As a change of pace from the Island, our family spent part of spring break in downtown Vancouver. I’d lived in the city for years, but mostly on campus at UBC a half-hour from the bustling core, which remained unexplored.
Mornings on Vancouver’s waterfront have a distinct soundscape: the first seaplanes hum into the port around 8:00 am. Power washers rumble to life thereafter, scouring the Riverfront walk before multitudes arrive on cruise ships. Barges sound greetings (or warnings) the rest of the morning. Then at noon, Canada Place’s heritage horns blast the first four notes of the Canadian national anthem, a Pavlovian trigger for lunchtime.
Other parts of downtown delighted:
- Bubble tea shops with endless options and sweetness levels
- Long views across the water to still snow-capped North Shore peaks
- The forest of glittering skyscrapers – taller than anything the girls see in Victoria
- High-end art supply stores where Eve picked up a few brush-style markers ($8 each!)
- Hotel elevator floor mats that display the day of the week. (These were handy for Dad jokes. I’d muse, “I wonder what day it is?” just before the elevator doors opened.)
- Heated outdoor pools with steam rising into the crisp evening air
- Downtown food courts that bustle at lunch but remain quiet at dinnertime
- This one tug boat chugging massive loads up and down Burrard Inlet around container ships in queues and the endless crisscrossing of the SeaBus
- Waterfront walks with old friends
Photo Gallery
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