Welcome to Vancouver!

Our first day in Vancouver we decided to go walking and begin our orientation to the city.

First we came out of the hotel and checked out BC Place, the home of the BC Lions from the CFL, and also of the Vancouver Whitecaps, their other football team -- but the other kind of football -- most of us call it soccer.  

Turning away from BC place we walked along Robson Street, with all of its shops.  They say that you can find anything you might want to buy on Robson Street.  As well as looking in the shop windows we ultimately headed toward the harbour.

Once we were on the waterfront, one of the first things we saw was the owner of a fishing charter cleaning that morning's catch for the men who had caught them.  They were patiently waiting and watching.  Less patient were his friends in the water.  There were two or three sea lions making sure that he knew they were there, ready and willing to dispose of any "waste" products.

Patiently waiting

 It was worth the wait!

 Really???  That's it???  Oh well.

When he was asked what happened in the winter he said, "They go hungry unless they fish for themselves."

More to see ... it's a very busy place!

Some people even live here.

Then on to Canada Place.  The structure is designed to resemble sails.  

  Canada Place has an interesting walkway, reflecting the path across a map of Canada.  As you walk from province to province, you also walk among the names of places found in that province. I suspect that people around us heard me when I found this:

No, Windsor isn't there.  So of course, we needed a second picture.

We walked across Canada, and explored, and wandered into the Tourism Information Bureau across the street.  There we learned, not only that we could get a free shuttle to Capilano Canyon and the suspension bridge, but also that if we purchased our tickets at the Tourism Bureau, our tickets would be discounted.  Information we stored away for future reference.

When we'd toured the area we walked to the Vancouver Lookout.  Rocky Mountaineer had given us passes for our admission, and so we went up to view all that we had yet to see, and to get our bearings for those places.

A quick panorama for you:

I need to thank my friend for many of the photos, especially the panoramic views from the Lookout.  (But some of the sea lion pictures are also hers.)  Now that I have access, this blog will be enriched by her contributions.  Thanks, Annette!
 
When we'd absorbed all we could of the view, we took the elevator down, and headed toward Gastown.  

One of the key sights in Gastown is the steam clock, which plays music on the quarter hour.

By this time we'd walked miles, and were thinking of dinner, and so we headed back to the hotel.  Of course, we still had a healthy walk ahead of us, and more to see, but nothing that captured our fancy enough to get the cameras out.