Vancouver Part 3

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Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Sunday, 17 August 2014 16:24

Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaI mentioned that Vancouver is a beautiful city with a lot of green space to enjoy, one of these spaces is the impressive Stanley Park, offering residents and visitors the opportunity to walk in a forest on the edge of downtown. There are numerous walking and cycling trails throughout and around the park and offers quite a diverse view – coniferous forest, wetlands, lakes and beaches. The park is a delight to walk in, and is reasonably well signposted throughout. We spent a few hours wandering various trails starting on the northern shore of Lost Lagoon north to Point Prospect exploring the western half, then south through the eastern half stopping off at Klahowya Village, a coastal Salish (the collective name of tribes from the Vancouver area) operated space to educate visitors about First Nation culture and history. The Klahowya village offers a range of indigenous cultural experiences such as storytelling, dance and song, arts demonstrations and craft workshops. For anyone who is interested in exploring a little of the rich and varied First Nation cultures, this is an excellent first stop.

 

Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaStanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Stanley Park, Vancouver

Museum of Anthropology at British Columbia University, Vancouver, CanadaAn excellent second stop is visiting the Museum of Anthropology at British Columbia University. The MOA was founded in 1949 and is a public as well as teaching museum that moved to its current location in 1976. It contains an extensive collection of artefacts from Canadian and other First Peoples across the world. The main entrance hall presents a number of welcome posts, totem poles and sculptures before opening into a large windowed room of bentwood boxes, feast dishes, more totem poles and other artefacts. We took one of the free tours of the facility and were introduced to the indigenous art and some of the political and cultural practices of the people such as the potlatch – a ceremonial gathering, usually involving a feast, used to impart changes to law, status, property rights and other things of import. The Potlatch was banned by the Canadian government for nearly seventy years and were held in secret by some First Nation societies.

Museum of Anthropology at British Columbia University, Vancouver, CanadaMuseum of Anthropology at British Columbia University, Vancouver, Canada

The MOA also has an incredible display called ‘The Multiversity’, which includes over 16000 artefacts in glass cabinets and drawers of indigenous cultures across the globe. There are three other galleries inside the MOA, a permanent display for the artist Bill Reid centred around his sculpture ‘The Raven and the First men’, another featuring a collection of European Ceramics (donated by Dr Walter C Koerner), two for temporary exhibits, one currently featuring modern art inspired by First Peoples, and another featuring Afro-Cuban art. There are lecture halls and research rooms, and an outdoor exhibits including a Haida House complex and numerous Totem Poles. The building is also a work of art unto itself, being specifically designed by architect Arthur Erickson.

We easily spent a few hours exploring the MOA, and I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject. It costs around $17/adult entry, and is well worth it.

Just across the harbour is Grouse Mountain, a very popular destination for tourists and fitness training. It is easy to get to with regular public transport available on both sides of the harbour. Grouse has a few trails to choose from, the most popular being ‘The Grind’ (a one way trail up the ridgeline), there were dozens of people gathering at the bottom to do this trail and at the top most of the fitness crowd had completed it. We opted to take the new BCMC trail (there is also an old BCMC trail which intersects with the new around half way up), which is a less popular trail and more appealing to me. The trail makes use of the forests root structure, enhancing the natural stairs with stone, fallen timbers or planks. The BCMC is almost pure ascent through lush forest that is quite clearly marked (160 main and hundreds of supplementary tags), and while only 4 kilometres in length, it would provide a good challenge/workout to most. A note though, when you near the top there will be a sign with an option to take 2 routes – keep left and don’t bother with the Sun View as it is a poorly marked trail that doesn’t offer anything extra aside from a view of the chair-lift and part of the golf course. There are facilities at the bottom, where you can also catch the gondola (if you don’t want to walk) as well as at the chalet at the top including a number of restaurants and other activities including a lumberjack show, some zip-lines, a bear enclosure and more.  You can catch the Gondola down the mountain when you are done, which offers an incredible view of the city.

Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaGrouse Mountain, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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Grouse Mountain


 

Another great way to appreciate the beauty of Vancouver is to look at it from a different perspective. One option for that is to hire a kayak for a couple of hours and paddle around the harbour. We picked up our kayaks from a place near the stadium at False Creek and paddled west along the shore. From down on the water the cities glass spires rise majestically from the tree line that encircles the city, and there is beauty in the modern designs. The waves on the inlet were shallow and the wind was low, allowing us to paddle with little effort past the millions of dollars of yachts anchored there. The most common things that interrupt the serenity of paddling the harbour are the aqua buses, which are very polite to other water users, but so frequent, (and occasionally, one of the yachts makes its way across the harbour) that you have to deal with their wake, but is a small price to pay for seeing the city like this. Over the two hours we spent on the water we made our way past the Burrard Street Bridge along the Sunset Beach Park before turning around and coming back along the southern side of the harbour, past Vanier Park and Granville Island. It’s a great alternative way to experience the city.

Kayaking along the waterfront, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Other Canada Articles

Vancouver Part 1
Vancouver Part 2
Canada Day
Tough Mudder

 

 

Vancouver Part 2

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Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Sunday, 17 August 2014 16:15

Summer in Vancouver is also festival time, with another starting every few days. This particular weekend was the Dragon Boat Festival, which offered a range of live music at a beer garden in the Olympic Village Square. Over a couple of beers we listened to Alex Cuba perform a variety of songs in Spanish and English.

We visited the Surrey Night Markets, open throughout the summer, which offered a variety of Asian foods and other stalls including of handicrafts, mobile phone paraphernalia, posters, a stage, and other activities. It was a decent market to visit but for one you have to pay to enter, there are other free alternatives that are better. 

Jazz Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaThe Vancouver Jazz Festival was in full swing, offering a range of free as well as paid performances in such number that is easy to be entertained gratis for the entire weekend. We dropped by David Lam Park on the Saturday and returned on the Sunday afternoon, where they had a small entertainment district setup with a variety of stalls, food outlets and a bar.

We saw Sprïng (formerly SSRIs), a prog rock inspired band with heavy 60’s British influence. Euan Burton & Occurrences, an interesting contemporary jazz ensemble both melodic and dissonant. 4=4, led by a violinist accompanied by guitar, bass and drums, played some beautiful harmonies blending jazz and rock. Lorraine Klaasen is a Montreal based Soweto born vocalist who presented South African inspired songs that were infectious and uplifting. The 24th Street Wailers, were a loud and intense electric blues ensemble fronted by drummer and vocalist Lindsay Weaver. Miami Device are a 10 piece with horns, guitars, drums, and keyboard providing some excellent funk. And The Belle Game, a Vancouver pop-rock-orchestral hybrid – not my cup of tea, but Vancouver seemed to love it.

Jazz Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaJazz Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The summer also brings the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, for its 25th year, providing performances of ‘The Tempest’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, and ‘Cymbeline’ as well as contemporary play ‘Equivocation’ by Bill Cain and a one-man retrospective on the history of Bard on the Beach. The Bard’s players are mostly local veteran actors, having played roles in a variety of TV and theatre, some of whom are in multiple performances. On Sunday we saw the Matinee of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaThe stage is at the rear of the tent with a portal opening out onto Park. It is multi-tiered stage with a singular lounge shrouded in an ornate umbrella. The players use the entirety of the stage in the performance, sometimes bringing extra props as required. It is a semi-contemporary take on the play with the language and story being original but some of the performances being inspired by modern media and modern music to enhance the audience experience. This modernisation is both to the performances benefit and detriment, with some of the music jarring me from the fantasy. Having the portal overlooking the park is also an excellent addition, adding a naturalist perspective to the experience especially when a downpour occurred mid-performance (such a torrent that I feel the actors would have preferred it to have occurred in the Tempest).

One of the beauties of Shakespeare is that it is so malleable that it is rare to see a poor interpretation, and it is a great joy when you see a good or excellent one. The Bard on Beach provided an excellent afternoon out and is well worth taking the time to enjoy.

