Whistler to Vancouver - Stanley Park

Not too early a start for the relatively short drive from Whistler to Vancouver, with the aim of being in the city for lunchtime. On the way just the one scenic stop - another day another waterfall. These are the Brandywine Falls. Just one rather astonishing gush out of the forest - a 70m drop.

Great views the other way down the Creek too.

There is a second viewing point for the Falls - voila.

But on to our airbnb in Vancouver for two nights.  Now we really lucked out here. The nicest place we stayed in all holiday. Lovely owners who met us on the verandah.  Beautiful house in a very smart suburban street, but only a few minutes from the city, so we could walk into Downtown. Spacious well decorated flat in the house. Just couldn't have wished for better. Only regret is we didn't stay for more than two nights.

 To cap it all, we asked for a recommendation for lunch and were directed to a superb local sushi restaurant - nothing grand, but excellent food and service. Loved it.

So happily full of raw fish we headed into Downtown. Vancouver is a very attractive city - made the more photogenic by the blue skies. This was their hottest weekend of the year so far.

 

We decided to walk the circumference of Stanley Park - over 8kms. But its Vancouver's main attraction and it certainly offers enough to see in terms of views.

Not just any heron, this is a Great Blue Heron - a step above our Grey Herons

Vancouver's answer to Copenhagen's Little Mermaid - Girl in a Wet-suit

 At this point we took a slight short-cut on the walk around the park to see the collection of totem poles (all modern).

 A feature of our walk was the seaplane traffic overhead. Here we stopped to watch one taking off.

As were already in Town as it were, rather than return to our flat and come out again, we had an early dinner at a very decent Italian restaurant. As is our wont, we went for the charcuterie starter. (We had several of these on the trip, following a pattern we started in New England last year. A lot of restaurants do these platters for two, and that suits us down to the ground.)

 And I finished off with a lobster tail on squid ink pasta. Looks good doesn't it?

And as you can see, still a very sunny evening making eating al fresco a pleasure. Although sunglasses a must.

 Wandering back we came across a jazz festival, as one does.

I had expected Thibault to go out at night and hit the bars, but he wasn't in the mood, so we watched a film Vacation together on Netflix - a slightly gross but very funny comedy. Its a reboot of the original Vacation films with Chevy Chase from the Eighties, and Chevy has a cameo role as the father of the main protagonist taking his ungrateful family on a naturally disastrous road trip. A very enjoyable end to a long but enjoyable day. We liked Vancouver.