Today we decided to get the Hop On Hop Off Trolley bus so we could see as much of the city as possible on our last full day in Vancouver. We caught the trolley from Robson street close to our hotel and the first stop was inside Stanley park, which we’d already seen, but the commentary by the driver was very good so we learnt a lot more seeing it with an expert. We stayed on until Canada place where we got off and had a short walk around. The cruise terminal is there and also the world trade centre. We then got on the second trolley bus route which took us onto Granville Island via the bridge, where we saw two bald eagles sat in a tree where apparently they were nesting. The bus then headed through Chinatown and into Gastown, which was a historical area made famous by Yorkshireman “Gassy” Jack Deighton, who arrived in the area in 1867 with a barrel of Whiskey and built the areas first saloon after he promised local workers free drinks if they helped him build it as soon as possible. Legend has it that it was built within a day! There’s a statue of old gassy jack in the main square. It’s a very popular tourist area now with some lovely bars, cafes and restaurants. We had some lunch there then walked the short walk back to Canada place to get a free shuttle bus to the Capilano suspension bridge. The bus took around 30 minutes to get there and we all walked over the “wibbly wobbly bridge” as Ava called it. She wasn’t in the least bit concerned by the height or shakiness of the bridge in fact she was quite keen to run across it.
It was very well set up with lots of information about the rainforest and the habitat and the animals, plants and trees found there. We had to hunt for squirrels but sadly didn’t see any. We did learn that maple syrup from maple trees on the west coast of the country isn’t really edible due to the climate which means we’ll just have to go to the East coast of Canada to try it out there too! Once we’d completed our quiz and Ava had received her badge we headed back over the suspension bridge. There was also a cliff top walk which involved a metal bridge suspended over the ravine, again which also didn’t faze Ava in the slightest.
It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect conditions for exploring. Out little explorer was so happy, hugging trees, walking along logs and running across the bridges.
Once we’d finished there and Ava had collected her certificate we got the bus back to Canada Water. After some persuasion by me we headed down to the Seaplane dock to see about getting a seaplane flight. To my delight there was one leaving in about an hours time which gave us just enough time to get something to eat from a lovely restaurant upstairs. We checked in about 20 mins before the flight in the little airport, then got our boarding passes to head out to the plane.
It was tiny inside and as we were some of the last to get on the pilot told David to go up front into the co pilots seat! Me and the kids took our seats and we quickly set off. It was amazing whizzing across the water and pretty soon we were up soaring above the city which was just spectacular. Tom fell asleep almost straight away and Ava busied herself reading the inflight magazine!
We were up for about 20 minutes but it was lovely to see the city from above. I could spot all the places we’d visited in Stanley park and all the surrounding islands around the city.
Nicola Childs 