Other Canada Articles

Vancouver Part 1
Vancouver Part 3
Canada Day
Tough Mudder

 

 

Vancouver Part 1

Details
Parent Category: Travel Over There
Category: 2014 - Gap Year
Created: Sunday, 17 August 2014 16:06

We arrived to Vancouver on Tuesday 17th June in the early evening and were met by Rina’s family and spent the night being introduced and getting to know them.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Vancouver is considered to be one of the most liveable cities in the world with its vast array of public and green spaces throughout and surrounding the city, most within easy transit. The city is fast becoming a mountain of glass and steel, replacing its 20th century buildings with newer apartment spires, offering a view of the harbours, forests and mountains along the horizon as a reminder of why they are building up and not out. The city’s cultural offerings are quite diverse, with a range of festivals, markets and activities for people of all ages.

Most of the harbours are lined with a sea wall providing excellently maintained walkways and cycle paths. There also numerous infographic signs highlighting the history of the city and the area. You can spend hours just wandering along the sea wall and admiring the view. The city is easy to navigate using public transport, which is frequent and while expensive, cheaper than the alternatives (unless the alternative is walking everywhere).

We were lucky during our stay to take advantage of the Vancouver Art Gallery’s Fuse event, held on select Fridays throughout the year. The Gallery provides a variety of live performances throughout its space for visitors to enjoy while meandering through the building. They also have a bar for patrons to utilise but be warned, the lines are long. This particular Fuse, Fake Plastic, presented: Lisa Simpson – Agente Costura - with an amplified sewing machine creating music as she sewed an outfit, which was a very interesting performance piece with a true industrial music atmosphere; Nicholas Krgovich – On Sunset; House of Venus – Wiggle 20 â€“ A preview of their upcoming cabaret show which was quite entertaining; and an interesting dance piece by Evelyn Roth & Delia Brett that moved throughout the second floor. The gallery has numerous exhibitions, there was a mixed media installation I greatly enjoyed entitled Killing Machine (2007) by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, an excellently terrifying machine. 

Fuse at the Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia, CanadaFuse at the Vancouver Art Gallery, British Columbia, Canada

Bacon beer at St Augustines, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDuring our stay we mostly ate home-cooked meals with the family, but we did visit a couple of locations worthy of note: St Augustine’s, a boutique pub which offer a range of beers in limited amounts (displayed on screens throughout) that are constantly changing depending on supply. I tried a Red Racer Maple Bacon Ale, which was deep brown colour that tasted like hickory marinade had been added. Also the Attila the Hon-ey Ale, a lightly hued and flavoured ale.

Salmon and Bannock, an Aboriginal Restaurant on West Broadway. The cuisine is inspired by indigenous culture and food, and provides a variety of flavours to enjoy. We tried the Elk Burger served in bannock (an indigenous bread). The meat was a little dry with a light gamey flavour, but the sweet potato wedges were exquisite. We also tried their BBQ Pulled Pork burger which was exceptional.

One of the main highlights of this visit was taking part in Tough Mudder at Whistler. The drive to Whistler was wonderful, with great views of the mountains including the Black Tusk, a volcanic caldera. On the drive back we also saw a Black Bear cub on the side of the road.

Bear Cub, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

We also took a road trip through Okanagan where our friends were staying at a cabin on the US side of Lake Osoyoos in Washington state. It’s a 400 odd kilometre journey through the mountains, where even though it is summer, snow is still present. The lake house was a beautiful way to spend a few days – the weather was warm, the water clean and clear, and the company great. Our days were spent talking, eating and relaxing, which is just what I needed after Tough Mudder.

While we were at the lake we stopped by Old Molson, a Ghost town museum to educate about the history of towns in the area. It’s a great little town with a variety of buildings, tools, and common wares from 100+ year history.

Lake Osoyoos, Washington, USAOld Moulson, Washington, USA

We drove back to Vancouver via Kelowna, stopping a while for a late lunch. The region is very nice, with great hills rising to majestic peaks circling vast lakes. The area is known for its produce and there are fruit stalls every few kilometres along the highways. We bought some cherries (there are places you can pick your own here as well) and blueberries, both of which were sweet and juicy.

Other Canada Articles

Vancouver Part 2

Vancouver Part 3

Canada Day

Tough Mudder

 

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