Day 344 - 347: Vancouver (part 3) - Victoria, Whitecaps and another birthday!

Our last four days in Vancouver were spent soaking in the chilled Canadian vibe of the city. We took a trip to the Vancouver Art Gallery and I had my first ever proper mocha from Caffe Artigiano. I hate coffee, but mochas are definitely bearable. This one was fantastic - it makes me wonder what the Melbourne coffee is like, since a Canadian Couchsurfer we met over there was raving about it. There's only one solution: go back to Melbourne. One day, one day.



The VAG wasn't bad, but nothing really sprang out. The evening was more fun, spent in the company of Ravi's workmates at Jimmy's Taphouse. We may have had a few too many, if that is even a thing.





Slightly more sober the following day, we took the boat to Victoria. Ravi had been working out the night before, and was keen to impress everyone he met. And rightly so!





Victoria is quite a kooky place. It has a lot of lovely buildings, whilst at the same time feeling quite parochial. If you've been to Wells or the back streets of Bath, there's a similar kind of feel.









We took a picnic and bathed in the autumn sunshine outside a huge building while Ravi pretended not to be having a great time. There's also a pretty big tourist element to Victoria, and quite a lot of souvenir shops around. Gilly, of course, found a bear.









But mostly, Victoria was about spending quality time in pubs (the Irish Times and the Penny Farthing) with two great friends. Of course, a curry was the perfect way to round off the evening and I may well have fell asleep in front of Snow White and the Huntsman, but I don't necessarily think that was a bad thing.





The next day was sports day. Vancouver's football team is the Whitecaps. Generally mediocre, over the last few years they've seen a bit of a resurgence which has led to them overtaking LA Galaxy in the MLS Western Conference. We went to see them before this turnaround, though. On the way there, we saw parades of people singing, playing instruments, and generally taking over the centre.



The games are unsurprisingly big on ceremony, so we were treated to some fireworks followed by the Canadian national anthem sung by a lady I couldn't name (but who may be huge over there). Then things got real.





The Whitecaps somehow held their own against the Colorado Rapids and managed a 2-2 draw which I was happy with, despite lots of falling over by the Rapids. There's nothing more frustrating than a goalless match. Obviously, we needed beer to properly enjoy it.









We were pretty exhausted from all the cheering, so we had some food at The Hub and hit the hay, but not before being introduced to Sunny's bear collection. The centre bear is called Teddy, and over the fortnight Teddy would turn up in the most unusual places around the house, staring at you with his passive-aggressive eyes. Whether in a cupboard, balanced on a balcony or peering at you in the bathroom, there was nowhere Teddy wouldn't stalk you. Or rather, Sunny. Not that we had anything to do with his movements; Teddy was a force unto himself and we took no responsibility.



For our last full day we went to the cinema in the morning and Ravi and I watched Dredd (an excellent film which didn't get the box office it deserved) whilst Gilly opted for Paranorman instead. I think we got the better deal.

It was Ravi's brother Roop's 30th birthday that evening, so we all headed over to their parents' house for the celebration.







Was there beer involved? Of course. It was a great ending to a wonderful fortnight with some fantastic friends. Hopefully we'll get to see Ravi and Sunny again very soon! We were heading over to Toronto the next day to meet my cousin Kathrine, whom I'd not seen for years.

Day 340 - 343: Kitsilano, Whistler and the Grouse Grind

How does one have a shower with a broken hand? LIKE THIS!



Since Gilly was still getting used to only having the use of one hand, we managed to get out of the house hours later, and went to Kitsilano where we visited the completely bonkers Sophie's Cosmic Cafe. Home to pretty much everything kitsch in the world, it is packed with oddities, throwbacks, and "what the hell?" items, including some hilarious placemats.







I may have tripped out, as I have absolutely no idea what I ate there. Kitsilano is a lovely beach district in Vancouver. Even in September, the weather was brisk at times but mostly sunny and warm (although the locals might disagree). Some sort of filming was being done there, as there were film trailers and crew all over the place. We didn't spot anyone famous, but the cars certainly looked the part.











Gilly's knack of sniffing out dessert restaurants never ceases to amaze. Before we left Kitsilano, we got dragged in.





