Postcard home (part 1)

Having a fab first week on our holiday.  This is just a quick record of what we have been doing, really to remind me.

I just had to add this view of a glacier and the pack ice from the aeroplane window as we were flying over Greenland on our way to...

... Canada!

More specifically to Vancouver.

This very misty view of the city was taken on the first morning, in fact very early in the morning as my body clock was very mixed up!

Day 1: We had a very easy day, just getting our bearings and recovering from the journey. We were staying, for this part of our trip, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and this was the view of the city from our 17th floor apartment.

C and I wandered around the campus and went to the University Botanic gardens which were fabulous, mainly temperate forest plants of British Columbia and eastern north America and Asia set in beautiful woodland gardens. In the Vegetable garden we particularly liked the way the apple trees had been made in the shape of UBC!

Day 2: We all went in the centre of Vancouver to meet a friend who I used to work with who now lives in the city. It was lovely to see her as she has been moved away nearly two years now. We met at 'Greek Day' in Kitsilano area, wandered the street and had lovely Greek food. Then went on to Granville Island and the lovely public market and artisan galleries and workshops.

Day 3: We had a great walk around the sea wall in Stanley Park and then through the centre of the park in the woodland and onto the Vancouver Aquarium.

Day 4: We went our separate ways, M and H went bouldering at an indoor climbing wall in the city,  C and I went to the Museum of Vancouver and then walked along the sea wall to Granville Island again. J met up with an old friend who lives here. 

Museum of Vancouver with crab sculpture

Day 5: All back together.  Today we did another Vancouver tourist hotspot and went to the Capilano Suspension bridge. It was really difficult to get an impression of the height and wobbliness of the bridge, but it was quite spectacular.

In the evening we went to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, which was excellent, there was so much to see that we could have spent far longer looking around - may be on our way back through Vancouver on route to the airport.

This was one amazing piece from the museum called the 'Raven and the First Men', a three dimensional carving from one huge cube of red cedar wood planks of a raven standing on top of a partially opened clamshell with human figures emerging, carved by Bill Reid.

Day 6: Today we moved on, took the ferry to Vancouver Island and have now arrived at Quadra Island. Soon we will be kayaking....... watch this space!