After being delayed at the airport for 5 hours (they over booked the flight), I finally made it into Vancouver by about 6pm – which felt like 10pm because it was so dark. I quickly checked in, got some dinner, made a call to the mother and then went to bed.
First things first – AUSSIES EVERYEHERE!! Feels like I’m not even in Canada, it’s crazy. And I hate it (just the accents).
New years eve I went on a walking tour of Gas town (this little historic part of town) which was kind of cool, did some shopping and then headed back to the hostel to figure out what on earth I was going to do to bring in the new year.
I ended up talking to two English guys in my room and we all headed to the bar downstairs, there we met some more people (most aussies) and I had a great night, despite only a few hours earlier I had no idea who these people were. We went out into the street because it had been blocked off and there were people everywhere as well as lots of lights and noise and excitement.
Being in Vancouver is strange because it feels so warm (it’s about 7 degrees out). Apparently it’s the “mild” climate in Canada.
The next day everyone got up late and I ventured down to Chinatown where I finally got to see the homeless side of the city (didn’t enjoy it one bit) and Chinatown was exactly like I’d experienced for the past 4 months in Toronto so it wasn’t that great.
On the 2nd Jess arrived so we headed to Granville Island because I’d heard there are great markets there. Complete lies. Because it was raining (it rains 100 days per year here) it was cold and miserable and hardly anything was open. We played pool that night and went to bed early – exciting people I know.
The next day we headed to Stanley Park, which was pretty cool. Again it rained and was cold, but it was still alright to see. We walked along the waterfront and saw a statue that has been built in the middle of the ocean to represent Vancouver’s reliance on the sea. Strange. We headed to the hostel after a Tim Horton’s visit cold yet satisfied.
We were keen to try out snowboarding (both of us only having done it once before) so made the trek (a ferry and bus ride) up to Vancouver’s Grouse mountain only to be told that the slopes were closed and to come back tomorrow. Bummed we retraced our steps and did some shopping etc to waste the day away (Vancouver doesn’t offer much to do in Winter).
Up early again we didn’t make the same mistake as yesterday and checked the Grouse website before heading to the slopes. It was all clear so we made the trek out again and were told that the beginners slope was closed but intermediate ones were open. Confident (or cocky?) we thought ‘no sweat!’ and headed up.
After renting the gear and heading out, I realised I had absolutely no snowboarding skills what so ever so Jess gave be basic lessons and after a few 100 tumbles I think I improved A LOT by the end of the day. The visibility on the mountain was zero to none so riding into white cloud was hectic. Lucky for us the beginners slope opened up and we got a lot of runs in because it wasn’t too busy. I had a great time but woke up so sore the next day.
Now onto the last stop Whistler!
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