Thursday, August 5 (Day 9) - Independence Day

Having been safely ferried back to Horseshoe Bay, Constance and I tested our street smarts by hopping on a city bus headed for downtown Vancouver...don't be too impressed as I think there may be only two buses that leave out of the Bay - the 250 into Vancouver and the 257 into Vancouver - one scenic and the other more direct. We opted for the more direct bus with the full intention of hitting the shops as soon as we checked in - this was also to be our first day of independence and what better way to celebrate independence day than by doing a little shopping?


Actually, our intention was only to shop for some long sleeve shirts and a jacket for me - all very practical and necessary considering where we came from (Hawaii - I left all of my cold weather clothes in NYC!) and where we were headed (the Shetland Islands!).

The bus dropped us off literally right at the doorstep of our hotel and once we were checked in, we did indeed hit the shops. We started off at the Bay and wandered underground to the shops at the Pacific Center(?????). We didn't have any luck shopping (in that first round) and with both of us quickly losing steam we headed back to the hotel for a rest before hitting Robson Street...where again, we didn't have any shopping luck (round 2).



We ended up walking...wandering actually...slowly....around the city of Vancouver. Who knew Vancouver had so many hills?! We were both pretty worn out by the end, but we did see some interesting sights along the way...

Constance with a sculpture by an artist from Korea named Choi Tae Hoon. There were many pieces of art along the waterfront. It was all a part of the Vancouver Biennale - a bi-annual public art exhibition that brings works from emerging international artist to the Vancouver area.

The Digital Orca - also a part of the Vancouver Biennale

The Olympic Cauldron!

Constance admiring the grass rooftop of the "green-designed" Vancouver Convention Centre

Outside Canada Place - there were hundreds of wildfires in B.C. during our time in Vancouver and much of the city was hazed over with smoke, otherwise there would be a lovely backdrop to this picture. But isn't Constance lovely enough?

Of course a stop at Canada Place wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Pan Pacific! Here is Constance about to enjoy a Bloody Caesar...

...and here I am about to enjoy a glass of wine!

Men way up working on the sails - I think they are getting ready to replace them soon.

After our luxurious midafternoon cocktail we meandered (not quite in a straight line) into Gastown where I bought a jacket (round 3 of shopping - always a charm)! It's a nice gray sporty looking thing with an Inukshuk (another of Constance's Vancouver favorites) and the word "CANADA" embroidered on the front. Not only does Constance love it (and is probably a little jealous of it) but I figure this will help us along the way from being automatically taken for Americans. Not that there's anything wrong with being American, but you must admit, we don't have the best reputation.

We ended the day with a fancy dinner at Hy's Steakhouse where we were both a little intimidated by our server for some reason.

He was very nice just a little...intense...but he did offer to take this picture of us in front of the wine rack - how appropriate!