Tag: Sightseeing

I had house guests this past weekend. They arrived late Friday afternoon, and flew out Monday morning. One is my cousin, whom I don’t see very often, but grew up with and have always been close to. The other is one of her girlfriends. They live in a small city in Alberta and had both been to Vancouver once, as children, and didn’t really remember any details. They came for a “Girl’s Weekend Get-away”, leaving their partners and children behind. It was my birthday last week and I had planned a night out on Friday, to celebrate with several of […]

Read more

I got in trouble for my last entry on grumpy Vancouverites, so I thought I’d give some practical suggestions for visitors.   I imagine someone involved in the Winter Olympics might only have a day or so to play in the city.  So I tried to think of my five favourite things that Vancouver has to offer. 1.  Walk the Stanley Park Sea Wall.  It’ll take a couple of hours, but even in the rain, the vistas of both nature and man-made facilities are unique. 2.  Go to Hamilton Street Grill for a steak.  It’s at 1009 Hamilton Street in […]

Read more

Visitors walking around, driving around, or just sitting on a bench around Burrard Inlet, English Bay, False Creek, or Stanley Park find it hard to miss the seaplanes taking off at Coal Harbor, climbing out or letting down to land or just cruising overhead.   That’s because seaplanes are a denizen of Canada and Alaska and not many other places. These are more precisely called floatplanes because of the two pontoons mounted on struts below the fuselage instead of the conventional wheels.  For the most part residents seem either oblivious to them or annoyed with their engine exhausts perhaps but […]

Read more

Some days it’s fun to play tourist in your own town.  On a recent trip to Victoria from the mainland, I had the pleasure of taking a trip on one of the new ferries – the Coastal Celebration.  The trip started in Tsawwassen with a breakfast at the Tsawwassen Quay.  We enjoyed crepes – yes really!  One of us had a ham & egg crepe and the others had fruit crepes – very yummy.  We then grabbed our Starbucks addictions and headed back to the car to wait for the loading call. Once on board with a lovely window seat […]

Read more

Victoria BC has a diverse range of appealing attractions and activities so it naturally draws a wide range of visitors who stay at equally diverse bed and breakfasts. There’s something for everyone to do and somewhere for everyone to stay. This tiny part of BC on southern Vancouver Island offers a microcosm of the province including ocean beaches, pretty lakes, rainforest parks and mountain vistas. There are first rate attractions too such as the Butchart Gardens, the Royal BC Museum, Craigdarroch Castle and the Inner Harbour. Visitors enjoy enthralling activities such as whale-watching, kayaking, sailing, fishing, golf, biking and hiking. […]

Read more

Hopkins Landing is a short walk from the Langdale ferry terminal and a lovely place to spend a sunny afternoon while visiting BC’s http://www.TravelInBC.com/SunshineCoast.cfm . There is a park bench out on the dock which stretches far enough out into Howe Sound, that you get the feeling you are actually out on the water. You can gaze back at the public beach that stretches 5 km all the way into http://www.TravelInBC.com/Gibsons.cfm . You can sit, relax and listen to the birds and the constant ebb and flow of the tide. In the summer, this is a popular swimming spot and […]

Read more

Port Alberni is on the way to the West Coast and is the last stop for gas and other facilities before tackling the very scenic Highway 4. Cathedral Grove is the first must see on your drive westward towards Port Alberni. A beautiful stand of old and very large Cedars and Douglas Fir trees awaits you. There are trails on both sides of the highway, but please obey the signs as all traffic headed in and out of Port Alberni use this highway, traffic can be quite heavy. MacMillan Provincial Park is where Cathedral Grove is located, a great place […]

Read more