Sitting in my hotel room in Vancouver. Of course, it's raining outside. Fortunately, the rain held off most of the day, so I was able to get in a little sightseeing.
Our train got into Vancouver really early. Like at about 6 AM early for an 8 AM arrival. No problem, they serve breakfast, starting at 6:30 until a little before 8. Then they open the doors at 8 and shoo everyone off. Had to wait a little bit for our checked luggage to come off, but it eventually did, and then off to town. The Skytrain station is right out the front door, and I bought my very own Compass card and a day pass. They call it the "Skytrain," but downtown, most of it runs underground. It's also one of the fastest subway trains I've ever ridden. Not sure whether that's to the the automated operations, or is it just that British Columbians like to drive fast. It might be the latter, because I rode a bus later in the day, and the driver really liked putting the pedal to the metal.
I thought my hotel might have self service laundry, as this is the first chance I've had to do laundry after 5 days or riding on a train. Alas, I was informed that the mighty Marriott chain doesn't put such downscale amenities into their more premium brands, but I was certainly welcome to use their hotel valet service. So I looked at the charges for each item, then totaled all of the stuff that needed to be washed, and the bill would have come out to $250! OK, that's Canadian $, but that's still a heck of a lot for laundry. So I asked about any local laundromats, and I was given the name of a place "about a 20-minute walk away."
It was, indeed, a 20-minute walk, but the concierge neglected to tell me it was up a pretty stiff hill. I finally got to Davie St., and found an interesting neighborhood, practically a New Urbanist's dream! There was even a trolleybus that ran up and down the street. I found the laundrymat, and even better than a self-serve laundry, I found that they do a wash and fold service. So I left the load with them and retrieved it around 6 in the evening. By then the rain has started, but by then I had found out enough about the transit system to know where to catch the bus that ran up the hill. One good thing about Vancouver is that (at least downtown) all th ebus stops have shelters, basic shelters, but enough to keep the rain off while waiting for a bus. Anyway, the wash and fold service was about $30, and they really folded everything nicely, too. (And they certainly folded the laundry better than I ever do!)
After dropping off the wash, I walked down the other side of the hill, through residential blocks, to False Creekm where I took a Ferry over to Granville Island. Granville Island is a former deserted industrial area that has been gentrified into a "festival marketplace," but a very interesting one, with a Reading-Terminal-Market like public market, and various artisans shops. I had a plate of Fish and chips, and then recrossed False creek, rode the Canadas Line to Waterfront Station, and then ended up heading for the Se Bus terminal because it seemed to be the only place with restrooms. As long as I was there, I rode the ferry over to the north shore, and then rode it back again. By this time, I was getting more than a little tired, and so I returned to my hotel room and napped for an hour.
As 6 PM rolled along, it was time to retrieve my laundry. Well, when I went out, it was not only dark, but it was raining. Fortuately, I had researched the local transit offerings (thanks, Google Maps) and found a bus right around the corner that would take me up the hill, something that I wouldn't have wanted to do, even if it weren't dark and cold and rainy. I was pretty impressed, even on a Sunday evening, the buses were running with a 15-minute headway or less.
After picking up my laundry, which I was hauling in my roller bag, I looked up and down Davie St. for a place to eat. I settled on a Malaysian restaurant and had some Nasi Goreng (a kind of fried rice). Then I went back to the bus stop and waited under the shelter, until the return bus came and took me back to my hotel.
Today, I had a full day, walking a part of the Stanley Park Seawall to see the totem poles, then a short walk through the park, some of which is in native northwest forest, to the "bus loop." This bus is a trolleybus, or "trackless trolley" as we called them in Hoagie-land (otherwise known as Philadelphia.) So I got to ride a trolleybus downtown, then I transferred to the Canada Line and rode down to Richmond, to see the "golden village," North America's most concentrated assemblage of Asian-themed shopping malls. I only had time for the Aberdeen Center, where I had a nice tonkatsu lunch and enjoyed seeing all of the mall shops, most of whoch sold western looking fashions, but which I think are various Asian brands. There were also a bunch of ginseng stores and other Chinese pharmacies, and Oomomo, a "Japanese Variety store," that had everything you'd need to set up housekeeping in Tokyo.
After checking that out, I rode the Canada Line back to Waterfront station, and then made a short walk into Gastown. I got to see the steam clock, but, to be honest, I was running out of steam myself by the point. I caught a glimpse of the Chinatown gate in Vancouver's original Chinatown while I was waiting for another bus to take me back to the hotel. I was so tired when I got back that I just went downstairs and ate at the hotel dining room. The food was actually pretty good, if a little pricey. Now I'm packing things up, as I have to be at the door for my Lyft ride at 5 AM tomorrow. Cascades 517 leaves at 6:25, but I need to get there earlier to clear Customs.
Well, it was a fine week in Canada, and now it's back to the States, two days in Seattle, and then my return trip home on Amtrak.
That's it for now, more reports to come.