The rest of the day was spent planning a trip to Whistler. We'd arranged to stay with a couple of Couchsurfers who had arrived there ahead of the snow season, so all we needed to do was sort out a car and arrange arrival times. We picked up a hire car the next day and set off.

Whistler is only about an hour and a half north of Vancouver, so it made sense to get out into the country and enjoy some hikes whilst we were there. En route, we were spoiled by some truly serene sights.





Special mention should go to our Ford Fiesta Sport which not only came in an amazing green colour which just blended into the surroundings, but was one of the most fun things I've ever driven. I decided to do some free modelling to showcase just how tremendous the vehicle was. You're welcome, Ford.





Halfway to Whistler is Stawamus Chief Provincial Park, which has a few hikes you can do. The Chief is the mountain from which the park gets its name, and Shannon Falls is also nearby.









It wasn't long before we hit Whistler. It's an odd little place, nestled in the mountains like an upmarket parochial village pulled straight out of a Thomas Kinkade painting, but it is gorgeous. I can only imagine how beautiful it is when the place is covered in snow.





Our hosts were Chris and Tasha, who were both incredibly welcoming. Chris was a keen snowboarder, whilst (if memory serves!) Tasha was a skier. They hopped around the country during the winter season, working in the hotels, and got to play around in the snow after the tourists had left. Seemed like a fun job if you wanted to immerse yourself in winter sports! We grabbed some food at the Royal Taste of India and then hit the main hub for evening activity - the Crystal Lodge. There was karaoke on, but none of us had drank enough to get up on stage ourselves.



Chris and Tasha both had the next day off so they kindly offered to take us up Blackcomb mountain (adjacent to Whistler) and on the Peak 2 Peak gondola which transports you between both.









Whistler is bear country, and there's a momma bear called Jeanie who hangs around with her cubs in the forest and can occasionally be spotted from the gondolas. However, the closest we got to animal life was this:



Before hitting the mountains, we took a detour. In the middle of one of the nearby trails near Function Junction, just south of Whistler, a train derailed a while ago. It's become something of a cultural icon in the area and is home to some interesting graffiti, made all the more curious by the fact that it's sat in the middle of a forest.













Once we got back to Whistler, a trip on the gondola took us to the Roundhouse Lodge for lunch and spectacular views. Gilly also managed to find some bears!













Then it was time to get back on the gondola again to head up to Whistler's peak. Even though it wasn't snow season quite yet, there was still plenty of hard packed snow on the top of the mountains. You know, because, science.



















The Peak 2 Peak gondola is the highest lift of its kind in the world, dangling 1,427 feet over the valley floor. We were pretty lucky to experience the trip up to Whistler, and grateful to Chris and Tasha for putting us up over two nights. It'd be amazing to come back here in winter and do some skiing in the future.

We set off back to Vancouver the next day, and decided to stop off and do the Grouse Grind. Well, I did. Gilly is a trooper, but even she wouldn't have been able to climb a mountain with one hand. I barely managed it. The Grouse Grind is also known as "Mother Nature's Stairmaster", and it becomes apparent why once you hit Grouse Mountain. It's 1.8 miles long, contains 2,830 stairs, and is inclined pretty much the entire way. I had to do it.

The official record for the Grind is 25 minutes. I have absolutely no idea how this time is possible, save for a jetpack or possibly a series of interconnected trampolines. Leaving Gilly in the car park at the base, I hit my stopwatch and set off.



At the 1/4 mark, I was really feeling it, and I'd barely started. I was so glad I hadn't had a haircut, as the extra hair really helped cool me down. No, wait, the opposite of that.



By the halfway point I think I pushed through the barrier where pretty much all liquid had been excreted out of my face. Then it was a slow, methodical crawl right up to the end.







I wish I could say that was my time, but unfortunately I was so slow that the watch was onto its second cycle. Final time - 1 hour, 8 minutes, 14 seconds. As I said, a jetpack is the only viable answer. My reward tasted like heaven.





I didn't climb down again. There was a gondola at the top that took me all the way back to the base. Best $10 I'd spent for a long time. Somehow I had enough energy to drive us back to the rental company, and Ravi's dad was on hand to collect us from there like the star he is. That night, we introduced Ravi and Sunny to the genius of Tim Minchin, and I had an amazing night's sleep.