Gastown / Downtown

Well, I think it's fair to say that, following a good breakfast, we 'did' quite a lot yesterday and walked for some miles. We took in 'Gastown', 'Canada Place', a lot of 'Downtown' and even ventured into Stanley Park towards the end of the day. To say we were pretty knackered at the close would be something of an understatement. So what did we see that was of interest (to us)?

First Off was the Bald (or Whte Tailed) Eagle circling over the high-rise blocks along the shore-line that surrounds Canada Place which is somewhat of a transport hub for Vancouver. We spent some time watching (and photographing) the sea planes that are the lifeline of the many islands around Vancouver. 

The panorama is really something and the mixture of modern high-rise, busy port operations against the backdrop of hills and mountains reminded me a lot of how I felt looking over towards the mainland from Hong Kong island!

 
 
Weather being on the chilly side, we trecked on towards the marina and a quick 'Subway' lunch before wandering East into Gastown where tourists suround the old gas clock waiting for it to play it's cheery tune (every quarter hour). On the way, we encountered a street decked-out as a film set replete with burned-out vehicles and paused a few moments
to ponder this danger sign:

A stop sign for an Australian or
'all bungee jumpers must wait before proceeding'?  


This little shop of horors also captured our attention - not certain either of us would want anything here!


 



















Anyway, we located The Old Spaghetti Factory where we paused for water & wine - well worth a visit if you are interested in colourful lampshades and the fact they have an old street-car inside that they have converted to house tables & chairs. 

 








And for those of us with some banking history, a reminder of where the term 'money-laundering' may have originated:

Late afternoon in some areas of Gastown are probably to be avoided. It's a sad comment on such a modern progressive society that is Vancouver, that it has it's share of vagrants and down-and-outs (we fitted right in!). It's the first time though that either of us had witnessed people openly injecting themselves and buying drugs on the street. Truth to tell, we felt a little sad and uncomfortable but not threatened by it all and boarded a bus into Stanley Park which is a bit of a greenery oasis. But after a sort while we were simply too worn-out to enjoy the trails fully and so decided to head back to base (by taxi) where Burger King served up it's usual something & chips - good enough for us though before reflecting on a very enjoyable, albeit mixed, day of experience.