UBC
Student Lounge, Vancouver, Saturday, August 6, 2005, 10:30 pm
Hello from Vancouver (2) -
Wheeling around Stanley Park
Stanley Park is Vancouver's famous urban paradise and I knew weeks
in advance that I would need to explore it in detail, preferably
on a bike. So this afternoon at about 1:30 pm I set off from the
UBC Campus, and navigated my way downtown by bus, taking 3 buses
to get to the eastern edge of Stanley Park. This was my first chance
to glance at the city of Vancouver. It is a relatively new city
and according to some accounts, its origins date back to 1792 ,
the year when Captain George Vancouver explored this region. Most
buildings downtown west of Granville Avenue were built relatively
recently as Vancouver has experienced a huge building boom over
the last few years. A large part of downtown is covered by modern
residential skyscrapers and Vancouver's building frenzy continues
unabated. It's evident everywhere that this is a very popular place
to live.
Rowing Club at the entrance to Stanley Park
My rental bicycle was waiting for me at a place called Spokes
Bicycle Rentals, a place that had been mentioned to me several
weeks ago by the Vancouver's Visitors Association. I met one of
their managers, a young sporty guy named Phil who was extremely
helpful in helping me lay out my itinerary for this discovery on
two wheels. We started chatting and I found out that Phil is originally
from Montreal and moved to Vancouver 3 years ago. He loves the outdoors
and has gotten involved in snowboarding, mountainbiking and diving
and he mentioned that Vancouver is among the world's top dive sites.
Phil from Spokes Bicycle Rentals
After laying out my route for me and giving me information on all
the important sights along the way, Phil selected a comfortable
bicycle for me that would be able to handle leisure riding as well
as some mild offroading. Once outfitted I hopped on the bike and
started my tour along the seawall of Stanley Park. At 20 times the
size of Central Park, Stanley Park is the 3rd largest urban park
in North America, and its setting is just stunning. From the east
side you have a view into downtown Vancouver towards Canada Place
and the cruise boat terminal. Several ocean liners were docked in
town.
One of the first major sights along the bike path are the Totem
Poles, imposing in their height and number. I circled around Brockton
Point towards the north-facing side of the peninsula, and a stunning
view towards North Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge opened up.
As per Phil's advice, I cycled up to Beaver Lake which is a quiet
little oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the seawall. It
is a large pond surrounded by lush forest, covered in a water lilies.
I cycled all the way around the pond and then headed back out to
the seawall and quickly came to the Lions Gate Bridge which is surrounded
by Prospect Point, the highest point in the park. From there I soon
reached the northernmost point of Stanley Park and started cycling
westwards again. Just past a single outlying rock called Siwash
Rock I arrived at Third Beach that was just completely teeming with
people. I bought a drink and relaxed for a while until I resumed
my trip and passed a group of inukshuk builders close to Second
Beach.
Vancouver - view from the Burrard Bridge
The crowds were intensifying and every conceivable spot on the
burnt-out grass was taken up by sun-worshippers. The largest beach,
located closest to the city, is English Bay Beach, replete with
daytrippers. The crowds were a bit too much for me, so I crossed
False Creek over the Burrard Bridge and explored Vanier Park and
Kitsilano Beach. The view from the bridge is simply breathtaking.
On the other side again there were thousands of people, barbequeing,
sunworshiping, and picknicking.
I turned around and headed back on 4th Avenue, crossing back to
downtown Vancouver via the Granville Street Bridge and headed straight
across towards Canada Place and the seashore west of Burrard Street.
Since my stomach was growling after about 3 hours of cycling, I
returned the bycicle to Spokes and asked Phil for advice as to where
to eat. He suggested an Italian place named Ciao Bella almost right
across the street. I took his advice and plunked myself down on
a nice patio and thoroughly enjoyed an Italian meal in the evening
sunshine.
Vancouver, from Kitsilano Beach
At 8 pm I was ready to head back to UBC and walked up to Robson
Street, one of Vancouver's main thoroughfares. Thousands of people
were coming towards me since they were planning to catch the fireworks.
The sidewalks were just totally full with people. I was walking
in the opposite direction and ended up doing a quick little photographic
tour of downtown, including the Hotel Vancouver. I saw a few more
interesting buildings: the Vancouver Block and the Art Gallery of
Vancouver.
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
Quite exhausted from a full day I started walking down Granville
Avenue, still surrounded by throngs of people and had to wait 45
minutes for a bus since all buses were going down Davie Street to
take people to the fireworks. Finally the bus came and I was listening
to a bunch of teenage boys that were planning their under-age drinking
escapades at the occasion of the fireworks. After a really long
day I finally arrived back on the UBC campus at about 9:30 pm. Now
it's 11 pm and I can't wait to hit the hay.
Useful Books:
Related Articles:
Hello from Victoria (1) - Reaching
the West Coast
Hello from Victoria (2) - Exploring
Victoria and its vicinity"
Hello from Vancouver (1) - Arrival
in Vancouver
Hello from Vancouver (2) - Wheeling
around Stanley Park
Hello from Vancouver (3) - The Grouse
Mountain Experience
Hello from Vancouver (4) - A Walking
Tour through the Downtown East Side
Hello from Vancouver (5) - Gastown
and My Final Explorations
Hello from Vancouver (6) - Covering
the Servas Conference
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