls around, no bus. Of course, to be expected- having taken the greyhound from Banff a couple times, I know it can be late. 2:15 arrives, and I remind myself that sometimes, it's REALLY late- I distinctly remember showing up at 2:30 one night on this bus. So I sit back and decide that at 2:30 I'll start worrying.
2:30 arrives, and I start worrying.
It's really a frustrating experience, because I would keep hearing trucks and such on the highway, which would sound like a bus, get my hopes up, and then keep going. To make matters worse, cab service stops at 2:30, so I have to wait and hope it eventually shows up, or just catch a cab ride back. Seeing as my reservation is not cancellable at this point in time, I decide I might as well sit and hope.
Finally, at 3:15am the bus shows up. I had a bunch of things I wanted to say, but I was just so happy to see it that I just sardonically mentioned "You're late" to the driver and climbed on.
It was a relatively uneventful trip, which, like with an airplane, is probably a good thing. There was some traffic getting into the Vancouver city limits, and coupled with the bus being so late, I didn't get into the terminal until about 5:30PM, Pacific time. But I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out, getting directions from people as best I could until I found the street my hotel was on. To get there, I had to walk along something of a highway (but not really) and got to see the big buildings of the city- the GM centre, science centre balla nd all that. But eventually it just turned into a normal street and from that point it was just a matter of walking down the street until I eventually found it. Pretty posh place, that's for sure. I didn't spend too much time in the room, but it was nice when I was there- nice bed, comfy pillows and all that stuff.
So after I got my key and made my way up, I dropped off my bag, changed into shorts ('bout time!) and went back into the street. But I was not just whimsically traipsing about- no, I had some objectives first. I had to find an internet cafe, because I had to check my e-mail for news from Alex. And I had to get dinner, because I was starving.
Now, the former was more difficult than it probably should have been. First, I checked if the hotel had one. It did, but it was $10 per use. No thanks. So I went out looking for another one- the concierge said there was one underneath a big "London Drugs" store that I had passed on my way in. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that they literally meant it was on the lower floor of the store, and I ended up walking around the block and looking in all sorts of places until I actually checked the store itself. And by the time I did, the internet cafe was closed- about 10 minutes too late.
So my quest continued. Eventually I found it, and it was actually the cheapest option yet, so it all worked out. I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy, so for dinner I went just down the street to a little pizza place, which was actually fantastic pizza, especially since it was super cheap (cost me less than a meal at the bean would!). And so for the rest of the night I wandered around, checking out shops, buying some books in Chapters (For someone who's been in Lake Louise all summer, being in Chapters counts as being on vacation!). But nothing else particularly exciting happened that night, and I retired pretty early in order to get an early start the next day.
For breakfast, I went to Starbucks for a quick bite. It honestly boggles the mind how many Starbucks are in the city. I think I went into 4 different ones over the course of the 2 days I was there, though two of them were not for the usual reason of buying coffee. But I will go over that later. Point is: a whole lot of Starbucks in Vancouver.
So after finding out where I would be meeting Alex, I find out its pretty far away. But, since it wasn't for a while, I figured I could walk there with plenty of time to spare. But, in typical me fashion, I realize halfway there that I didn't bring my camera. So back I go, and catch the bus down as initially planned. Luckily, Alex and I both recognized one another when we saw each other, or things could have been strange. Anyways, we went out for lunch at a sushi restaurant, with Alex insisting that Vancouver has the best sushi (makes sense, when you think about it) and I was pretty curious myself. And you know, it was pretty good, even though I still suck with chopsticks. It was fun. Afterwards we just sort of walked around and talked, which was nice.
Unfortunately Alex couldn't really spare a lot of time, due to my rather short notice arrival and general busy-ness. But I was happy that we got to meet up, so good times all around. After we parted ways, I decided to check out Stanley Park, since it wasn't too far down the street from the hotel. Not what I expected, really. It's much less manicured than I thought it would be- it's quite forest-y at parts. I walked up to the Lion's Gate Bridge and back. Then on my way back down to the hotel, I decided to visit the mall across the street (see explanation about Chapters, replace Chapters with mall). But by this time it was getting a bit later, so I went back to my room, took a quick swim, and ordered room service. Ahh, perks again- 50% off! Totally worth it.
And so on Sunday I did a few more touristy things, like the Art Gallery right next to the hotel, and Gastown. I skipped over Chinatown though- well, I passed through it. But it gave off a distinct impression of sketchiness. So I walked down to the park by the science centre, and sat on the grass and read for a while. At this time, it was about 5:30. Now, I had originally planned to talk the bus at midnight back to Lake Louise, but decided that killing time for another 7 hours was not something I really wanted to do. So I checked in to the terminal, and there was another bus leaving at 6:30. So I decided, I think I've done what I wanted to do here, and hopped on.
And so that brings me back here. I definitely had fun, and I'm very happy I took the trip. Even just having three days off work was pretty great. A very pleasant treat.
In other news, Drew leaves on Thursday, so for a bit over a week I guess I'll have the room to myself. It's too bad, he was a good roommate. I hope we'll be able to hang out during the school year, since he'll only be in Guelph. Of course, this underlines that I don't have much time left here myself. But expect at least one more post before I leave. Until that point:
Stay Frosty
Trevor
I was, however, pretty uncertain about whether I would get the time off. Since we ARE working 6 day weeks that implies that giving time off is not something that can be done easily. But, luckily, they managed to make it work. So booked my room in the Hotel Vancouver (yay company perks! $70 a night? Yeah I can swing that) checked the bus schedules, and e-mailed Alex. In order to maximize my time there, I decided to catch the bus that arrived at the village at 1:50 AM, having finished work at 10:30 that same night. I show up at about 1:40, willing to conceed a short wait in order to make sure I catch the bus. 1:50 rolls around, no bus. Of course, to be expected- having taken the greyhound from Banff a couple times, I know it can be late. 2:15 arrives, and I remind myself that sometimes, it's REALLY late- I distinctly remember showing up at 2:30 one night on this bus. So I sit back and decide that at 2:30 I'll start worrying.
