It’s stupid to complain about misfortune that is your own fault…
Although, slightly exciting I did walk through a film set a movie they are making in the park- "Charlie St. Cloud" so look out for me when it is in the movie theater :) (I did make very sure not to be in any shots!) I've also seen part of a set for Twilight- I think! They are making a lot of graveyard movies here at the minute. Was really quite odd because they have added trees and flowers and other general park like objects- not just head stones and angles- and not being very observant it took me ages to work out why I couldn't go where I thought the path was. I spent a good five minutes standing looking stupid thinking- "I'm sure these bushes and trees never use to be here, I'm fairly certain this is the path I usually walk on" and trying to work out where I had gotten lost before realizing that actually they were movie trees- real trees, but on wooden boards as movie props- D'oh.
The football was kinda weird and my attention wandered fairly fast, thus I missed the first two touchdowns entirely. The national anthem took me a little by surprise- should have thought it through but was expecting a stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", was odd to hear "Oh Canada" instead, but was the first time I have heard it since moving, so I remark on it as an occasion. Then I was busy critiquing the "Dance Team's" boots which were shocking! Orange PVC knee high boots just don't work on anyone, and half these girls weren't going to look good ever, and even I can dance better than them- which is not a good thing. If you fall into the too chubby and too ugly to be a real cheerleader category you have to join a dance team. Then again some of the football players were obviously not cut out for running and wobbled and rippled as they waddled onto the pitch. I'm guessing these were the throwing and kicking guys. I also discovered fairly early on why a game that should take an hour (4 1/4s of 15 mins each) takes nearly three hours... The whistle blew; the guy in blue took the first kick, the ball bounced... And a whole 4 seconds into the game it stopped for a time out while 10 of the 12 players swapped off the pitch! Having previously (yes, my time in Houston did teach me something sports related) worked out that this is a game played on a grid iron field I was under the (mis) apprehension that the idea was to get the ball from down the field into the end zone. Touch down, field goal- crowd cheers etc. The BC lions seem to have neglected to implement this fact into their game strategy and spent a lot of time running left to right on the forty yard line. I think I may know why they didn’t win. This game is insane.
Other questions I am still pondering- Why the BC Lions are called that, why the logo looks nothing like a lion (mountain or otherwise), why the Lions headquarters is called The Shark Club, why they play in bright orange, and why everywhere I go in this city I can smell people smoking a joint (although they hide it very well and I rarely see them)? You could smell it all the way from the sky train to the stadium, despite the number of police around, and all the way back and even on the train.... I have decided after having a huge coughing fit and possibly inhaling more smoke than whoever lit the one on the train I don't have a sore throat and cough at all I am actually suffering from joint inhalation! Which, never having done it myself is a new experience. I'm sure it is worse than Amsterdam here.
This weekend has really been quite busy and Saturday saw the sun shinning, beautiful blue skies and very pleasant temperatures, thus the original plan of wandering around Granville Island, sitting in a coffee shop and walking along False Creek was shelved and the Grouse Grind Challenge was met head on. Grouse Mountain is visible from all over Vancouver and the cable car ride to the top is a very popular tourist attraction. However, the cable car trip (up and down) cost $40.00, however, there is a foot powered route (I hesitate to use the word walk) to the top which is entirely free, and the cable car experience is a mere $5.00 to ride from the top back to the base of the mountain. Being completely tight I was going to walk up the mountain. I had a bottle of coke and Nike shoes (no, they aren’t sponsoring this!) so of course I was ready for a walk. It was 2K, how hard could it be? The first ¼ of the walk was steep and I was a little concerned at the amount of heavy breathing I seemed to be doing so soon into it. Surely it should be this hard? It was at this point that I realized it was more of a climb than a walk, and the park people had kindly created a type of step system to help walkers. At the ¼ way point the signs became a little more disturbing. The route was about to become much steeper (40% incline-so the helpful sign said) and the make shift steps seemed to disappear. I was now making my way up rocks and dirt and using hands and knees to keep balanced. I’ve been up rock climbing walls with less gradient than this! In retrospect I also realize how overly premature my joy at seeing sky was at this point! There was me thinking I must be near the top if I could see sky, turns out that there were just fewer trees at this level. Anyway, an hour and ten minutes after I started out I reached the top (they have a handy timer to let you know your result) and the views were sublime. It was one of the most exhilarating things I have done since I got here. So much so in fact, that I think I may go back next week and see if I can get up there any quicker. It was a complete workout as anyone listening to me whinge about how much my butt checks ache can attest to.
