ຈັດພີມມາ: 17.06.2018
Even the most beautiful vacation eventually comes to an end. We had four days left in Vancouver before returning the camper to the rental company.
The drive from Whistler to Vancouver is one of the most beautiful routes. The highway is appropriately named 'Sea to Sky' Highway. Unfortunately, our luck with the weather ran out that day and instead of blue skies and sunshine, we had grey skies and rain. Nevertheless, we were still able to appreciate the beauty of the route, as even in the rain, you can still look out to the sea. Just before Vancouver, we stopped at a small harbor and our luck turned around again - the rain had stopped.
In Vancouver, there are only two camping sites, one in Burnaby, which is quite far out, and one in West Vancouver. We chose the one in West Vancouver, as it is a short bus ride away from downtown. Unfortunately, this campsite was the worst out of all the ones on our tour. The spaces were very close together, and you could practically see into your neighbor's camper on both sides. The WiFi was also more bad than good. However, there is a large shopping center just around the corner, where we often sat to surf the internet.
We strolled through the shopping center and had a leisurely meal, and just like that, the rest of the arrival day was gone.
We started the second day with a visit to the Vancouver Lookout, an observation deck that provides a 360° view of the city. It was here that I realized that Anna, who had no problem climbing mountains in Jasper, suddenly had issues with the glass exterior elevator and the observation deck. Fear of heights can be strange sometimes. After we were back on the ground, we headed to the Convention Center, where 'Fly over Canada' is located. In this attraction, you fly over Canada, as the name suggests. You sit in seats that can move back and forth and watch a film on a giant screen. The movability of the seats gives you the feeling of actually being on an airplane and enjoying the view over Canada. It's fantastically done and shows you beautiful images. Unfortunately, it is also very short, an extra ten minutes - especially considering the price - wouldn't hurt.
Next, we strolled through downtown and visited the market on Granville Island. And just like that, the first day in Vancouver was over.
For my birthday, we had planned a walk through Stanley Park. But we started the day (of course, at my request) with the Bayern - Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League semi-final second-leg match. Unfortunately, Bayern didn't give me a gift :/
But that didn't dampen our mood, the weather was great, so we headed to Stanley Park afterwards. We ended the long walk with a birthday dinner at Cactus Club Cafe on English Bay, enjoying the meal in the sun with a view of the water.
For our last day of vacation, we had a guided tour of Chinatown planned with the Tourguys. The meeting point was the Vancouver Art Gallery. Here, we encountered a problem that is common in Vancouver: filming. Since many TV series and films are shot in Vancouver, it occasionally happens that you suddenly come across a film set. This is usually not a problem, but when Supergirl was filming at the meeting point and the place was not as empty as usual, but instead filled with hundreds of people, production vehicles, and much more, it was difficult to find the tour guide. So our city tour started with a slight delay, but we managed to find each other.
After the tour of Chinatown, we also visited Gastown and took a stroll through the souvenir shops, and then it was time to pack up and light the grill one last time.
The three weeks of camping vacation were great, we saw so much, fantastic landscapes, beautiful cities, and lots of animals. I can only recommend exploring Canada by car or camper, as you would miss out on so much by only staying in one city.
Anna, Kerstin: Thank you for the amazing vacation, I had a lot of fun, we can do it again anytime ◔‿◔