Oh gosh is it windy! My hayfever is totally not liking it. I will do my best to endure but it has been difficult to sit still without a bit of dribble. Ugh. So embarrassing.
Work
I'm learning people only want to do the minimal and get a quick win. Which is good, but you gottta think of the problems that would arise in the long run.
PoGo
I finally have a hundo Hitmontop. Dang! We did it. Painfully.
Dating
Dead silent. Nothing but fake accounts from China always asking how's your day at 6am and how's your weekend on Friday. Yet the will not talk about anything else. Snooze.
====================
CANADA! The trip of a life time.
Montreal
Quebec
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Whistler
!===
9th October 2023 🦄
The
aeroplane was late to take off at the Melbourne airport. This meant we arrived
late for our transfer in Auckland, and yes, there was another round of security
checks. Ugh. The transfer board next to the transfer security queue had information that would make you panic. It stated the gate was open when in fact it actually had not
opened. Geez. Sis and I pushed through the queue thinking our flight was about to
leave soon. Sheesh. After the mad dash and catching our breath, we found seats
to rest our legs.
I
did watch several movies on Air New Zealand.
No hard feelings
The bogey man
Teenage mutant ninja turtle
The book club gang
Hypnotic
The
12-hour flight was the most painful section of our flight. Sure put pressure
on our leg and back. I kept dozing off but did not get proper sleep despite I
had my Kmart neck pillow.
Vancouver International Airport was HUGE. All of it interiors and all over the place was
some sort of green. The air was a bit stuffy too. Quite humid. They had
charging ports on the floor. BYO adapter.
The
Starbucks staff were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of visitors descending
into the airport. We lined up for the queue, but we had to ditch it as we had
to get to our gate before any issues occurred.
At
the boarding gate, the Air Canada staff sounded an alarm that we had checked
baggage. Ugh. Yes. We do. We are transferring. We were ushered to another
boarding staff, who did some tapping on the screen and we were good to go to board
the airplane.
It
was a BYO food and drink kind of ride. On board, I tried to re-watched some of
the movies I had only watched halfway. Ha. I dozed off again.
!===
10th October 2023 🦄
We
arrived pretty late after midnight. All our luggage was with us. We headed to
a self-service machine to buy our Opus smart card. No problems there.
The
air was crisp cold as stepped outside to find our bus. The bus 747 was slow to
swing by the Montreal airport. Several people waited longer than us and some
gave up and hopped into a taxi. A taxi car would swing by the bus stop
frequently to see who would give up waiting for the bus. We stuck by our guns
and boarded it at 1:57am. Oof.
We
fell asleep as soon as we plugged in our devices. We did not go to the spa in
Old Montreal. Too tired. Too cold.
Jean-Talon
market was medium in size. It had some gluten-free food on offer. I had macron,
canelé, and buckwheat crepes. I bought a box of mixed coloured carrots. Yummy.
Sis got maple candy and a maple leaf-shaped glass bottle with maple syrup.
Several French Boulanger nearby but no good for gluten intolerant folks. In
one, we found blue cheese sausages that don’t require refrigeration. Yay!
Travel food. Sis could not resist the pumpkin-faced shortbreads. They chipped
easily in the bag. Ha.
Montreal
has a few old and small shopping malls. Les Cours Mount Royal was one of them.
Much of it was under renovation. The surprise was the Barbie Expo. So pretty.
They had a selfie corner. Which Sis loved.
Chinatown
was relatively small-ish filled with bubble tea shops, steam bun shops, and
buffets. A few murals here and there. There were a few Asian grocery stores and
as I recall some in Jean-Talon market too.
Montreal
downtown is long. Saint Catherine is a long stretch of road. We went looking
for Zenzaimai and it gave us bowel problems. We went in search of the toilet and
found Dollarama. Needless to say, Sis fell in love with Dollarama.
Sis
came across an anime sculpture-filled restaurant and it only served buffet.
CAD$39 pp. Sis didn’t feel like eating that much food. We left it.
Settled
for a Mexican restaurant on the same street with three giant sombre hats. Sis
had a taco set meal. It came with rice and salad. CAD$15.40. I had buffalo
wings. CAD$11.95
!===
11th October 2023 🦄
Sis
was obsessed with Dollarama, especially its Love Heart Canada t-shirts and
blames me for not buying it. Ugh! Lame.