Having made it to the top I walked around with my camera out marveling at the total awe inspiring views (I do think everyday how lucky I am to live in such an amazing area of the world). I also managed to see the bears, and while I won’t bore you with all the interesting facts and details I picked up I was hugely impressed that this one was just less than 9” tall, weighed about 1000lbs and could sleep for eight months of the year! I was also more than a little scared at the size of its paws and the length and sharpness of its claws. If you would like any other bear facts please feel free to email me, but I thought I ought to scale back on the nature studies lesson I was about to deliver. J The cable car trip back down the mountain was definitely worth the $5.00 I paid. Whilst the views continued to be unbelievably gorgeous over the tree canopy it was hard to fully appreciate them whilst packed in a metal container with about 75 other people. I am really feeling quite optimistic about the next trip out there.
Today finally saw the long awaited and anticipated trip to Granville Island. Having read and heard so many great things about this quirky place I had high hopes and was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of surprising gallery type stores and people watching with a drink and something to eat. Unfortunately, and by now I really should know better, the traffic and parking situation were to work against me. I will apologize in advance for the following rant, but my frustration levels quickly began to grow as the amount of road works and diversions increased. It really can be draining and take an unprecedented amount of time to drive around this city. Therefore, by the time I arrived on Granville Island I was already a little stressed and uptight. The lack of parking only added to this frustration as did the unnoticing and unthinking pedestrians. Granville Island is very pedestrian friendly with crawl like speeds for cars and designated crossing points every 20 yards, yet still people feel it necessary to walk into the middle of the street and stop and chat to their friend. I may possibly have embarrassed myself slightly by throwing my hands up in the air and yelling for people to get on the sidewalk (there may have been a few less polite words in that sentence) before realizing that the window was open. Whoops.
By the time I had parked and walked back I wasn’t in the most receptive frame of mind, and the queues and people wandering aimlessly continued to irritate me. I do have to say, that despite the lack of sitting and the immensely crowded stalls the Public Market was fantastic. There was no sort of food product you could not buy. The choice was staggering and endless, with vast quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables piled up. If I had had the patience to wade through the crowds where the bakeries and confectionary looked delicious I might have saved myself a trip to the grocery store later. However, I can see the potential of the market and I think a better prepared trip might yield higher rewards, so there will be a next time very soon, and before I head out I will take a deep breath and count to 10….
All in all I have had a fantastic time this weekend and I look forward to creating plans for next week.
The football was kinda weird and my attention wandered fairly fast, thus I missed the first two touchdowns entirely. The national anthem took me a little by surprise- should have thought it through but was expecting a stirring rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner", was odd to hear "Oh Canada" instead, but was the first time I have heard it since moving, so I remark on it as an occasion. Then I was busy critiquing the "Dance Team's" boots which were shocking! Orange PVC knee high boots just don't work on anyone, and half these girls weren't going to look good ever, and even I can dance better than them- which is not a good thing. If you fall into the too chubby and too ugly to be a real cheerleader category you have to join a dance team. Then again some of the football players were obviously not cut out for running and wobbled and rippled as they waddled onto the pitch. I'm guessing these were the throwing and kicking guys. I also discovered fairly early on why a game that should take an hour (4 1/4s of 15 mins each) takes nearly three hours... The whistle blew; the guy in blue took the first kick, the ball bounced... And a whole 4 seconds into the game it stopped for a time out while 10 of the 12 players swapped off the pitch! Having previously (yes, my time in Houston did teach me something sports related) worked out that this is a game played on a grid iron field I was under the (mis) apprehension that the idea was to get the ball from down the field into the end zone. Touch down, field goal- crowd cheers etc. The BC lions seem to have neglected to implement this fact into their game strategy and spent a lot of time running left to right on the forty yard line. I think I may know why they didn’t win. This game is insane.
Other questions I am still pondering- Why the BC Lions are called that, why the logo looks nothing like a lion (mountain or otherwise), why the Lions headquarters is called The Shark Club, why they play in bright orange, and why everywhere I go in this city I can smell people smoking a joint (although they hide it very well and I rarely see them)? You could smell it all the way from the sky train to the stadium, despite the number of police around, and all the way back and even on the train.... I have decided after having a huge coughing fit and possibly inhaling more smoke than whoever lit the one on the train I don't have a sore throat and cough at all I am actually suffering from joint inhalation! Which, never having done it myself is a new experience. I'm sure it is worse than Amsterdam here.
