Vancouver, Canada - Day 2

Saturday, August 29

Tony certainly warned us! Angie has the reputation of taking bad weather with her whenever she goes on holidays and it appears that she is living up to her reputation on this holiday! Vancouver has just had its sunniest summer on record but, with our arrival, the heavens have opened and it has rained and rained and the wind has been really strong causing a lot of damage around the city. Thankfully it has not been cold but the rain has made it unpleasant to get around. We eagerly watched the TV tonight for the forecast for the next 7 days and sadly, it's more of today! Oh well, we won't let it dampen our spirits.

Making a new Canadian friend

We set off mid morning after a good sleep-in and eating brunch overlooking a misty grey vista. We made our way down to Canada Place to see where our cruise will be departing from and one of the Princess cruise ships was berthed there so we walked over to have a better look at what we will be on in a few day's time. We then found the Visitor Info Centre and spent quite some time there because Tony (a Yorkshireman), befriended one of the guides - a fellow from Manchester - and the banter between the two was very funny. We booked a tour for tomorrow to Victoria Island and Butchart Gardens and are looking forward to that, despite the early starting time!

Al acquainting himself with "Gassy Jack"

The Gastown Steam Clock

We stopped for a coffee then headed to Gastown where Vancouver was born. The story goes that in 1867 John "Gassy Jack" Deighton wandered through the wilderness armed with only a barrel of whiskey and a penchant for long-winded tales and set up a saloon on the southern shores of Burrard Inlet. This attracted loggers and mill workers who named the area Gastown to honour Jack for his generous pours. As the area grew, it became the commercial and shipping hub and many of the buildings and warehouses built back then still stand today. It's a tourist hotspot now with boutiques, great eateries, stunning design studios, art galleries, etc. all lining streets festooned with overflowing hanging baskets of flowers suspended from old fashioned street lamps. One of the attractions is a steam clock that we arrived in time to see doing it's thing - a steamy rendition of the Westminster chimes - with steam gushing from the top as it draws it's power from the city's underground steam-heat system.

Lunch at Pub 131

After browsing in shops and generally nosing around reading the heritage signs, seeing the memorial to Gassy Jack and taking up all the photo opps, we stopped for a very late lunch at Pub 131. The food was excellent and it was hard to move on from there but more sights beckoned so we headed off. Small spots quickly developed into heavy rain and even Goretex jackets and umbrellas couldn't keep us dry. Our original plan was to walk to Granville Island but the rain changed that and we decided to stop in at our apartment for a cuppa and see whether the rain would ease. It did but by then we had decided to give the long walk to Granville Is away and head for the 1000 acre Stanley Park instead. We passed a fishing charter that had just returned and two lucky seals thought they had died and gone to heaven with the huge pieces of fish they were being fed by the charter operator. We hadn't gone much further before the sky was looking ominous and the heavens opened again. We pressed on in driving rain to see the native totem poles the Park is famous for and by the time we got there, the rain had stopped and it was looking much brighter.

Two very lucky seals

 

Stanley Park Totem Poles and ???

Vancouver at dusk

Not wanting to push our luck too far, we headed back home and the weather seemed to be clearing and we saw the sun for the first time. Vancouver is a lovely city and we hope to see it bathed in sunshine before we leave. The four of us felt it reminded us a lot of Melbourne (and not just for its weather).

Some sun - at last!

 

 

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Melbourne - Auckland - Vancouver

Friday, August 28

After a lovely buffet meal at Ciloms Airport Hotel where we were staying on Thursday night, we had an early night, knowing that on Friday night we would be sleeping (or trying to) on a plane!

Ready to depart Melbourne

 

The Air New Zealand flight from Melbourne to Auckland went smoothly on a nice new Boeing 777, and the lunch service was very nice. After a 2 hour wait we started boarding another Boeing 777, but unfortunately our seats were in row 46, right under the emergency escape hatch. This seemed to be the coldest row on the plane - jackets were kept on, and eventually the blankets were draped over us while all the other passengers were in t-shirts and light tops.

After a couple of movies and a nice dinner we were ready to settle down and sleep, so the blankets were wrapped tightly around us to stop us from freezing. If I had had my beanie with me I would have worn it, so I resorted to putting the plastic bag from my headset over my head to keep the Arctic blast off my head! It was quite a look but I didn't care, at least I got some sleep that way.

We arrived in grey, cloudy Vancouver, missing the sunshine our friends Brian and Jeanette had when they were here last week. However, our mode of transport from the airport brightened our day, as with 4 of us it meant a stretch limo was about the same price as a cab!

 

We are very happy with our accommodation, a 2 bedroom apartment down near the harbour, and the views this afternoon have been spectacular! Dining at "home" on the 29th floor was a treat, as we watched numerous float planes landing on the harbour after a sightseeing trip around the city.

 

We were all feeling the effects of a long day travelling so after dinner we watched the lights of the city come on and they lulled us to sleep, all in preparation for a busy weekend!

