SEATTLE to VANCOUVER – Shakespeare with chips’n’gravy

Sunday – a very restful night for everyone except for Kylie who was positioned like a boomerang all night in her foldaway bed.  Tyler is driving today so hopefully she will be able to get some sleep in the back seat on our way to Vancouver Canada.

Breakfast was included in our rate so off we go into the small dining room, apparently everything in this hotel is small except for the supply of cardboard brekkie food and we could eat as much as we wanted.  Muffins & vegemite, juice and an apple.  Not such a variety but it was OK to start the day and it is not as if we are wasting away.  Poor Kylie, she can hardly move after her torturous night and even after the hotel staff at check out apologised profusely she was not amused.

As Tyler loads the car I have time for a couple of quick photos.  This is from out the front of our hotel.  You can tell it is early on a Sunday morning because there is no traffic.  The car is finally loaded and we head off about 9am before any further incident can occur.  Kylie and I are starting to twitch for our morning coffee fix and it is not long before we spy a Starbucks, and after purchasing some of their real coffee things begin to look better.  Kylie is even beginning to mellow.

There is still a light misty rain but it is not too drastic and we hope that it will disappear before too long but unfortunately it doesn’t.  We are anxious to reach the border and I keep looking around at the scenery taking the odd snap and movie every now and again.  My iPod is on and Kylie has decided to sit up front with Tyler instead of trying to catch some quick zzz’s.

As we approach the border – of course this Kodak moment crossing from the Colonies into the Commonwealth has to be a highlight, so I begin to get my cameras ready but Kylie tells me to put them away as she does not want to be answering questions on why I am taking photos of a border crossing!  Come to think of it neither do I.  Paranoia and increased security checks have become a way of life since the tragedies of 9/11.  My Kodak moment of ‘the crossing’ and both flags fluttering never comes to pass so we press on in the queue with me mumbling under my breath.

The Customs gentleman on the Canadian side is so polite and we have a small chatty conversation about how long does it take to fly from Australia and then he launches into are you carrying any weapons, how long will you be here, when are you leaving etc etc.

Secretly I wonder if he is just making small talk to try to catch us in case we say – yes we have a bazooka in the back – but eventually our passports are stamped and we get through OK.

He wishes us Bienvenue a Canada (welcome to Canada) and we are on the road again.  What a nice man.  Kylie tells me that all Canadians are well mannered and pleasant.  Must be the Commonwealth connection.

Vancouver is about a 2 hour drive from here and of course the misty rain is still with us so the views are limited to say the least.  Kylie has decided to drive as she has lived in Vancouver and states that it would be easier for her as she knows where to go but driving and looking at the familiar sites is a bit off putting.  Apparently Vancouver in good weather is a really beautiful place – but I will just have to take her word for it.

We head for our hotel – the Best Western Chateau Granville  in the hope that we can check in early.  We wait for the gentleman at reception who is busy trying in his best patient manner to explain to a Japanese couple how check in works.

He speaks no Japanese – they speak no English but eventually through a lot of hand gestures and taking of paperwork he manages to work out their names and finally gets them settled. We ask if we can check in early (it is about 1pm) and he says that our room is ready and it is no problem.  Wonderful – and lovely manners to boot.

Our hotel is centrally located on Granville Street and we are in room 1103 – the photo below is the view from the main window and balcony. The room has two double beds in the bedroom and another pullout double bed in the sitting room.  I take the sitting room so K&T can have a double bed each in the other room.  Every one is happy!

We will be here for two nights before our next move so everything is unpacked from the car and placed onto a luggage trolley which is now sagging in the middle.  The receptionist has a look of bewilderment on his face and I am sure that he double checked that we were only staying for two nights.  After stowing our gear in the room we head off to discover Vancouver and get some lunch.

We decide on Granville Island (more about this place later) but arriving there we find there is not a parking spot to be had so it is back into the city where we take a drive past where Kylie lived during her time here.

Our tummies are rumbling so the search for food continues.  Parking the car we walk up and down trying to decide where to eat until we spy Mr Pickwicks.

This is a real English Fish’n’Chips eatery so inside we go and we are certainly not disappointed.  The choice of food is amazing and they have REAL good old chunky chips not those flimsy french fries.

Kylie orders something called Poutine which she says we must try.  This is a delicacy of chips smothered with gravy and cheese curds.  This dish is also known as instant heart attack!  I do however have a taste but prefer to stay with my Halibut and lemon dill sauce with fresh garden salad which was scrumptious and Kylie has the first of many, many salmon meals.

Tyler had fish and chips which is rather a surprise as I think he is not that keen on seafood. Maybe he is just getting used to the fact that we are heading to the salmon and crab headquarters of the world so he better get used to it.

I am busy tucking into my food and reeling with shock at the sight of the Poutine and after the plates are void of all traces of food we all agree that the meal and the odd glass of wine was thoroughly enjoyable and once again we are ready to face the world and our next stop on the tourist trail – Stanley Park.

HISTORY LESSON : This park is a 400 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada.  It is more than 10% larger than New York City’s Central Park and almost half the size of London’s Richmond Park. The park attracts an estimated eight million visitors every year, including locals and tourists, who come for its recreational facilities and its natural attributes.

An 8.8 kilometres seawall path circles the park, which is used by 2.5 million pedestrians, cyclists, and inline skaters every year. Much of the park remains forested with an estimated half million trees that can be as tall as 76 metres (249 ft) and hundreds of years old. There are approximately 200 kilometres of trails and roads in the park, which are patrolled by the Police Department’s equine mounted squad. The Project for Public Spaces has ranked Stanley Park as the sixteenth best park in the world and sixth best in North America.

