Vancouver

We woke at 5.30am in time for our pick-up at 6.30am. When the sun doesn't properly rise until after 9, it felt like the middle of the night. I was groggy and helped Dad get the skis down the stairs when our ride turned up. A nice Canadian man drove us through the darkness to Banff around 9am. We had a quick coffee at Tim Hortons (I bought some postcards and glasses) and then did the next leg to Calgary. We saw a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. Wind whipped snow across the road in front of us.

Bye Banff!

We got to the airport around 11am for our 2pm flight. We sat at the gate, with only boring tourist shops to look at. I watched Florence Foster Jenkins on the flight, only half before we landed.

In Vancouver a limo was parked outside. It was the same price as 2 taxis so we took it! It was hilarious riding in the limo, but kind of tacky too - it smelt like cherry lollies and the cab driver kept telling really dry jokes. After a long drive we pulled up at the Fairmont.

Our first glimpse of the Fairmont

We had accidentally been given two double rooms. So our initial excitement gave way to frustration because and I had to share a bed - Dad refused to let anyone have the spare one in their room while we three were cramped together. We all lay around tired and annoyed for awhile.

Beautiful rooms at the Fairmont

Mum and Dad waiting for the lift

We found an Italian restaurant across the road from the hotel. It had really good authentic food, especially compared to Banff.

Everyone slept well in the extremely comfy beds. We were laughing because a gull hunkered down on our window ledge, squawking every time anyone made a cup of tea. We had a makeshift breakfast of cereal in teacups with extra milk requested from reception.

We got a coffee just outside the hotel from a place that also did pastries. It was crammed and busy in the shop. Then we walked down to the harbour - house stacked up on the hills like Queenstown resorts beneath the snow-capped mountains. It was still icy cold and we took the opportunity to warm up in a patch of sun on the harbour.

Warming up

The icy streets

Lucy and Hugo

We then wandered up a parallel street, giving us a great view of our hotel to the shopping district. It was like Newmarket in Auckland, low two storey buildings with upmarket chain stores - GAP, Zara, Banana Republic etc. We had lunch at a burger place, it might have been called Red Robin. My cheeseburger was delicious although I wasn't hungry! Afterwards we dipped into the shops. I wasn't really in the mood and prices weren't that different from NZ. Hugo went back to the Fairmont and after a lap around the block trying to find Dad, I followed.

The shopping area

We spent the afternoon having time out, Facebook and reading books. Lucy and Mum got back at 4pm with lots of bags. I convinced everyone to go to Gastown - one area of bars with pretty fairy lights strung between the brick buildings. It was 10-15mins walk from us. We stopped for happy hour in a bar - Hugo didn't drink or say anything. Curling was on TV again and we heard a waitress telling off another table for trying to split the bill. One the way back we looked in trendy homeware design shops.

The streets of Gastown

Gastown Vancouver

Trendy window display!

Dinner was at a thai place. It didn't smell like NZ thai restaurants but the food was still good. I ordered larb but we shared all the dishes. There was a carved elephant head on the wall that I thought was real at first glance. After we went to an IGA supermarket. They had fresh cranberries (I've never seen them before!), coffee in the pick n mix section & Whittakers and R&Js from NZ there!




On our last day we had a sleep in until 8.30am when Lucy began huffing about. Breakfast was at the same place, around 11, this time a Bridget Bardot lookalike served us and the eggs were actually really good. We checked out of the grand Fairmont and went for another wander around the shops.

Shopping with the full family was a drag. Mum bought ridiculous sneakers. I got Josh some ski gloves from North Face. Lucy tried on ridiculous things while Hugo looked bored. This carried on for 2 hours.

We looked in the art gallery gift shop before retuning to the Fairmont. There were lots of iko-iko-esque things and a really good art-book and magazine collection.

In the Limo

We went back to the hotel and waited until 2.30pm when the annoying Limo driver rocked up. Our trip to the airport wasn't as painful this time. After a few easy check-in formalities, we left Canada!