Day 19 Vancouver. 18th June.

That’s it for long distance train journeys (for the time being).

I am very comfortable at my Vancouver accommodation. But it took me a while to “get up and go” after that much needed sleep. Finally, I have started to explore, and, as in San Francisco, I have purchased 48 hour hop-on hop-off pass to take care of all my sightseeing in the two days available. The walk to Canada Place is around five minutes, almost adjacent to the cruise terminal.

(above) Canada Place.

From here, I can explore the city on the bus/ferry. However, a most unsuitable but delicious lunch in an Italian restaurant was the order of the early afternoon where I started penning this blog. I am now on the Park (green)route which I shall complete in its entirety. It should take around two hours. This evening, as in San Francisco, I shall take the night tour. (I expect some duplication). This initial ride is providing a very good overview of Vancouver.

Trolley buses are plentiful in Vancouver, creating an ambience of nostalgia, again, similar to San Francisco. The city feels noisy busy and vibrant. Smartly dressed locals sip designer coffees in famous-chain coffee bars. Business is conducted over personal “rectangles” (my disparaging term for cell phones). Hopefully, the pictures I take here will illustrate an attractive city, surrounded by wooded hills and mountains. The bus journey was well in excess of the promised two hours, although “dwell time” at some stops seemed generous. And I think that we missed Gas Town and the Steam Clock to recover some lost time. There is always tomorrow. I shall be up and about at a much more respectable hour tomorrow; there is so much to see. We do call here on the way back from Skagway (Alaska), for a final opportunity to see more of Vancouver or its scenic surrounds.