This weekend has really been quite busy and Saturday saw the sun shinning, beautiful blue skies and very pleasant temperatures, thus the original plan of wandering around Granville Island, sitting in a coffee shop and walking along False Creek was shelved and the Grouse Grind Challenge was met head on. Grouse Mountain is visible from all over Vancouver and the cable car ride to the top is a very popular tourist attraction. However, the cable car trip (up and down) cost $40.00, however, there is a foot powered route (I hesitate to use the word walk) to the top which is entirely free, and the cable car experience is a mere $5.00 to ride from the top back to the base of the mountain. Being completely tight I was going to walk up the mountain. I had a bottle of coke and Nike shoes (no, they aren’t sponsoring this!) so of course I was ready for a walk. It was 2K, how hard could it be? The first ¼ of the walk was steep and I was a little concerned at the amount of heavy breathing I seemed to be doing so soon into it. Surely it should be this hard? It was at this point that I realized it was more of a climb than a walk, and the park people had kindly created a type of step system to help walkers. At the ¼ way point the signs became a little more disturbing. The route was about to become much steeper (40% incline-so the helpful sign said) and the make shift steps seemed to disappear. I was now making my way up rocks and dirt and using hands and knees to keep balanced. I’ve been up rock climbing walls with less gradient than this! In retrospect I also realize how overly premature my joy at seeing sky was at this point! There was me thinking I must be near the top if I could see sky, turns out that there were just fewer trees at this level. Anyway, an hour and ten minutes after I started out I reached the top (they have a handy timer to let you know your result) and the views were sublime. It was one of the most exhilarating things I have done since I got here. So much so in fact, that I think I may go back next week and see if I can get up there any quicker. It was a complete workout as anyone listening to me whinge about how much my butt checks ache can attest to.
Having made it to the top I walked around with my camera out marveling at the total awe inspiring views (I do think everyday how lucky I am to live in such an amazing area of the world). I also managed to see the bears, and while I won’t bore you with all the interesting facts and details I picked up I was hugely impressed that this one was just less than 9” tall, weighed about 1000lbs and could sleep for eight months of the year! I was also more than a little scared at the size of its paws and the length and sharpness of its claws. If you would like any other bear facts please feel free to email me, but I thought I ought to scale back on the nature studies lesson I was about to deliver. J The cable car trip back down the mountain was definitely worth the $5.00 I paid. Whilst the views continued to be unbelievably gorgeous over the tree canopy it was hard to fully appreciate them whilst packed in a metal container with about 75 other people. I am really feeling quite optimistic about the next trip out there.
Today finally saw the long awaited and anticipated trip to Granville Island. Having read and heard so many great things about this quirky place I had high hopes and was looking forward to a relaxing afternoon of surprising gallery type stores and people watching with a drink and something to eat. Unfortunately, and by now I really should know better, the traffic and parking situation were to work against me. I will apologize in advance for the following rant, but my frustration levels quickly began to grow as the amount of road works and diversions increased. It really can be draining and take an unprecedented amount of time to drive around this city. Therefore, by the time I arrived on Granville Island I was already a little stressed and uptight. The lack of parking only added to this frustration as did the unnoticing and unthinking pedestrians. Granville Island is very pedestrian friendly with crawl like speeds for cars and designated crossing points every 20 yards, yet still people feel it necessary to walk into the middle of the street and stop and chat to their friend. I may possibly have embarrassed myself slightly by throwing my hands up in the air and yelling for people to get on the sidewalk (there may have been a few less polite words in that sentence) before realizing that the window was open. Whoops.
By the time I had parked and walked back I wasn’t in the most receptive frame of mind, and the queues and people wandering aimlessly continued to irritate me. I do have to say, that despite the lack of sitting and the immensely crowded stalls the Public Market was fantastic. There was no sort of food product you could not buy. The choice was staggering and endless, with vast quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables piled up. If I had had the patience to wade through the crowds where the bakeries and confectionary looked delicious I might have saved myself a trip to the grocery store later. However, I can see the potential of the market and I think a better prepared trip might yield higher rewards, so there will be a next time very soon, and before I head out I will take a deep breath and count to 10….
All in all I have had a fantastic time this weekend and I look forward to creating plans for next week.
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