Jardin
Botanique de Montreal costs CAD$22 pp. We hung outside the garden, we saw a
squirrel or two and chased them around. The display of pumpkins outside had no
carving art and Sis was disappointed by it. All the more she did not want to go
in. We just browsed through the gift shop.
The
surprise find was Parc Olympique. We posed on the podium in front of the rings.
Parcs
San Gluten bakery staff sold us dodgy food. The staff said the triangle pastry
was pork and the crescent-shaped one was beef. Instead, it ended up being a
blueberry triangle and the crescent one was spinach and chicken. Ugh. Also, at the counter, the staff wouldn’t accept credit cards when we were about to pay, but he
allowed the old French Canadian lady to pay by credit card. Talk about rude!
The
walking tour was great. We learnt a lot from Darren. Luckily I didn’t take Sis
down Old Montreal. So hilly for one and expensive.
Montreal
is huge. Nearly everyone there spoke mainly French. You don’t hear any other
language spoken on the street. Not quite multicultural in that aspect. Yet
amazing how they maintained the French Canadian language for this long.
We
went to Best Buy for a Canadian wall power plug and it was okay priced. Sis got
angry and went looking for a bench outside. She was upset about how she could not go into a church to see it light up. I said there was not enough time. We are
only here for a short time. We need adapters for the 4-day train trip.
Time
Out shopping mall had a huge food court and it had a small section for arcade
machines. Young and old enjoyed having such treats at the food court. Sis was in a
foul mood. Until she bought some Halloween chocolates in trick or treat bag
from Jeff chocolates. Took pics around Meutas via the dias sugar skull display.
The
Notre Dame did not light up much on the outside as much as the YouTubers say it
did. Just some blue light. Ugh.
We
took bus 55 to Saint Viator bagels and boy, they were rock-hard bagels. Sis
ordered two plain, but we ended up with 3 plain. Canadian being rude continues.
Sis took a bite and did not touch them again. Ugh. I ate my blueberry one. It
tasted like sultanas. I would not recommend the place. We could have busted
Fairmont bagels but Sis was tired by this point.
She
is not used to being awake from morning to evening. She usually sleeps in
until 3pm and watches streamers online until midnight.
!===
12th October 2023 🦄
The
IGA sold ridiculously long lightning cables for iPhones. We bought some for our
folks. I got myself a tandoori chicken wrap. Sis got a plain chicken wrap and
only ate half then binned it. What a waste of food.
When
we got to the coach terminal, we saw people already lining up to check in for
our coach. There were two coaches. Popular. We boarded the second one.
Sainte-Foy coach terminal did not offer Opus card top by counter or machine.
Ugh. We had to find a taxi.
The
taxi drivers REPEATEDLY asked was the hotel address correct. I booked the hotel
so I should know. Why would EXPEDIA give me a false address? Come on mate. Dude
really didn’t think females had brains. Nuts I tell ya. Canadian being rude
continues.
Poutineville
in Vieux Quebec staff said they were closed at 8pm but Google has them listed
as closing at 9pm. Sis couldn’t stop her wailing about having nowhere to go to
eat. More like she was afraid to walk any further. Plus she didn’t wear clothes
suitable for winter. Ripped jeans. Really. Even if I had corrected the staff at
Poutineville we won’t be served either way. Canadian being rude continues.
We
ended up in fine dining BO. CAD 178 worth of Asian fusion food later she felt
better. Ugh.
After
10am the buses are slow in the suburbs. There are no trains in the city or in the suburbs. Everyone drives a car here. Also, many would avoid the city centre as
it is just a historical centre now. No real need to be there. It serves no
function in people's daily lives.
!===
13th October 2023 🦄
Bus
800 to Montmorency Falls was flawless. It delivered us to our destination
right. There we paid CAD$8.70 for the entry fee to the parc. Walked along the
black bridge to the zipliner station but it was closed for the season. We
proceed to the 453 stairs along the cliff face. The view was magnificent. The
rushing waters were strong. You can feel the water spraying against your face.
When
we reached the bottom Sis didn’t want to walk any loser to the waterfall
base. I took my GoPro and proceeded to get close and got sprayed with water and
in the eye. Oof. So strong! The GoPro and I were not able to get a great shot.
My eyes were heavily soaked.
