Mountains!

Vancouver Day 2(ish)

It may not seem much to the casual viewer, but these mountains were one of the highlights of my day. It's been a busy one, and they were covered by clouds for most of the day, but when I emerged from a little shopping trip to MEC, I was incredibly excited to see them. Having been living in Norfolk, which is lovely but also incredibly topographically challenged, I've been feeling a little mountain deprived. Hobart is about as far from Norwich as you can get in that regard. Boston, flat. Toronto, flat. None is entirely flat, admittedly, but all are distinctly without mountain ranges. And hence my excitement at spotting these little tufts of rocks pushing up into the clouds this afternoon.

It's been a good day, full of walking. It was raining for most of the time, so I actually didn't take very many photos - I was concentrating hard on keeping myself dry, let alone a camera. The reason I had to concentrate was because I was on a walking tour of Granville St and Gastown. It was a very interesting tour, I learnt a little about the history of the city, the different parts, some of the events that have taken place there. By the end I was feeling a little damp, so I asked for a recommendation of a decent cafe where I could sit with some lunch and a hot drink to warm up for a while. The tour guide directed me to one just on Water St, where I enjoyed a good cup of proper tea and a toasted sandwich while alternating between people watching and reading my book. After an hour I was feeling revived and ready to get out again, so I set off to have a look at the Vancouver Public Library.

At this point I want to tell you the most useful app I have for this particular trip. It's the TripAdvisor City Guides app. You download guides so you have them even when you're offline, and you can search for restaurants, sites, and all the rest, and the results will include reviews and all the basic information you need. Most usefully (I think) is a map that shows where you are, even if you have data roaming off, and has a compass to 'point you there' to a particular location. Of course it only works for the cities that have guides available, but it's a brilliant alternative to relying on data with google maps, or having to use the internet every time you're trying to find a nearby cafe. It also means you can find more obscure things to look at that might happen to be nearby, like the public library.

So I wanted to find some indoor things to check out, and happened upon the library. It's a pretty cool building, reminding me more of the British Museum than a colosseum (as suggested by reviews. People REVIEW going to the library. This is a crazy world.) I wandered through, enjoying the warmth, had a look through some of the historical atlases of North America (yes, I am that sad), but I could really just hear MEC calling so I decided it was worth trudging through the rain.

I trudged. I was splashed by passing cars. I took an accidentally long route. I stopped for a reviving beverage. But I made it. And I bought things. After wishing I could buy much more. Sometimes there are advantages to having limited luggage allowances, and being pretty much at them already. I'd been told by a few completely separate individuals to go to MEC, so it was an obligatory stop at some point in Canada. Tierney and I went in Toronto, but ultimately I was a little hungry then, and didn't look properly. Today, however, I had nothing else to be doing - it was warm and dry, and I didn't want to go back outside. Eventually I ended up with some shoes from the sale stack and a new merino hoody.

By the time I had finished there the rain had stopped and the sky lightened. I almost skipped back towards the hostel, especially when I saw the aforementioned mountains (really, they should not be that exciting). I wandered around a little, then found somewhere for dinner. It ended up being a 'pasta bar', where I could mix and match my pasta sauce to create a concoction to my own tastes. Big serving, lots of deliciousness, under $10 including the tip. That's my kind of dinner. Again I sat and did a combination of people watching and book reading while savouring my pasta.

And now I'm back at my hostel. I had thought about going out for an evening stroll, but after all my kilometres of walking today (no exaggeration, I really should use a pedometer when travelling) I'm a little worn out, so it's just a quiet night in for me.