It certainly is a very lovely park which even the lousy weather and grey skies cannot spoil.  We even get to see a game of cricket with the players all decked out in their whites.  A shout of ‘Howzat?’ nearly escapes from me, but I decide not to spoil the serenity of the place or possibly a threat of physical violence from Kylie and we venture on.

Across the way from Stanley Park is Canada Place where our ship will leave for the Alaskan Cruise and there is a Holland America liner in port but it is not ours, nevertheless it is exciting to see our departure point.  Because I am in the land of the Maple Leaf, I decide I must have a pretty red one for my collection.  So we all walk around looking at the ground trying to find the perfect leaf.  Kylie spots one and another treasure is carefully packed away.

Further on into Stanley Park is a wonderful display of native totem poles.

HISTORY LESSON : On the North-Eastern side of Stanley Park is Brockton Point.  This peninsula is the home of the Totem Poles of Stanley Park.  Carved recently or as far back as 100 years ago, they are a famous attraction in the park as well as a popular place to see authentic native themed artwork in the outdoors.  Many recent additions such as carved archways and an interpretative area has further introduced interested visitors to the history of these carvings and what they represent.

In the 1920’s the Park Commission introduced the idea of installing a native village to celebrate the heritage of Stanley Park.  Totem poles have for many years represented Native West Coast tribes as spiritual and identifying markers of beliefs and stories passed from generation to generation and were therefore commissioned for the site.  Eight colourfully decorated totem poles (in a rich variety of black, yellows, reds, browns, greens and blues) adorn the area which is separated from the public by a water feature.

On the rocks in front of the poles, the stories and breakdown of the local animals and paintings are noted on plaques to educate visitors to the site.  Many of the poles were originally carved over one hundred years ago, some, due to weathering have been replaced through work done by local artisans or by donation. Recent additions such as archways and other features were constructed in 2008, continuing to add to the allure of this site.

After wandering around here for quite some time we notice that the sky is beginning to threaten us so it’s time to hit the interpretational centre and maybe get a souvenir or two!  I spy some wonderful watercolour etchings of ‘Wolf Spirit’ and ‘Buffalo Spirit’ and add them to my ever increasing hoard of treasures.  A pretty dream catcher is in my line of vision so that comes with me as well.

Tonight we are making a visit to Bard on the Beach.  When Kylie lived here she discovered this wonderful Shakespeare Festival which is held only during the Summer months.  Well, I don’t want to say anything but even though it is Summer it is definitely NOT Summer weather as the rain has started again.

We go back to our hotel to freshen up and head back out to Vanier Park where the Bard is situated.  Seating is in tents and we have tickets to see The Comedy of Errors – the campest of all Shakespearian theatre and staying true to form we get there early and line up in the rain.  The fellows inside say that if it rains any harder they will let us in early but it doesn’t and we don’t.

While we are lined up this woman arrives dressed in enough gear to take her on an adventure to the Arctic. I have never seen so many clothes on one person in my life.  Hats, scarves, gloves, coats, blankets – she must have donned everything she owns – or maybe she doesn’t have a house and has to carry everything with her.  We have a giggle and a few wide eyed moments before the gates open and we are caught up in the stampede to get the best seats.

Even though Kylie has said that Canadians are polite, the ones that were here this evening would have trampled you without blinking an eye.

As the reservations do not allocate seats, the best ones are well sought out and as Kylie has been here before she steers us immediately in the right area.

We get settled in for a night of culture when we are abused by a person of the male gender.  I say person as he was definitely not a gentleman and proceeds to be obnoxious telling us and all and sundry that we are in his seats and pointing and waving his arms all over the place.  We are in shock to say the least and before we have a chance to clobber him and let loose with a few Australian adjectives, the people sitting next to us tell him ‘you are wrong – your seats are over there’.

Kylie names him Mr Rude and he slinks like a skunk back to his own section without so much as a sorry. Do skunks slink? Anyway you get the drift.  After this happened we decide to get some hot drinks as the cold has set in so hopefully it will warm us up before the show starts.

I decide to wait in the seats in case Mr Rude returns so K&T get their drinks first and then I venture into the outside for a hot coffee and obligatory fridge magnet.  Arriving back to my seat I notice that every time a camera flash goes off the ushers pounce and make the person delete the photo.

Once the show started I was too busy with the entertainers so the no photos allowed syndrome was no big deal.  Shakespeare was never like this when I was at school, in those days it was very staid and Elizabethan and I suppose being quite young I did not appreciate the true subtlety of the verse but the actors here tonight are brilliant and they put on a magical performance that encompasses the entire audience and we laugh and enjoy ourselves immensely.

At the end of the show the actors come on stage for the customary bows which are well deserved.  They also tell us that every year they select a charity to support and would gratefully accept any donations made tonight. This years charity is ‘Theatre Cares’ which is a charity supporting HIV/AIDS patients plus other related areas.

The actor who played one of the Antipholus twins is at the door when we leave so after telling him how much we enjoyed the performance we certainly make a donation.  He is so pleased and so polite – unlike Mr Rude who most probably left in a huff and did not make a donation!  I hope his umbrella broke!

It is late and cold but the rain has stopped so it’s back to the car and onto the hotel where we all pounce for the hot showers and hot coffee and tea and the snuggly warmth of our beds.  I write up my journal for the day and then it’s off to dream.

Highlight of the day:  Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast – Bard on the Beach