Vancouver on Sunday 26th April 2009

Vancouver, Sunday 26th April 2009.
Today everyone can do “their own thing”. I persuaded Fay to accompany me to the top of Grouse Mountain which offers many activities as well as a view of Vancouver. We set off just after 10am to walk two or three blocks to the Seabus which would take us across the harbour to Lonsdale where we catch a bus to the foot of the mountain where we transfer to a gondola to reach the top. After walking a couple of blocks , in order to confirm we were on the right track I asked a young fellow where the seabus terminal was; he did not know and knocked on the door of a trolley bus stopped for a red light to ask the driver. The driver opened the door and provided the answer even though the green traffic light was on go. They were both very obliging Canadians! At the seabus terminal another young Canadian was very happy to explain the ticket machine and ticketing system to us. The seabus is wide and squat. The rows of seats each have about 30. It has six doors spaced down each side. When the boat docks six gangplanks lower automatically and six doors open on one side and the passengers all walk off. The boat empties very quickly before those six doors close and the six doors on the other side open to allow the waiting passengers to enter. It is a very efficient system. After getting off the boat we quickly walked to bay eight to catch the bus to the Gondola. The bus was crowded with skiers and tourists. We found that there was a large queue of people waiting to get on the gondola and after making enquiries we were told it would take up to two hours to reach the top of Grouse Mountain. I was disappointed; Fay was happy, so we bussed back to the seabus terminal, lunched at McDonalds and explored the local markets. They were interesting. At a chocolate stall I watched sweets being made while fay took time to sample and buy chocolate before travelling back to our hotel to wait for the shuttle to take us to the VIA Rail Terminal where after a lot of waiting around partaking of free biscuits, coffee and tea we boarded the train bound for Toronto at 9pm; half an hour late.

PS We have stopped atJasper and I have found an internet wireless connection