Maritime Antiques and Collectibles

Captain Wheel

by admin | March 16th, 2008

Captain Wheel

Stanley Park is an urban paradise of Vancouver is famous and I knew weeks ahead that would be explored in detail, preferably on a bicycle. Thus this afternoon at 1:30 pm I left the UBC campus, and navigate my way downtown by bus, taking 3 buses to get to the eastern edge of Stanley Park. This was my first opportunity take a look at the city of Vancouver. It is a relatively new city and according to some reports, dating back to 1792, when Captain George Vancouver explored this region. Most buildings downtown west of Granville Avenue were built relatively recently as Vancouver has experienced a boom construction in recent years. Much of downtown is covered by modern residential skyscrapers and construction frenzy Vancouver continues unabated. It's evident everywhere that this is a very popular place to live.

My bike rental was waiting at a place called Spokes Bicycle Rental, a place that was mentioned to me several weeks ago by the Vancouver Visitors Association. I met one of its directors, a young man named Phil was very helpful sports to help me put my itinerary of this discovery on two wheels. We started talking and I learned that Phil is originally from Montreal and moved to Vancouver 3 years ago. She loves the outdoors and has gotten into snowboarding, mountain biking and diving, and mentioned that Vancouver is one of the best dive sites in the world.

After exposing my route for me and gives me information on all the important places along the way, Phil selected a comfortable bike for me that would be able to handle recreational riding, and some mild off-road. Once fitted I got on the bike and began my journey along the seawall of Stanley Park. At 20 times the size of Central Park, the park Stanley is the 3rd largest urban park in North America and its surroundings are simply stunning. From the east side there is a view in downtown Vancouver at Canada Place and the cruise ship terminal. Several ocean liners docked in the city.

One of the first main sights along the route by bike are the totems, provides in height and number. I circled around Brockton Point to the north facing side of the peninsula, and an impressive view north of Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge open. Under the guidance of Phil, I cycled up to Beaver Lake, a quiet little oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the boardwalk. This is a great lake surrounded by a thick forest covered with water lilies. I bike all the way around the lake and then headed back to the dock and quickly arrived at the bridge Lions Gate, which is surrounded by Prospect Point, the highest point in the park. From there you can quickly reach the point north of Stanley Park and started again west on bike. Directly after an outlying rock single called Siwash Rock came to the Third Beach which was packed with people. I bought a drink and relaxed for a while until they resumed the trip and have a group of builders Inukshuk near Second Beach.

The crowds were increasing, and every imaginable place on burned grass was taken up by the sun worshipers. The largest beach, located closer to the city, English Bay Beach is full of hikers. The crowds were a bit much for me, so I came across False Creek to Burrard Bridge and explored Vanier Park and Kitsilano Beach. The view from the deck is simply breathtaking. On the other side again, there were thousands of people, barbequeing, sunworshiping and picknicking.

I turned around and headed in 4th Avenue, crossing back to the center Vancouver via the Granville Street Bridge and went straight through Canada Place and the west coast of Burrard Street. Since then my stomach growls about 3 hours of cycling, I returned to the spokes of the bicycle and Phil asked advice as to where to eat. He suggested an Italian place called Ciao Bella, almost all street. I took his advice and hit myself in a courtyard and enjoyed a nice Italian meal in the sun in the afternoon.

At 8 pm I was ready to return to the And approached UBC Robson Street, one of the main roads of Vancouver. Thousands of people approached me, and they planned to catch the fireworks. The sidewalks were completely full with people only. I was walking in the opposite direction and ended up with a quick little photo tour of the city, including Vancouver Hotel. I saw a little more interesting buildings: the block of Vancouver and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Very exhausted one day I started walking down the avenue Granville, still surrounded by a crowd of people and had to wait 45 minutes for a bus from all the buses down Davie Street to bring people to the fireworks. Finally the bus arrived and I was listening to a group of teenagers who were planning trips under their under-age drinking on the occasion of the fireworks. After a long day finally arrived back on campus at UBC at 9:30 pm. Now it's 11 pm and I can not wait to hit the hay.

To read the full story, including photos, visit target = "_blank"> http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/hello_vancouver_2.htm

About the Author:

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of Travel and Transitions (

http://www.travelandtransitions.com
), a popular web portal for unconventional travel & cross-cultural connections. Check out our brand new section featuring FREE ebooks about travel.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Hello From Vancouver -Part 2 - Wheeling Around Stanley Park

VooDoo at the Captains Wheel 9-6-08