 

 

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Canada/Alaska & Pacific Islands - The Beginning

Thursday, August 27

Well the day has finally arrived to start our 8 week Canada/Alaska adventure - courtesy of Gwen & Roy. This whole trip came about because Gwennie (Noelle's mum) always wanted to visit Canada but ill health prohibited this. Noelle used to joke with her that she would go in her mum's place. After Gwen passed away, Noelle continued this banter with her dad telling him she would have to wait for him to "pop his clogs" and if there was any inheritance she would then visit Canada. He used to chuckle about this and when Noelle suggested it would be great to take our dear friends, Tony & Angie with us, Roy said he would really like that to happen. Tony & Angie were so good to Gwen & Roy, who thought of them as part of the family so we are calling this "The Gwen & Roy Memorial Trip".

We left home around 2.00 pm with friend, Steve Mazey (thanks Steve), driving us to Tullamarine via Government House where we picked up Tony when he finished work at 3.00 pm. Tony had arranged for us to be able to drive in and also have a quick look at the Ballroom that had been set up for a function tomorrow. What a way to start a holiday!

We then headed off, in pouring rain, to Tullamarine where we are staying in an airport hotel overnight in readiness for our flight to Vancouver tomorrow. The traffic was quite heavy but we didn't have a care in the world. We are now getting ready for dinner in the Bistro and an early night. It has been a hectic week for all of us so a good night's sleep should have us feeling relaxed and ready to go tomorrow morning.

 

The Guv's Seat

Noelle & Angie in the Drawing Room

 

 

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Amended Posts from Asian Trip

We finally got around to amending the posts from the first 2 weeks of our Asian cruise in April this year by adding the pictures that didn't load while we were travelling to Hong Kong. The new posts follow the original itinerary but have " (2) " at the end of the title for that day's post. If you get a chance have a quick look as there are some classic pics, as well as beautiful shots of the people and their countryside.

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Last Day in Tokyo

Sunday, May 3
Well, we are out at Narita Airport waiting for our 8.30pm flight to Sydney. It's been an interesting day to end an interesting holiday. We finished our packing last night so that meant we could sleep without worrying whether everything would fit as well as come in at the right weight - and thankfully it did!
After a lovely breakfast, we walked to a shrine located near our hotel where Al had read they held an antique market every Sunday. We enjoy an antique market at the best of times but this was fantastic and we were amazed at the variety of stuff there. Our cases had not been easy to close so there was no point in buying anything - that is, until we found a lovely old wall scroll just made for our lounge room wall! We had late check-out so we hurried back to our room to re-pack and fit the new purchase in before leaving our luggage in a holding area until later this afternoon.

At the antique market

Wandering around the Shinjuku area

We strolled around the Shinjuku area taking one last look before having lunch - sushi, of course. The hotel had arranged a taxi for us to take us to the Shinjuku station where we were catching the airport bus. It's about 80ks from Tokyo CBD out to Narita Airport so this was the most economical way to do it. As everything runs so smoothly in Japan, it all went according to plan and we arrived at the airport before Qantas had even opened the check-in counters. What a wonderful airport Narita is - so clean, modern and efficient. We have had a great time looking at all the shops here - some brands we have never heard of but all the regulars are here - Coach, Burberry, Chanel, etc. and the restaurants are fantastic. We have not had any trouble filling in the time and we are now at the gate lounge ready to board and hopefully have a good sleep.
It will be nice to get home and see everyone again.

On the bus going out to Narita Airport

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Tokyo, Japan - Day 3

Saturday, May 2

We set off early this morning and headed for the Tjukiji Fish Market, the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. This is where very early morning tuna auctions are held, but it was too early for us and only the first 120 visitors are admitted! We arrived about 10am and the activity was still frantic with all sorts of delivery vehicles coming and going, as well as old traditional barrows, electric powered little trolleys and forklifts. The fish and seafood looked fantastic as wholesaler's were cutting it, trimming it and packing it for shipping all over Japan as well as the world. There were many types we couldn't identify or would want to eat, but the whole place was continually hosed down and kept clean, and it didn't smell fishy at all.

Frantic activity at the Fish Market

The tuna were huge, but now trimmed and ready for eating

There were also thousands of tourists and local visitors roaming around the outer market area, which was more of a retail market as well as lots of restaurants, cafés and street stalls selling all kinds of food and drink, and the lanes and alleys were jam packed so you just had to go with the flow. By now it was approaching lunchtime and the more popular restaurants had long queues in front of them. After some tasty snacks we decided it was time to move on, so we headed for the Ginza.

This area is the upmarket shopping area in central Tokyo, but after staying in Shinjuku it seemed a bit tame and just like any downtown top end retail area. Again there were heaps of people on the streets and in the shops, all out enjoying another sunny Spring day. One famous landmark we visited was the Kabukiza Theatre which stages traditional Japanese plays, but unfortunately we didn't have time to see a performance.