2:30 arrives, and I start worrying.
It's really a frustrating experience, because I would keep hearing trucks and such on the highway, which would sound like a bus, get my hopes up, and then keep going. To make matters worse, cab service stops at 2:30, so I have to wait and hope it eventually shows up, or just catch a cab ride back. Seeing as my reservation is not cancellable at this point in time, I decide I might as well sit and hope.
Finally, at 3:15am the bus shows up. I had a bunch of things I wanted to say, but I was just so happy to see it that I just sardonically mentioned "You're late" to the driver and climbed on.
It was a relatively uneventful trip, which, like with an airplane, is probably a good thing. There was some traffic getting into the Vancouver city limits, and coupled with the bus being so late, I didn't get into the terminal until about 5:30PM, Pacific time. But I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out, getting directions from people as best I could until I found the street my hotel was on. To get there, I had to walk along something of a highway (but not really) and got to see the big buildings of the city- the GM centre, science centre balla nd all that. But eventually it just turned into a normal street and from that point it was just a matter of walking down the street until I eventually found it. Pretty posh place, that's for sure. I didn't spend too much time in the room, but it was nice when I was there- nice bed, comfy pillows and all that stuff.
So after I got my key and made my way up, I dropped off my bag, changed into shorts ('bout time!) and went back into the street. But I was not just whimsically traipsing about- no, I had some objectives first. I had to find an internet cafe, because I had to check my e-mail for news from Alex. And I had to get dinner, because I was starving.
Now, the former was more difficult than it probably should have been. First, I checked if the hotel had one. It did, but it was $10 per use. No thanks. So I went out looking for another one- the concierge said there was one underneath a big "London Drugs" store that I had passed on my way in. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that they literally meant it was on the lower floor of the store, and I ended up walking around the block and looking in all sorts of places until I actually checked the store itself. And by the time I did, the internet cafe was closed- about 10 minutes too late.
So my quest continued. Eventually I found it, and it was actually the cheapest option yet, so it all worked out. I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy, so for dinner I went just down the street to a little pizza place, which was actually fantastic pizza, especially since it was super cheap (cost me less than a meal at the bean would!). And so for the rest of the night I wandered around, checking out shops, buying some books in Chapters (For someone who's been in Lake Louise all summer, being in Chapters counts as being on vacation!). But nothing else particularly exciting happened that night, and I retired pretty early in order to get an early start the next day.
For breakfast, I went to Starbucks for a quick bite. It honestly boggles the mind how many Starbucks are in the city. I think I went into 4 different ones over the course of the 2 days I was there, though two of them were not for the usual reason of buying coffee. But I will go over that later. Point is: a whole lot of Starbucks in Vancouver.
So after finding out where I would be meeting Alex, I find out its pretty far away. But, since it wasn't for a while, I figured I could walk there with plenty of time to spare. But, in typical me fashion, I realize halfway there that I didn't bring my camera. So back I go, and catch the bus down as initially planned. Luckily, Alex and I both recognized one another when we saw each other, or things could have been strange. Anyways, we went out for lunch at a sushi restaurant, with Alex insisting that Vancouver has the best sushi (makes sense, when you think about it) and I was pretty curious myself. And you know, it was pretty good, even though I still suck with chopsticks. It was fun. Afterwards we just sort of walked around and talked, which was nice.
Unfortunately Alex couldn't really spare a lot of time, due to my rather short notice arrival and general busy-ness. But I was happy that we got to meet up, so good times all around. After we parted ways, I decided to check out Stanley Park, since it wasn't too far down the street from the hotel. Not what I expected, really. It's much less manicured than I thought it would be- it's quite forest-y at parts. I walked up to the Lion's Gate Bridge and back. Then on my way back down to the hotel, I decided to visit the mall across the street (see explanation about Chapters, replace Chapters with mall). But by this time it was getting a bit later, so I went back to my room, took a quick swim, and ordered room service. Ahh, perks again- 50% off! Totally worth it.
And so on Sunday I did a few more touristy things, like the Art Gallery right next to the hotel, and Gastown. I skipped over Chinatown though- well, I passed through it. But it gave off a distinct impression of sketchiness. So I walked down to the park by the science centre, and sat on the grass and read for a while. At this time, it was about 5:30. Now, I had originally planned to talk the bus at midnight back to Lake Louise, but decided that killing time for another 7 hours was not something I really wanted to do. So I checked in to the terminal, and there was another bus leaving at 6:30. So I decided, I think I've done what I wanted to do here, and hopped on.
And so that brings me back here. I definitely had fun, and I'm very happy I took the trip. Even just having three days off work was pretty great. A very pleasant treat.
In other news, Drew leaves on Thursday, so for a bit over a week I guess I'll have the room to myself. It's too bad, he was a good roommate. I hope we'll be able to hang out during the school year, since he'll only be in Guelph. Of course, this underlines that I don't have much time left here myself. But expect at least one more post before I leave. Until that point:
Stay Frosty
Trevor
posted by Sibtiger | 5:34 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home