I have been filling out my last free week by looking for more permanent accommodation, seeing the sights of the city and basically bumming around. In the mornings, I like to get breakfast or soup at the Granville Island Markets, followed by a boat trip on the small water taxis. They zoom up and down False Creek all day and drop people off at one of about 8 stops. I went to the furthest one from Granville Island called Olympic Village. It is the apartment village that they created for the 2010 Olympic contestants to live in. They are trying to sell them now, but like Australia, they are over-priced and therefore difficult to sell.
I visited Yaletown which is a neighbourhood in the Downtown core of Vancouver. It was very clean, trendy and expensive. The views are amazing for the residents and there are the typical vanity services that you would expect such as waxing, pedicures, dog grooming and world class hair salons. I liked the quieter vibe of the hood and they have a lot of cool bars and cafés in their main strip. Talking about ‘strip’, you can get a man’s Brazilian wax at a good price if you want to rock out that hard.
I also checked out the West End which is another hood near Stanley Park in the west of the city. It is also more quiet and has a suburban feel although it is just outside the busy parts of the city. It is full of organic and whole food stores, finer and big brand shopping as well as nice parks and direct access to Stanley Park. I found a place to stay in the West End and hopefully that will be a good experience for a month or so.
Some funny things that I have experienced include:
- Helping a paralytic but polite Irish guy find a street after he fell down 4 stairs and apologised when he finally managed to get himself up
- Stumbled across a flee market for homeless people that sell stolen charity goods
- Saw a guy buy a stolen flatscreen TV from a crack addict for $50
- Probably the biggest seagull that ever lived
- One of the most famous Bollywood actors in the world and I still have no idea what his name was or who he is
- Almost taking a room in an apartment with a guy that, at the last minute, admitted that he has an air purifier that dispenses weed into the air all day so that it keeps him being ‘creative’.
- and a gang on modified bikes cruising the streets of south Granville Street on bikes that were about 10 feet tall.
No moms allowed !
Some really old heritage buildings near the West End.
The Gastown steam clock.
Coolest bar in Olympic Village. $3 half pints.
The famous Giant Sparrows that signify fragile ecology.
Japadog. One of the many street food options in Downtown.
A pretty lane in Yaletown.
Get a manlizian and get ready for summer on Wreck Beach.
Trying to avoid buying cookies from super cute Canadian Girl Guides proved too difficult.