My
jacket managed to dry off before reaching the cable car station. Hooray for
Kathmandu! However, Sis was not happy about the piss-poor food options at the
snack bar. I told her to buy whatever she liked. However, I can’t eat any as
none of them were gluten-free.
She
became a little cheerful when she purchased some souvenirs. Then sad again when the staff went for a toilet break from the cable car ticket desk. I said wait and I’ll
buy us cable car tickets. When it got up to the mansion the restaurant was
closed and no food found any where. Sis was upset yet again. October is the
beginning of closed season in Canada and much of their tourist hots spots were
closed for service. She was unaware of that as she never research despite she
has two enable Internet smartphones.
When
we caught the bus back to the city centre and transferred buses. We queue up
at the spa but it was full and we were told to go on a wait list. How long they
did not say. Sis was growling hungry-angry by this point.
She
did not want to eat at the bistro on-site. There was no waiting room on-site or
nearby. It was 6pm by the time reached the counter only to be put on a waiting
list.
Bus
number 1 ended by the time it was 9pm. We had to walk up 453 steps from Old
Quebec to Parc de Abraham to get to the green bus 807.
After
exiting the parc, and passing a musee, we came across a lit-up Parliament House.
Outside the windows were bronze sculptures of significant founders of Quebec. A
few other people joined us in taking pics of the old building. Cool. What an
unexpected find.
!===
14th October 2023 🦄
The
green RTC buses are the fastest in the Quebec metro area. The blue buses are pretty
decent but they are infrequent and they finish early.
The
New Grand Market (Le Grande Marche) was awesome. They had colourful fresh
produce and food that was made on the spot or reheated on the spot. Sis had a slice of
pizza and bacon cheese sausage. I had a German sausage. Fresh blueberry juice
was a bit sour. Canelé was okay.
The
second floor had an event called Festival de Maggie de Quebec. We saw staff
dressed as witches, ornaments and decorations, there
were boards with stories, live story telling, games, ouija boards, masks, hats,
face painting, and books with scary fiction tales. It was magical alright.
After
two transfers from the Marche to the huge mall bus terminal to the Musee
Huron-Wendat area, a brown rag doll cat came to greet us in the middle of the street. So cute!
The
lobby of the hotel was beautiful. Luxurious looking. There were animal furs
with heads intact on either side of the sofa.
After
visiting Musee Huron-Wendy’s exhibition. We headed what was directions for the gift
store but it was closed and so was the cafe. People were confused by what was
there to see or do. Sis and I made our own fun by exploring the trail by the
river. We took our boots off to dip our feet in the cold river. Our feet felt
refreshed.
The
river was cold but it felt good to slip my feet into it. Ah. So refreshing. The
rapids were powerful. Sis and I sat on a rock dipping our feet in and out of the
freezing but refreshing water.
The hotel staff at the counter ignored us. Served four old French Canadian ladies before
greeting me. Sis wants a beaded turtle brooch. Canadian being rude continues.
The question remains how authentic was this Musee as it was completely staffed by
Anglo-Saxon French Canadians.
We
took a stroll into the long room. There we saw REAL animal fur. A fire on a
log. I guess, that’s where they would tell stories.
Nearby
the bus stop was a few small souvenir shops. Many nice things in there and we
were served by a real native. Skilled in several languages. Items were not as overpriced as the Musee/hotel. You can see there is some sort of class system going
on here in Canada.
We
took the bus back to the Galaries de Captole. They went to Dollarama again.
Sis was not able to find her red t-shirt with a maple leaf on it.
Then
we went to check out Simon's department store. They had NorthFace at lower prices
than Australia. I got myself an autumn coloured bum bag and a recycled metal
trio flower ring. There were luxurious gloves too. Sadly, I need fingerless gloves. They had none. Meanwhile, Sis went off looking for a black
bikini top. My French is at tourist level best and I was able to make out some
of the words on the label. It felt like I was in Myer but only with one floor level
worth of stuff.
Dinner
at Chez Viator was so-so. The duck poutine was delicious but I got bowel
problems when I got home. Sis had fried gnocchi in BBQ sauce. Lol. She said it
was salty and the cheese curd was hard.
We
walked home on the main road. There we found a 24-hour diner called Royal. The
Jean-Cu pharmacy was still open until 9pm. Sis went in search of more
souvenirs. I found a 15x zoom mirror. Omg. I can see my pores. I just had to buy
it and clean my face. I felt hairy. What a find. Good travel ware. Also, the
pharmacy is great for topping up your Opus card too. Great service. Top notch.