Outside the Ginza Kabukiza Theatre

 

As we had a lot of things to see today that were in different parts of Tokyo we had purchased a one day subway ticket, so we used the various lines to get around to see them all. Our next stop was the Meiji Shrine, an important Shinto shrine which is dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and his wife the Empress Shoken. As a means of remembering them a forest of over 100,000 trees were planted after their deaths in 1912 and 1914 respectively, and the whole area incorporates a beautiful garden that they developed during their lives.

Today turned out to be a good one to visit here, as on a Saturday afternoon Shinto weddings are held here, this week commemorates the death of the Emperor and the Spring Grand Festival was being held. After seeing such beautiful gardens yesterday we decided to see some of the weddings and the music and dance show being performed not long after we arrived. Again there were lots of people here, and the walk through the forest to the shrine was very enjoyable after the hustle and bustle of the Ginza area.

The music and dance performances were again traditional so it was good to see, especially for the colourful costumes, but we needed someone to explain what was going on as it didn't mean a lot to us.

Traditional dance performed in front of the Shrine

 

We saw a couple of the stages of a wedding ceremony before the party moved into the Shrine for the rest of the ceremony, and later on we saw a wedding procession which looked like the formalities had been completed and they were leaving the Shrine area.

Wedding ceremony in progress

Wedding ceremony completed

 

Unfortunately tonight is our last night in Tokyo as we fly home tomorrow, but we will have part of the day to do a few more things before we leave as our flight isn't until 8:30pm. We have loved our first visit to Japan, and can recommend it as the people have been very polite and friendly, and we've found it easy to get around using public transport as well as walking!

 

 

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Tokyo, Japan - Day 2

Friday, May 1

We awoke to another beautiful sunny morning with a top temperature of 25C predicted. We've certainly been blessed with magnificent weather everywhere, and we've only seen rain in Singapore and Koh Samui.

With it being such a lovely day we decided to walk to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden which was only about a kilometer away, but in our usual fashion with detours and a bit of exploring we probably walked three times that distance just getting there! The main detour happened literally as we left our hotel, as an area called Golden Gai is at the back of our hotel. This is an area of only 6 alleys and intersecting lane ways, and is a remnant of how Tokyo used to be before the "economic miracle" of the 1950's commenced.

Now it almost looks like a slum area, but it is an exclusive area of narrow fronted buildings (some only about 5 feet wide) only 2 stories high, surrounded by all sorts of high rise buildings and other developments. Most of these old buildings are now bars, various types of music clubs and cafés, with some for members only. They are quite pricey so they are frequented by well to do locals, especially artists, actors and musicians, with some of the bars only big enough to hold 5 or 6 customers!

Our hotel (Citadines) is in the background

View of Golden Gai from our hotel

To see this place at night and with lots of people around gave the area a totally different feel, so for a contrast the following photo was taken in the same alley with our hotel in the background.

 

The next surprise was finding a shrine on the other side of the street to Golden Gai, and it was very impressive. The Hanazono Shrine is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Tokyo and set in really nice gardens so again it was hard to believe we were in such a large and busy city when it was so tranquil there.

The Hanazono Shrine and gardens

 

We finally reached the Shinjuku Gyoen garden and began a leisurely stroll towards the traditional Japanese Garden. Again we couldn't get over how it had a Central Park feel to it, so large, beautiful and green and in the midst of a huge city of approximately 13 million people! The edge of the gardens are surrounded by high rise offices and apartments and yet there were magnificent outlooks within the gardens. We were very impressed!

Views of the Japanese Traditional Gardens

We wandered on, taking the occasional seat to just admire the views, taking in the beauty of the spring flowers and different types of trees and shades of green. Unfortunately we were too late to see the cherry blossoms, but a couple of trees still had a few blossoms on them. To see the hundreds of cherry trees around the gardens in bloom would be a magnificent site.

On one of the ornamental lakes there was a Chinese Pavilion, and again the setting was unreal - there were lots of painters around the park trying to reproduce the beauty of this park, with some doing better than others. It's hard to beat nature at her best!

Chinese Pavilion

The gardens also contained avenues of sycamore trees, a French formal garden, an English landscape garden and greenhouses with tropical plants, so there was lots of variety for everyone. The park was busy with lots of school groups, families having picnics, foreigners like us and mums taking their babies for an outing in their strollers.

We had worked up an appetite as we completed our walk in the gardens, so we stopped for some lunch at the cafe near the exit, and finished it off with a cherry blossom flavored soft serve ice cream - we couldn't resist and it was very yummy! An "only in Japan" experience.

 

On our way back to our hotel we checked out some of the shops, and just observed all the locals scurrying about - it certainly is busy, but it is orderly and well organized, and it has a real buzz about it.

We revisited the "twin towers" observation deck later in the afternoon in an attempt to see Mt. Fuji on a clear day, and we could just make out a faint outline, which was better than yesterday's viewing! After that we enjoyed a fabulous Japanese meal, and finished off another terrific day in Tokyo with a wander through Golden Gai for a contrast of the old and the new.

 

 

 

 

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