Arrival

The 14 hour flight from Sydney to Vancouver was a bit of a marathon. But we remained cheerful although by the time we arrived, the good humour had become a bit warn. We put the “grim” in “pilgrim” you might say by the end of it. Vancouver airport at 7am however cheered us up. We had made it!

Our Sikh taxi driver was very friendly and gave us some lively commentary for our drive to our hotel, the lovely old Sylvia, established in 1912, and very much a family hotel for Canadians in the know visiting Vancouver. It overlooks beautiful English Bay. It was a favourite hotel for Errol Flynn back in the day.

The women at the check in desk were so helpful! Although it was only 9am, and check in was usually at 2pm, they arranged to keep our bags for an hour while a room was being made ready for us. Sweet relief! So, much relieved that we wouldn’t be found comatose on some park bench by 2pm, we knew we only had to go for a short walk, have a coffee, and then we would be able to shower and rest fully horizontal for a while to recover from the rigours of economy class international air travel.

The spring weather this morning was overcast, quite pleasant to walk in, a balmy 12 degrees C. After a stroll along the bay (on which we spotted a seal, some geese, and a few friendly dogs taking their owners for a morning walk) we had a coffee at the Doro Cafe on Denman Street, then headed back to the welcoming charms of the Sylvia. We will eat in at the restaurant overlooking the bay tonight and tomorrow be more adventurous.

How many famous Canadians can you name? Here are some usual suspects to get you started: Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Michael Buble, Celine Dion, Ryan Gosling, Jim Carey, Michael J. Fox, K. D. Lang, Diana Krall, William Shatner …En savoir plus