!===
16th October 2023 🦄
The
hotel kindly arranged a taxi to drive us to Jean Lesange International Airport.
The staff at guest services for Air Canada warned us that our aeroplane was late
and that we may not make it to the next flight. However, Air Canada will put us
on the next earliest flight upon arrival. She told us to try and make the
transfer.
Silly
me I forgot to empty my water bottle and it was taken away from me at the
security check.
The
aeroplane was slow and people on board would not allow those who had tight
connecting flights to alight first. They all stood up despite the crew mentioning it
over PA several times.
While
we waited for the plane to make its way to a gate. I checked my emails.
According to my email, Air Canada had instantly moved us to the next available
flight. We had about an hour or so to rest our souls. Phew! Gosh, it was a
skinny plane. Air Canada Express! The overhead lockers cannot fit carry-on bags
with wheels. People had to leave their wheelie bags aside and Porter plane
would carry their bags to our destination. The Porter plane flew not far behind
us.
Overall,
we didn’t have to manually re-book another flight ourselves. This is a pretty
good service. It goes to the same airport at least. Save on taxi fares! Sis and
I lined up for a new boarding pass for ease of passage.
Sis
and I had lunch at Pork and Pickles restaurant at the Montreal Airport. It was
yummy. We had buffalo wings and fried pierogi with pork and bacon crisps. Sis
had pickles on the side.
Sis
and I were appointed separate seats on the 3:30pm flight. Many people were just
like us got shuffled on board this flight as well. On board the express plane
they gave us complimentary snacks and water. Noice.
Upon
arrival at Toronto Billy Bishop Airport. We waited for a taxi. Once we got in
we gave him a prepayment of CAD$35 ahead of time, as the traffic jam was bad, and if we
let the meter run it would cost a lot more.
When
we reached our hotel, we couldn’t make it to our 7pm Zombie Apocalypse session.
Instead, we made it to the Legends of Horror session. Oh well. Forfeit a ticket.
Sis wanted to dress up before we left our hotel room.
The
Casa Loma put up a good show alright. Plenty of animatronics and projection
lighting. The most amazing part was it took us through an underground tunnel to
the stables. Se ended up in a totally different section and exited in another
street. Hee hee.
We
had Japanese food for dinner across the street from our hotel.
Note:
for a domestic flight in Canada you need to:
a) present your boarding pass at security check and they’ll scan it.
b) at the boarding gate you need to present a photo ID with your boarding pass.
!===
17th October 2023
Mel
our tour guide for the Niagara Falls day the tour guide handed us maple cream cookies.
Our
first stop was the floral clock. We hopped off and quickly took snaps. Followed
by maple syrup tasting at a tourist pit stop. Omg! Golden, amber, and dark
maple syrup are not the same. They actually have depth in taste. The chocolate
and fudge tasting were delicious too. However, our time here was short, so,
we stopped tasting and proceeded to the toilet and look at souvenirs.
Skylon
Tower sure has the best view of the falls. The Hornblower City cruise was a good
starter for the in-person experience of the fall up close. We saw people doing the
tunnel walk. However, that’s with another tour company. People were walking down some stairs by the cliffs near the falls. Sis didn’t feel like
crossing over a bridge.
The
day trip to Niagara Falls is what dreams are made of. It was gigantic in size.
Multiple waterfalls. Plenty of activities around it.
Sis
didn’t want to play mini golf or pose any more in front of the falls. She only
wanted to post stuff on her Facebook. Ugh.
Once
we got back to Toronto we hopped on a tram to find an angel above the
exhibition gate. Then tools tram to three Dollarama. Farm Boy grocery store
isn’t bad. We purchased breakfast food there. For dinner, we had pub food at
Pone Mahone.
!===
18th October 2023 🚂
We
are about to board the cross-country scenic train!!!
We
checked in our luggage at the VIA Rail counter.
Then
headed to the business lounge to have hot chocolate. At 8am Meranda checked us
in. Colleagues: Michael, and Josh. Dining reservation is organised with Kelly who
handed us a card for lunch and dinner. At each breakfast session, we will get
another dining card. We are in dining cart A.
Sleeping
in Carriage 110. 10L.
Bunk
beds.
