• Lara Knight
  • Jo Andrews
  • Cindy Cooper
  • Lara Knight
  • Jo Andrews
  • Cindy Cooper

Canada & Alaska September 2026

The gang’s 2nd trip 🙌🙌 Leer más
  • Day 15 Granville Island Vancouver

    27 de septiembre, Canadá ☀️ 12 °C

    The next morning, the six of us headed out for the day, ready for our first full independent excursion in Vancouver. After the drama of yesterday's coach mishaps, we were more than happy to explore at our own relaxed pace! We made our way down to False Creek, caught one of the charming little water taxis across the harbour, and stepped off onto the vibrant docks of Granville Island.
    One of the first things that caught our eye was the massive, colourful "Giants" mural painted onto the towering concrete silos of the Ocean Concrete plant. It was such a striking piece of public art, towering over the island and completely transforming an industrial site into something interesting..
    From there, we headed into the famous Granville Island Public Market. The indoor market was an absolute feast for the senses, housed in massive, characterful old tin buildings. The stalls were piled high with a stunning and beautiful array of artisan foods, fresh produce, and pastries.
    After some time wandering around taking in the sights and sounds, we decided to get some fresh air and enjoyed a lovely walk through the park on the island, strolling along the green pathways, taking in the water views, and enjoying the peaceful contrast to the busy market. We even saw a seal sunbathing in the sunshine!
    Eventually, our wanderings led us over to The Liberty Distillery, which made for the perfect pit stop. We sat down in their lovely, rustic lounge and treated ourselves to a drink—a wonderful chance to unwind, chat, and watch the world go by from a cozy vantage point.
    Feeling properly refreshed, we made our way back to the public market for lunch. With so many incredible food stalls to choose from, we all found something perfect, and the food was absolutely delicious. We managed to find a great spot outside in the sunshine to eat, where we saw a boat named after Cindy and spent time recapping our favourite parts of the trip so far and thoroughly enjoying a slow, perfect market morning together before heading back.
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  • Day 15 English Bay Vancouver

    27 de septiembre, Canadá ☀️ 16 °C

    After finishing our lunch, we left the market behind and spent the rest of our afternoon walking along the spectacular coastline of English Bay. Strolling right along the seawall, we watched the waves roll in and enjoyed the refreshing ocean breeze as we made our way toward the West End. Along the way, we couldn't resist stopping for an ice cream. We took them down to the beach and sat on the huge wooden logs at the back of the sand, completely content just relaxing and enjoying our treats in the beautiful sunshine.
    Once our feet were rested, we continued our stroll. Further along the waterfront, we passed the magnificent stone Inukshuk monument standing tall against the ocean background. It’s a massive, beautiful Inuit sculpture made of stacked granite blocks that looks like a human figure welcoming you to the coast—we found out later it actually inspired the logo for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!
    Our long coastal walk eventually brought us to Morton Park at English Bay, where we finally came face-to-face with the famous "laughing statues"—the iconic A-maze-ing Laughter art installation. Seeing those fourteen giant bronze figures all frozen in various poses of hysterical, wide-mouthed laughter was absolutely brilliant. It is completely impossible to look at them without smiling yourself. People were walking through them, taking funny photos, and copying the poses. We later found out a lovely fact about them: they were originally only meant to be a temporary exhibit, but they became so deeply loved by both locals and visitors that a generous donation was made to buy them so they could stay permanently.
    It felt like the perfect, joyful way to wrap up a long afternoon of exploring the city on foot.
    By the time we got back, all the miles of walking had caught up with us. Lara and Ian were feeling completely shattered and a bit unwell, so they decided to stay in, grab some food at the hotel, and have an early night.
    The rest of the group still had some energy left and ended up heading right back to Pacifico Pizzeria. They opted for pasta this time around and declared it just as good as the pizza from the night before! It was another great meal to cap off a wonderful, jam-packed day.
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  • Day 16 - Gas Town then home

    28 de septiembre, Canadá ☁️ 13 °C

    Today was our final day in Vancouver. Unfortunately, Lara and Ian were both still quite unwell, so they made the sensible decision to rest up in the hotel until we were due to depart for the airport around 3:40 pm.
    With a few hours left to explore, Cindy, Graham, Jon, and Jo decided to head out towards Gastown, as Jon was particularly keen to find the local viewing tower. While Gastown is celebrated as one of Vancouver's oldest and most historic neighbourhoods, the ultimate vantage point turned out to be the Vancouver Lookout. We didn't actually go up inside the building itself, but we still managed to catch some absolutely Fab views looking out over the bustling port, with the water and the dramatic North Shore mountains stretching across the horizon.
    After taking in the sights, we wandered into the historic heart of Gastown, which is famous for its charming cobblestone streets and striking Victorian architecture. We made sure to time our walk perfectly to see the iconic Gastown Steam Clock. Built in 1977 over a live city steam vent, it uses the underground steam pressure to power its gears and blow five brass whistles. Our watches said exactly 12:00 when the chimes finally rang out the Westminster melody, meaning the hands on the clock face were actually running four minutes early at 12:04—a common quirk caused by the fluctuating steam!
    As we strolled further through the historic streets, we admired the beautiful heritage brickwork. One spectacular, triangular brick structure immediately caught Jon's eye, reminding him exactly of the famous Flatiron Building in New York (the historic Hotel Europe building). The architecture and the brickwork were truly magnificent.
    From there, we took a slow, relaxed walk back through the retail and theatre districts of the city. We capped off our morning by grabbing a bite to eat at a lovely pub not far from the hotel.
    Returning to the Sheraton Wall Centre, we reunited with Lara, Ian, and the rest of our travel group who had been staying over in the hotel's North Tower. It was wonderful to catch up, swap stories of our independent Vancouver adventures, and say our final goodbyes before heading out to the coach to begin the long journey home.
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  • Day 17 - Home!

    29 de septiembre, Inglaterra 🌬 24 °C

    Today we finally arrived back home, exhausted but full of memories, officially completing our incredible journey.
    Before leaving yesterday, our final moments in Canada were captured with some last-minute photos at Vancouver International Airport. Even the airport managed to blow us away with its incredible Vancouver Aquarium exhibit! Right inside the international terminal, they have a massive, mesmerizing 114,000-litre aquarium tank teeming with native marine life. Getting to watch the colorful sea anemones, giant kelp, and schools of British Columbia rockfish glide past completely caught our attention and gave us one last beautiful taste of the Pacific coast.
    Unfortunately, we didn't have the best flight back, and by the time the wheels touched down on home soil, every single one of us was thoroughly glad to be home!
    But despite the long journey and the minor bumps along the way, what an absolute adventure and a truly fabulous holiday we have had. It was genuinely the trip of a lifetime, filled with unforgettable sights, great laughs with our travel group, and memories to treasure forever!
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    Fin del viaje
    29 de septiembre de 2026