Vancouver, Canada, August 12, 2018

Vancouver is a beautiful city!  JoAnn and I have been here twice before and found it to be clean, friendly, architecturally interesting and generally inviting.  We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel on the waterfront at Canada Place.  Holland America booked us there for a one-night layover before flying home to Philadelphia.  The Pan Pacific is attached to the Vancouver Convention Center and the cruise ship pier.  It has a terrific view of the harbor.  The following three photos were taken from our 16th floor room.

After dropping our luggage with the Bell Captain, the seven of us set off on a walk through the Gastown neighborhood and Chinatown.  As we began walking down Water Street we came upon a collection of people who were gathered around a clock and we were curious what caught everyone’s interest.  They were anxiously watching a steam clock.  A steam clock you say?  That’s something new.  Tell me more.

Here is a plaque affixed to the clock which describes the clock much better than I can.

After the clock blew its top, we continued our stroll into China Town.  Vancouver has a sizable Chinese population of approximately 411,000.  Here are a few shots of that area.

An executive decision was made to leave China Town and visit Granville Island, which was a mere 10 to 15 minute taxi ride away.  Granville Island is a popular shopping area located on a peninsula on the other side of  False Creek, opposite downtown Vancouver.  Here are two shots looking at downtown, each taken from under the Granville Bridge.

The day was a Sunday and it seemed as if all of Vancouver was at Granville.  Here are some shots taken inside the market where it was wall-to-wall people.

And here is another shot inside the market of couple of friends just cooling off.

There was an energy emanating from every corner of the market place.  Street entertainers were around every corner and sculpture was placed here and there.

Following our visit to Granville we decided to return to our hotel for a light lunch.  After lunch Casey and his family went off to explore the city and JoAnn and I decided to stroll along the waterfront toward Stanley Park.  The harbor is very scenic.  Boats everywhere with an occasional float planes mixed in.

Apartment buildings seem to dominate the area but if you are looking for some place special to stay you may want to try one of these houseboats.

The view across the harbor is also spectacular.  Imagine having an apartment that overlooks the harbor and mountains in the distance.

When we reached the entrance to Stanley Park we decided to head back to Canada Place.

We walked on Georgia Street in the direction of our hotel.  We passed apartment houses and office buildings.  Everything was architecturally attractive; all overlooking the harbor.  We arrived at the Pan Pacific about 40 minutes later and decided on a drink at the hotel lounge where we could watch the Noordam, which had been tied up all day, sail.  The next best thing to cruising is watching graceful ships set sail.  Here is a picture of JoAnn watching the Noordam (I am reflected in the window and the Noordam is in the background).

And here is one of the Noordam sailing.

Dinner with the kids, our last night on this terrific vacation, was pleasant.  That is to say the company was great but the food and environment so so.  Our flight the next day was scheduled for 8:20am and thus we needed to retire early.