The
dome carriage is nice for a train built in 1950. Not many modern electrical
power outlets for everyday users. Those
who have booked an AUD$ 6,000 room will get access to a direct power let.
Everyone else who booked a bunker will have to charge their device in a
washroom. The
dining carriage is by far the best-looking carriage of them all. The
dome windows are streaky. Adds a level of grey to your images. Regardless of
which class you view it through.
When
I was able to find a non-streaky window a Latino staff wanted the room to
himself so that he could charge his device. He said the room was occupied and
that I couldn’t sit there. La Lame. It was not booked for anyone. La Liar!
Anyhow
I got my non-streaky images and videos with sunlight beaming through, so
there! Ha!
The first part of the trip is done. Just need the Rockies and I can stop filming totally. We
have rural areas in Australia too. It ain’t new to anyone.
The
dining crew was the sweetest. Kelly, Josh, Bernadette. Melissa our activity
officer was super helpful.
!===
19th October 2023 🚂
Eat eat eat sleep
Do puzzle
Sample beer
Not much to the day.
I
mean you can talk to people but they have their clicks (closed groups). Besides
they have preferred topics of choice and if you don’t match theirs you aren’t
of interest to them. Simple as that. I’m
not sensitive by that act as Sis is. I’m more like let know if you need me and
I might help you but it is not given. Ha. Relaxing
is my goal and looking at trees and not talking to people is the way to go.
!===
20th October 2023 🚂
Sis
hates dome talk. I
enjoy dome talk. The point of this journey is to learn about the area as quick and
briefly as you can without stopping by overnight. Meg did a great job. As Melissa
on the first day. It can be hard to get a seat in the dome cars. Highly
competitive.
We
tried a game of bingo. They’re styles to aim for and not just a straight line.
First, it was a letter X, second it was a stamp (I won and my sister says I
didn’t but Meg the host goes I qualify as you only need a square of four in a
corner - Ha). Some people don’t understand what parameters mean. Other patrons
didn’t either. Uh. The postage stamp is a very small square. Where have you been
people! Another lady also played bingo in that case. The last pattern was a picture
frame recommended by an elderly gentleman. Karen won it on her third board.
Sis
says she does care for prizes. It is about that, in the world of law knowing
what your parameters are and operating within them successfully. Besides law and
games have rules. In
the end, I’m a winner out of 3 games. So take that! A few more digits and I could be won in all 3 games. Hee Hee. Close but no cigar.
The
canapés were great. All are served on brown bread. Salmon pate. Beef pate. Zucchini
paste. There were some vegetarian options too. The second sitting was late again. Instead of going up and down and taking a peak. We
decided to sit and eat canapés until the staff came to activity 2 carriage and
yelled out our dinner sitting.
!===
21st October 2023 🚂
I
waited for the sun to rise over the trees in the dome car since 5:45am. I saw nothing
as it was cloudy. Dang it!
We
did stop at Jasper for an hour. Sis and a few others got off the train earlier
than me. I dozed off in the dome car you see.
When
I heard the announcement over the PA it stated you needed a boarding pass
before you can come back on the train. I quickly got dressed and went in search
of my sister. I told her to message me before you do such things. Otherwise,
you can’t get back on the train. I had access to our electronic copies and
paper version of the boarding pass.
Sis
and I ran around taking photographs and rummaging through open gift stores. Most of the stores were closed. Jasper
is a mountain base town. Poor design of a mascot. Plenty of snow-capped mountain
views and wooden cabins here. They even have a dark sky festival. Umm.
On
board the train they have brunch offerings. The few who boarded a day ago lost
track of time and missed out on brekkie and brunch. Canapés
and mimosas as a farewell in activity room number 2. Sis and I stayed here doing
puzzles and taking photographs of the Rockies and Frazer River. Which was blue-green from the limestones nearby.
I
attended one more dome car talk about the Rockies, Fraser River, and Thompson
River.
By
the time it is time for dinner. Sis and I failed to complete the train rail
puzzle.
!===
22nd October 2023 🚂
We
had our last meal, our last breakfast on The Canadian. Sis and I were seated with
French besties. Who is travelling throughout Canada together? One of them
managed to tag along with her younger brother on a trip. They only planned as far as
this train ride and will wing it for the rest of the trip. Sweet.
