Hop-On Hop-Off

While we were on the Rocky Mountaineer we purchased tickets for two days of unlimited use of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus.  We had decided that we would use them on our return trip to Vancouver.  We also were delighted to discover that one of the 23 stops was very close to our hotel.  So we set off for a day of adventure, looking forward to seeing even more of the city.

Our plan was to do the complete ride ... we had to get off the first bus at its point of origin, not because we were required to, but for other reasons.  It turned out to be one of the best decisions.  When we came back to that stop we discovered we had one of the best drivers on the run.  He had trouble keeping to the schedule because he had so much information to share about his city.  He was a delight, and we learned far more from him than we did on the previous bus, or on subsequentones.  Lucky choice!

At the end of our day we went to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.  The Garden is a classical scholars garden, and we arrived just in time for the last tour of the day, so we learned about the balance of Yin and Yang, and how that is achieved in the Garden.  We also learned about the life of a scholar and how the Garden, AND the building around it was designed to reflect the accumulated wisdom and philosophy.

We ended our tour with a tradional Chinese tea tasting, in a room with a display of traditional, hand sewn, hand embroidered Chinese opera costumes (very dear to a stitcher's heart!)

 Yes!  ALL done by hand.