Moving on... Summerland

Due to a real lack of soundproofing in the hotel in Vancouver (with a roudy bunch of old ladies on one side and an over-amorous couple on the other - think Meg Ryan in 'when Harry met Sally' and then raise the volume until the remote explodes, a bit like that) we've had very little sleep over the last few days. This morning I was up at 4am and out taking photographs of the sunrise by 6.

On the first night, we had noticed a really nice scene down one of the main streets; all lit up with neon signs with the snowcapped Rockies in the distance, highlighted by a setting sun. I was way too tired that night to go back for my camera so I planned to go the next night instead. However, the clouds were too low over the next two days to even see the Rockies so I thought I'd missed my chance. But this morning, there they were in all their glory.

I set up my tripod at the side of the road, entered a nice slow shutter speed to catch the movement of the traffic and got snapping.




Since the Canucks victory the other night over Chicago, all of the buses have had "Go Canucks Go" emblazoned across the front of them so when I saw this one pulling up at the lights, I took my chances, ran into the middle of the road, plonked my tripod down, got the picture and then quickly darted out of the way as the lights changed.




After breakfast, we picked up the hire car and set off for Summerland. It was a beautiful scenic drive, mile after mile of rolling hills and craggy mountains. The sun was out but there was thick snow everywhere, about four foot at the side of the road in some places.

The hotel (Summerland Waterfront Resort and Spa) perches right on the edge of the lake, with the yacht club jetty right outside our window.




The receptionist must have liked the look of us because we got upgraded to a studio room with a corner balcony looking out on the lake and pool - absolutely huge room with a full kitchen, dining area, very posh bathroom, massive bed, 3 piece suite, 32 inch telly and DVD player, and a log fire!




I could quite happily live here - I can see myself sat at the dining table with a hot chocolate and my laptop, writing this blog while watching the boats sail by.




There isn't a lot to do here so we're just enjoying the time relaxing with a good book before we have to do the 7 hour drive to Banff tomorrow.

Location:Summerland, Canada

Rain

Today it rained. And rained. And then it rained some more. My waterproof coat and pants are no use in this, I'm soaked to my undies and cold to the bones.

We went this morning to Gas Town to see the steaming clock which, every 4 and a half minutes, whistles the tune of the Westminster chimes and blasts out a big plume of smoke, spitting water all over you if you stand close enough. Gas Town is where Vancouver began after Gassy Jack Deighton, a sailor from Hull came over in 1867 to open a bar. It is now known as Vancouver's best bar district and is where we are heading tonight to meet up with one of Paul's students who lives here.




There was not a lot else to see there during the day other than a few old shop fronts and a statue of Old Gassy himself so we then trundled off to Chinatown where we visited the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden.




The garden was rooted around a small lake covered in lilies with a little pagoda and a lovely looking Chinese building - you could almost think you were in China were it not for the towering skyscrapers looming behind which so epitomise the Vancouver skyline.




The rest of Chinatown was pretty scruffy (and smelly because of all the stores selling all kinds of varieties of dried fish) so we jumped on a bus over to the University of British Columbia campus.

By this point it was REALLY lashing down and we were starting to get quite uncomfortable as we squelched around in our wet shoes and socks!

The campus is huge and home to numerous tourist sights as well as all those students. There was a lot of things we would have liked to have seen had it not been raining; the botanical garden, the Nitobe Memorial garden, the Wreck Beach, but under the conditions we settled for the Museum of Anthropology which was dry, and warm.




The museum contains one of Canada's best displays of northwest coast aboriginal heritage. Totem poles, original ones this time with the signs of age showing in their rotten wood.




The imagery in them suggests that their designers may have been under the influence of hallucinogenic frog licking!

Location:Vancouver

Around the world in one blog post!

First things first, I have a few new 'Globe Trotters' since my last post, so welcome new friends! Thank you for following my blog and I hope you enjoy the journey! Don't be afraid to stop and say hello!

Second, I'm quite excited by my stats today, I have had people looking at my site from all around the world! People in Canada, Finland, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Estonia and even Lebanon! Wow! These are all places I've either been to or would love to go to, so please get in touch if you would like to be included in 'One Man's Back Yard is Another Man's Paradise' I'd love to hear about your stomping ground!

I've been a very busy girl at work this last couple of weeks which is why I've been a bit quiet on the old blog front. But, to remind me why I get up in the morning and work my little backside off five days a week, I've been planning my next trip! Woohoo! There is nothing better than flicking through magazines, books and web pages searching out your dream destination (especially during the wintery post Christmas blues of January).

Reflections on a lake at Whistler

So, next on my list is Canada! My hubby has been before but I never have - it's one he's promised me for years! I absolutely can't wait! Normaly, we book a flight and turn up with just the suitcase we carry and then try and find hotels as we travel around. But, as we will be going when there is still likely going to be snow on the ground, we didn't want to take the risk of being homeless for two weeks! We have booked everything, right down to the last detail.

Reflections on Osoyoos Lake, Osoyoos

The last time Paul went, they had freakishly bad weather for the time of year (March) and were unable to get up to Banff because the roads were all closed off with snow. They only managed to get as far as Revelstoke so we are both really looking forward to getting up into the mountains and around the lakes for some gob-smackingly gorgeous sights and maybe even ride with the hounds in the snow.

Dog sledding in Whistler

This is our itinerary:

4 nights - Vancouver
1 night - Kelowna
4 nights - Banff
1 night - Kelowna
1 night - Victoria
1 night - near Nanaimo - staying in what can only be described as a Christmas tree bauble!
2 nights - Tofino
1 night - Vancouver

Totem poles in Stanley Park, Vancouver

If anyone is reading this who lives in any of these places, please let me know if there are any well kept secrets which I just can't miss! I promise not to blab!