spectacular city

On Thursday, I spent the day in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the late morning I had an interview and I scheduled some time to see friends in the afternoon and evening. I had a gap in my schedule an decided to pay for parking all day downtown so I could take off on a walk on the sea wall and into Stanley Park.

Vancouver has a great ambiance about it. I liken it to Sydney, Australia, and these two cities are the only I would consider living in downtown. The area is scenic (especially on sunny days), the buildings have plenty of windows, there is a good amount of green space in parks and gardens between buildings (even trees on top of buildings), and the population is diverse and friendly.

By noon, I was set free on the streets. I changed into some more casual clothes, slapped on the sunscreen, and grabbed a couple of snacks from my car to explore the seawall and city. It was just over a year ago that I toured this part of the city last. Since the 2010 Winter Olympics are due into town, there are plenty of building and road projects in progress.

My walk took me along the seawall on Coal Harbor, and I walked through Stanley Park until I had blisters between my toes from my flip flops. The phenomenal weather contributed to a number of people being outside; nearly everyone enjoying the sunshine and fair temperatures!

Stanley Park has a number of attractive attributes. My goal was to get to the Totem Poles. I snapped a few photos here. The first I like because the totem poles blend in with the trees they were carved from. The second is a more contemporary piece.

I wish I had more time to explore the park and the new additions to the city for the upcoming Olympics, but I had other exciting obligations for the afternoon (more on that in the next post). I walked back toward my car and made sure I had a bubble tea; a special treat for a great day!