A new city!

 A new day -- a new city! I'm in Vancouver now. Yep --- my Aunt and I took a trip back to the galleries and got photos of the artwork we loved. I'm not going to share this morning. I'll wait until I get home, but hopefully, you had a chance to check it out because the stuff is absolutely stunning. 

Then we were off to the seaplane dock and waited a few minutes for the seaplane to arrive. Goodbyes are never fun, and I need to come back more often! It was a wee bit windy (not really), but little planes, open water - wind? I wasn't sure how much fun that flight would be, but it was terrific. If ever you are in this area, you should book a seaplane ride as it's the best and easiest way to get around if you travel light! Ferries are fun but take more time. OK -- the plane is more expensive!

Seaplane over Stanley Park

This time, I flew directly into Vancouver Harbor, not the airport. I wish I had been sitting on the opposite side of the plane; although I could see, it was a bit hard to get photos. But we flew right over Stanley Park, and it felt like we dropped out of the sky to the dock close to the convention center. I wish I had known that last year when we were here for Quilt Canada. I flew to the airport and then had to wait for the shuttle and the Skytrain. 

There were two cruise ships at the port as well. 

The seaplane dock

M and Bear met me, although we had to text a few times to find each other, and then we walked to her place. Of course, only in Vancouver (West Coast) would you still find flowers in bloom at this time of year! And look -- there's a fuzzy little bear!!!! He is so cute when he's fluffy, but alas, he had to go to the groomer yesterday and is no longer fluffy. 

Bear and the flowers

While we were waiting, we stopped for lunch at a waffle place. I know -- sweet waffles for lunch! Why not? It was a great little place, and we could have had savory waffles, but that will have to wait for the next time. 

A sweet waffle for lunch!

I had a nap in the afternoon -- good grief --- I guess all the toing and froing is tiring, and so Bear and I snuggled in for a nap on the sofa while M did an errand.

We had a great visit, and seeing how your kid turns out in life is exciting. So much more mature and grounded, and well, I wish we lived closer. Remember when I said that we have no ties to retiring in Toronto? Could Vancouver be on our radar? Not just yet!!!! 

She lives in a tiny apartment, so there is no room for me to stay, but you can stay in Vancouver for less than $100. I'm in the Hi Canada hostel, which was a little walk last night but not far! I'm in a 4-bed dorm room for women. After all my travels on the Camino, this is a breeze. 

They have excellent light and power outlets on the bed, so you can read as much as you want and charge your phone. You didn't always get that on the Camino. And while I didn't seem to sleep as well as I would have liked, I still got a good sleep. No snorers, but there's one thing that amazes me. 

Can you tell me why some people are heavy-footed? I swear when they walk, they are MARCHING to the next destination. Walk light-footed when you are in a building with many people. This goes for hotels as well. I don't know how often I've been in a room where some heavy-footed person is above me. Learn to walk softly!! 

Take a walk in your house heavy-footed and then light-footed. Which are you? Do you know that walking with a heavy foot can be very noisy and annoying!!!! If you live in a two-story house, get someone to walk upstairs in both heavy and light mode -- OH -- now I see the difference!!!!

The second thing is the darn doors. These doors close automatically, and I swear from 8:00 PM (when I arrived) to when I fell asleep hours later, every 30 seconds, a door would slam. That's just the nature of a hostel, I suppose! So you get used to it. But no one seems to close the door quietly -- they just let it bang, although the doors are noisy, even when you close them quietly.  

But I survived and didn't need a costly hotel. I swear, they need to make smaller hotel rooms for those single travelers who just need a bed for the night. 

I'm now sitting in a lounge (meeting room) somewhere in the hostel to write the blog. There are two other people in my sleeping room. One was in bed when I arrived, and the other person arrived after midnight! Hopefully, they'll be up when I return so I can pack my stuff, although I can do it in the dark! While not heavy, this backpack feels heavy as it's not made to walk for any distance. The hostel was only 1 KM from the apartment, so it was not far, but the streets are sure dark here! I guess there are so many trees that the lights don't show up, and thankfully, the sidewalks are in good shape because if there was a hole or a deviation in the height, I'd have been toast! 

There was a bit of rain last night, but not enough to bother me. So there'll be some more visiting and exploring today, and hopefully, the rain will stay away. 

My shoulder is starting to bother me -- it was never good at holding a backpack on one shoulder, and I know better, so I'm trying to use both shoulders for it. That's why I carry a backpack and not a bag. I wrecked my shoulder years ago on the Metro in Montreal from carrying a bag on one shoulder and it's been fine for years until I was searching for a geocach in a tree and slipped, bringing the injury back to life. This past bit, with all the traveling, has not helped it heal! 

Well, that's it for me. I'm off to finish packing, find a place to eat breakfast, and then work my way back to M's apartment. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!