Vancouver: Hop on, hop off bus.

Thursday, 8th August, 2013.

We took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Vancouver to check out the sights.

 

Will the real people please stand up?

Vancouver featured a lot of whimsical public art.

 

Stanley Park is on a chunky peninsula which projects into the harbour.  Early city planners wisely reserved it as a public park, and I congratulate later ones for resisting the temptation to sell it off, as the real estate, with its sweeping views, would now be worth squillions.

The park can now be enjoyed by everyone, and includes such features as wilderness areas, lakes, Indian totem poles. flowers and energetic people.  Made me feel a bit guilty sitting on a bus.

 

The Lions Gate Bridge (looking remarkably like San Francisco’s Golden Gate, only green) opened in 1938, and in 2005 was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. The term "Lions Gate" refers to The Lions, a pair of mountain peaks north of Vancouver.

The bridge connects the City of Vancouver with its northern and western districts.

The next day, our ship sailed under this bridge, on our way to Alaska.  Pedestrians on the bridge waved to us, and the whole ship waved back.  

   

Girl in a Wet Suit.

Elek Imredy's 1973 statue on the shores of Stanley Park was inspired by the famous Copenhagen Little Mermaid Statue.

 

When efforts to obtain licensing to replicate The Little Mermaid (the original plan) failed, the artist created this more modern version  with a mask, wet suit and fins.

 

Stanley Park included some centuries-old redwoods.

 

 Prospect Point , in Stanley Park, was a floralised viewing area.

 

View from Prospect Point.

 

You could also see part of the Lions Gate Bridge from Prospect Point. 

 

If you look beyond the large multicoloured object in the foreground, you can still see a bit of the Lions Gate Bridge.

 

Yet another redwood.

 

Some of the neat inner-city houses and gardens.

 

We hopped off the bus in Chinatown to have lunch.

 

This building in Chinatown, Jack Chow Insurance, is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the world’s narrowest commercial property.

 

It’s the flat-roofed extension on the right hand side of this blue building.

 

Here it is from the other end.  Although narrow, the property extends for the whole block, and as you can see, is a little wider on the second floor.

 

Jack Chow gave his famous narrow building a facelift for Vancouver’s Centennial celebrations in 1986.

 

Chinatown streetscape.

 

Chinatown lunch.

 

Pat at the wharf, where our cruise ship docked the next day.

 

Cruise terminal without Pat.

 

North Vancouver with me.

 

Olympic Torch stand from when Vancouver held the Winter Olympics.

 

Here are some ships waiting to come into port.

They pay $10,000 per day for this privilege.