We
took photographs with Carrie and William our roommates before grabbing our
bags to alight the train. The Pacific Center train station was packed with
people. Easy to navigate. We will be returning here several times throughout our trip
on the west side.
After
dropping the bags off at our hotel. We went to Waterfront and Gastown. The
steam clock was the best thing there, but no, the Ukraine pierogi restaurant
was the highlight of the day. I drank a warm Uzvar (apple and pear mocktail).
Tastes like apple crumble. I loved my stuffed mushroom cabbage roll.
Gastown
has lots of dog poo, homeless people, drugged and drunk people hanging about.
Also, no easy public accessible toilet for families or the disabled. The
train station here has no toilet as well. I
walked all the way to the Pan Pacific centre to find a working toilet. Sis
and I went around to every Dollarama in Downtown near Granville St.
For
dinner, we went Delivous Pho. Walked
around Yaletown. Then caught bus 6 back YMCA Hotel.
!===
23rd October 2023
Vancouver Public Library - central branch
They
have Zoom text and Jaws on adjustable tables from the second floor to the sixth
floor. One ClearView magnifying machine and one manual magnifying lamp. The
tables are not obvious and that you’d need to seek staff assistance. The
children's books were on the basement floor. Plenty of fiction in LOTE. The
rooftop garden was awesome. I felt like I was in Rome. The balcony design was
curvaceous and tall. Beautiful.
Granville
Island. Lots
of eat at The Market. Lots
of see. Artistic creations and craft beers to be had. Curated gardens. Riverwalk trails. They
had a warehouse dedicated to children. We caught
a bus to Park Royal Mall. Checked out Simons. Nothing suitable for bro. We had
dinner at The Keg. Nice restaurant. Great for outer suburban folks to come and
meet up. Paid parking though.
!===
24th October 2023 🛳️
Victoria. Rain
Downtown. Nobody
sold us daily passes or smart cards Umo. I only managed to buy a sheet of 10
tickets. Each bus transfer costs you another paper ticket.
Tacos for dinner.
Mini golf.
hang out in Dollarama to avoid the rain.
!===
25th October 2023
Victoria. Whale
watching tour with Orca Spirit Adventures company on zodiac ship. Closer to the
waters kind of boat. I
got sprayed on by the ocean water. So salty. We saw 3 whale tails, 1 teenager
whale fin, 1 bald eagle, several seals and blackbirds. Plus several boat
houses. Watch a seaplane land in the bay.
The
visitor sold us the Umo smart card. Yay! Walked
along the bay to Parliament House and went in for a free tour. Sis eyed the gift
store. The stained glass windows were the highlights of the space.
We
had high tea at the Fairmount Empress. The rooms were beautiful.
We
caught bus no. 2 to Breakwater Walk and watched the sunset. We came back to
take pictures of the lit-up Parliament House before going home.
!===
26th October 2023
Victoria. Butchart
Gardens. Pretty. At
the coffee shop, we bumped into Kerry and her friends. They were still in
Victoria. They have come to the garden early. Ah. Sis likes to wake up late. Sis
was dissatisfied that the garden lacked originality. Using foreign plants. Then
she fell in love with the rose carousel and fountain. The
sun's shine warmed us up. The
gift shop had some nice things.
Carousel fun. Sis was peeved she did not take enouch selfies (pics).
There
isn’t much for interaction. Many people come here for high tea and concert by
the lawn. We
got on the bus and tried to make it to the castle in time but alas it closed at
5pm.
Near
Bastion Square were some unique shops. Munro bookstore and Murichie tea shop.
We got there before it closed. Sadly, Sis doesn’t understand shops don’t open
until 9pm just because you want them to. These shops only operate during daylight.
I told her you gotta sleep in less and be out there at 9am to get to all these
places. They open at 9am and close at 5pm.
We
are at Earls near Bastion Square as Sis hates budget food. They are beneath
her. Ugh. My wallet is hurting.
!===
27th October 2023 🏔️
Whistler.
The
coach arrived late. The
view was beautiful from the coach as we approached Squamish. You can see the snow
caps. The
footpath to our hotel was not direct. Not far. But when you are pushing a heavy
suitcase up a hill it is challenging.
I
managed to find an elevator that would take you to the next level of the street.
It took a bit of digging and I got there. Our room had a fireplace, a small
balcony, and a bathtub (which Sis never used, too busy watching Twitch
streams).
