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Day 2 in Vancouver started late – despite being told repeatedly by Ed that we would be walking to Stanley Park by 6am. Instead, we didn’t eat breakfast until well after 10am – which was a shame in the end, because the weather in Vancouver had really put on a show; 4C and sun!

After breakfast we decided to catch a taxi to Stanley Park – in case we decided on the way home that it was actually a long way and that we shouldn’t have walked both ways.

The ride was literally only 5 minutes, but the cold weather would have made it seem much longer on foot. We had the driver drop us off at the Vancouver Aquarium – a place that we could get our bearings from. We decided we would return to the Aquarium later on – once we had explored the park and found some wildlife for Pip.

Unfortunately, exploring the park was a little harder than expected. The cold weather overnight, and the past few days mixed with rain meant that the majority of walkways were turned to ice. Luckily our first squirrel sighting wasn’t far away, although Pip wasn’t satisfied with just one.

We set off on a wild adventure across the park, heading away from Beaver Lake and towards the Pipeline (or Pip-el-lee-nee for those in the know) Track. With a few minor slips along the way, we made it to a nice little outlook where we could see across the bay to North Vancouver, and the slopes of Grouse Mountain behind. It certainly was a great spot, and you should be able to pick it when looking at the photos from today – did I mention that you should look at the photos?

From here, we walked along the Pipeline track, and saw a squirrel or two while we did it, dodging falling branches and other hazards that had fallen in the nasty weather of the previous week or so. We soon came across a T-Junction in the path, and of course we chose the nicest looking path that seemed to go much deeper into the forest. After walking along this track for a few minutes, we soon realised that the track ended in a metal fence – one we would not be getting through. According to Ed, however, it was simple to fix this – just walk through the forest! As we continued towards the fence, it soon became clear that other people had made the same mistake, and followed a similar path from here out of the forest towards Pipeline road.

We walked along Pipeline road for a minute or two, before crossing to the other side of it and observing a map (good moves). We noticed how close we were to Beaver Lake – which we had avoided earlier, as this was to be seen ‘on the way home’ – and so decided to tick this off now. The path there from the road was no longer than 100m, but just as icy as all the others. Once we reached the lake, we noticed that most of it was frozen over – albeit only a thin cover. Ed attempted to break it with a few large snowballs, but to no avail. We did, however, come across an interesting warning sign. It read ‘DANGER’… but that was all. Unfortunately, the rest of the sign was frozen in the lake, beneath the ice, and so we had no idea what it was warning us of. Possibly the thin ice, possibly something else – but unfortunately, great placement meant that it wasn’t really doing its job.

As we continued along this path we saw quite a few more squirrels, and other interesting things – such as the warning sign for oncoming wheelchairs… Interesting indeed (check the photos)! We decided the best way back was along the same path, and so we headed back and then across Pipeline road and returned to the Aquarium. The Cafe at the Aquarium was really the only place in the park to get food, and so this was handy – being after 1pm. Ed enjoyed his ‘salmon’ burger – ironic at an Aquarium big on conservation – while Pip and I had more fish-friendly meals. While eating lunch, we watched over the Beluga Whale exhibit.

Following lunch we explored the Aquarium, and saw bits of shows that were running at the time. Looking around the entire complex certainly took time, and it was 3:30pm before we left. From here, we walked to the Sea Wall – the path that circles the entire park, and stretches from here, along the shore, back to the city. We followed this path from the park back into the city, where we diverted slightly to make it back to the apartment.

Just before getting back, we stopped in at Urban Fare – our local grocery store – to pick up some more breakfast supplies and some NYE goods. Unfortunately, as we found out at the checkout, the only champagne that was being sold was non-alcoholic – pointed out by the check-out worker who suggested we must be having a big night… The closest liquor store was 5 blocks away, so we decided to skip this for now.

Ed decided to keep walking and tried to visit the Taylors who were staying only blocks away, while Pip and I decided the couch sounded like a much better plan. Skype was on again back in the apartment, and so we spent some time catching up with the troopers who were still in Australia. Ed returned a little later, as it was getting very dark outside (5pm) with no success. He hadn’t managed to see the Taylors, or leave a message, and hadn’t got any champagne either.

After spending some more time in the room, we booked for dinner at the restaurant in our building – a 6-course banquet for $75 a head. We left a few hours in between so that we could watch a few episodes of an ongoing CSI:Miami marathon. When 7:30pm came around, we were all quite tired already, but decided it was best to face the food now rather than later!

The food was very nice – although we had first thought that the choices were very limited, we all found things that were exciting to eat… but not too exciting of course. Choices we chose included:

• “Kir Royal”
• Asparagus tart; Pork Belly
• Smoked pumpkin soup; Lobster bisque
• Sorbet
• Arctic Char; Butternut squash gnocchi
• Sticky mandarin pudding; Eggnog creme brulee

Wow. What a feast. While we had dinner, we observed limo after limo – which gave Ed an idea; how about hiring a limo for an hour and going for a cruise around town? It sounded good to both Pip and I, but unfortunately, Ed chickened out when push came to shove and we left the restaurant with the remainder of Ed’s bottle of wine in a brown paper bag.

We are currently back in the apartment watching the picturesque lights of Vancouver, and we keep hoping that everyone has been wrong about the lack of fireworks tonight. In case we don’t update this again – Happy New Year to everyone (as much as I’m aware it’s nearly the end of the first day of 2009 back home, yet we still are in 2008 here).

All the best, keep reading the blog, look at the photos, and keep praying for snow!! 28cm in 24 hours is just not enough!

ps – I thought I’d leave you with a little taste of one of the funny signs we saw on our walk today…

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And maybe another nice one from Vancouver. Ciao!

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