We
had dinner at Mexican Corner. She said the tacos were too soft. Oh wells.
We
checked out a few gift stores but they were closing soon. There was a grocery
store open. Sis purchased some thick socks with a PAC Man's design.
!===
28th October 2023 🏔️
Zip-line
time! With Zeek and Emily. While
hanging off the cable the view of the mountain and the creek was amazing. These
trees holding us up were strong. We
saw one squirrel with a white line down it had grey fur. We
saw some bear claws against trees. The
zip-line zig-zag between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain.
We
had lunch at D-inn Gate. The meal was charged back to the hotel who gave us $90 credit
to use over the time of our stay for breakfast. All because The Raven room was
being renovated for winter. Service was slow.
Ka-Ze
doesn’t do email booking and the Westin concierge doesn’t take booking. Ka-ze
doesn’t open until 5:30pm. We were advised to do a walk-in. The
visitor centre advised us to take a taxi to the Squamish Lilwat Cultural Centre or walk. Sis has a bad knee. We
were sold a sheet of 10 paper tickets for bus use.
We
walked over to the Olympic Plaza in the north village and took a stroll through the Audain
Art Gallery.
!===
29th October 2023 🏔️
Trying
10am brekkie. Took forever. There
was a free shuttle bus between the mountains. Which the staff at the visitor Center
failed to mention. It could have saved us money.
The
Squamish Lilwat cultural centre has locals as staff. Totem and canoe were a
highlight. Artwork by artists was mentioned. I learned Bill Reid did most of the
graphic and sculpture artwork we see around Vancouver.
!===
30th October 2023 🏔️
Time
to leave the mountain for the city.
We
ate food we brought from the supermarket the night before for our breakfast in
our room. Sis wanted to buy one more icon patch. We are running low on Canadian
cash. I said no. I need to reserve my energy for the coach ride. Sis got upset.
I
just sat by the fireplace and rested my head on the ottoman. Such luxury is
wasted on mutters. This room has so many luxurious options.
The
coach Skylynx had already arrived at the Visitor Centre. Luckily, we did not
dine at D Inn Gate, otherwise, we would have been late. The views from the coach on the
way back to Vancouver were gorgeous. The
Sea to the Sky ride would have come by this highway.
Richmond
T&T
supermarket sold the cheapest bubble tea drink and no cream. Aberdeen
Centre was like Paramount Centre. Not huge at all. Landsdowne
Centre has the budget stores. Sis
had Japadog via their drive-through van. She felt sick later on. CF
Richmond Centre has the posh stores. Bus
403 and 410 run on 3rd Street.
We
had fun rummaging through the malls.
!==
31st October 2023
VanDusen
botanical garden
Beautiful
Lovely
cafe
Good
salad
Queen
Elizabeth Park
Hilly
but a sweet view of the city and the mountain.
The
Bloedel conservatory had McGraw birds and a pheasant.
Bear
Creek
Not
well labelled.
We
managed to find the train and mini golf place. It doesn’t open until 6:30pm.
Sis
failed to go to the washroom when we were at the mall. This park only has
portable toilet stands littered across the park.
We
saw squirrels.
Jollibee
had great fried chicken and the mash was good. A patron dressed as the mascot.
Lol.
!==
1st November 2023
Stanley
Park is HUGE!
Geese
Totem
poles. Quite the sight. Each one tells a different story.
Vancouver
aquarium. Cafe had staff that did not recall what was on their menu and I had
to take a photograph of the menu on the board.
Sea
otters
Sea
lions
They
have to close the aquarium early today due to a private event. Everyone was sad
about it. You can hear the children whine at their parents that is so unfair I was not
done looking at the animals.
Sis
sussed out Walmart and the Canadian Superstore. We did not purchase anything in
the Walmart store. However, we went ham in the Canadian Superstore. Chipotle -
Mexican grill for dinner. Pretty delicious.
!==
2nd November 2023
One
last time at Granville Island.
CF
Richmond Centre
Hang
out in the hotel lobby.
We
had hot food at the Thai Hang stall.
Chocolate
lava cake at The Lift (restaurant).
Our
flight was delayed.
We
did get to board the plane while they sorted out baggage issues.
I
watched the movie 64, a French film of misfits led by a priest off to build a
platform in the lake in Quebec, and forgot to watch Flash's latest movie.
