Tuesday, June 5, 2018

ALASKA TRIP - MAY 2018 - BACK TO GRANVILLE ISLAND, SEASONS IN THE PARK AND CHANGING HOTELS

I will add this on every post, just to let anyone who doesn't know, that we are actually back home.  I am now sharing my journal from the beginning of May.  If you want to see all the posts written so far, you can click on the label below this post entitled, Alaska Trip-May 2018.

VANCOUVER - GRANVILLE MARKET - SEASONS IN THE PARK - CHANGING HOTELS.
MAY 8TH, 2018





5.57 p.m. we have changed hotels and are now in one nearer the cruise line. Today we went to Granville Island again, and Seasons in the Park, this time with our niece and nephew. 






Left the hotel, managed to stuff all our suitcases into the boot, thanks to our nephew's great organizational skills.  We dropped luggage off at the new hotel downtown, and the desk staff took care of it all until our room was ready. 






I was happy we were driving back to Granville Island.  We walked around the market again, and niece and nephew treated us to breakfast.  We all chose a pastry from the same bakery we discovered on our last trip.  No, not the chocolate cake.




After a fun time looking at many of the stalls, we walked outside to the water's edge.




This time we took a water taxi, deciding to have a nice long walk on the other side of False Creek. 




We met a lady who had grown up in Belfast, and she was with a young lady from Austria.  They both had their dogs and as one of them came up to us and demanded a fuss, it started off a nice conversation.  She said she could tell immediately that we were all dog lovers. 




The other dog, not the explorer, was a rescue and a little more reticent.  






When I asked the young lady if he would mind me petting him, she said not at all but please to be careful of one spot where he had hurt himself, as he is a little nervous about it.  He had a bit of a sore looking graze on the back of his neck.  I carefully stroked him, avoiding the sore area and was rewarded with a wag of his tail.  The lady from Ireland wanted to know all about us.  She said she enjoyed talking to people.  Eventually it was time to move on and we said our goodbyes. We walked further along and found another taxi boat for a ride back.






I noticed a young lady with a gyrfalcon perched on her arm.  She was from the local raptor association.  





I asked her if the falcon was a rescue, and she told me it belonged to a falconer who had become tired of the sport and turned him in.  A beautiful bird and she was happy for me to take several photos.  



We stopped to listen to a street entertainer on our way back to the car. While our family explored a little more, Gregg and I sat on a bench nearby and listened to this pretty music for at least half an hour.  We bought two of his CD's. 






A man overheard us talking about what we were going to do tomorrow, and recommended Squamish.  It sounded a lovely place and he highly recommended it.  (Unfortunately we never did get there but it is still on our list for a future trip.)




Niece and nephew came back and we returned to the car.  We weren't ready to go back to the hotel yet, and decided to drive over to the Queen Elizabeth Park.  







It gave us a chance to visit this iconic statue.... 




also admire all the colorful flowers again... 




look at that view and.... 




pop into the restaurant that we enjoyed so much before.






We are very happy with the hotel.  It is very comfortable and closer to where we need to be.  When we saw our room my eyes were immediately drawn to the pretty origami bird on the corner of our bed, a cute little welcome for any guest. 






And there we ended our day.  I turned the lights off, kept the curtains open and enjoyed another pretty view, this time of the city lights.

More daily adventures to come.








30 comments:

  1. The mountain view is incredible, and so is that falcon!

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  2. What a wonderful day! the origami welcome is really a stroke of genius. The water taxi is so cute! And I have never seen a falcon like this one, he is gorgeous! Beautiful scenery, food, and people make this a perfect day.

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    1. Hi Ginny, I loved the little origami. Loved those water taxis and the people running them. It was a perfect day in every way.

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  3. Holidays is the perfect time to have chocolate cake for breakfast. I am disappointed to hear that you wimped out - but feel sure the pastries were delicious anyway.
    Love, love, loved the Gyrfalcon and mourn that his original owner reneged on his responsibilities.

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    1. With that endorsement I will never wimp out again, lol! Wasn’t he a beauty? I was very sad for the same reason but happy he found a good home. This young lady really cared for him and seemed to have a special bond with this beautiful bird.

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  4. Hi Denise,
    What a lovely day you had, and managed to pack so much in within the time.
    Gyr Falcons are such a beautiful bird, we have a breeding station not far away, they sell most of the birds to the Emirates.
    All the best, John

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    1. Interesting John, thank you for that information. All the best to you too :)

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  5. Wishing I was there but your pictures are the next best ting. Thanks, Denise.

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    1. You are so sweet to say that Valerie. I wish you could have been there too :)

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  6. I can't even come up with words to say how awesome your photos are today. they are just gorgeous. what a beautiful place, even the buildings are gorgeous and the weather looks like it was perfect.

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    1. Awww thanks Sandra. It was a lovely place and we really lucked out with the weather.

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  7. Those chocolate cakes and pastries are so photogenic. Tasty too, I guess.

    God bless.

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  8. Hello, looks like a wonderful tour of the city. I love the gardens, park and sculptures. The dogs are cute and the gyrfalcon is awesome! Have a happy day!

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  9. In regards to your comment at today's post, yes, there are Beavertails outlets out in British Columbia, four of them. I looked at the website, which I'll add below:

    http://beavertails.com/en/

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    1. That’s great William, thank you for the link.

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  10. oooooh denise, alaska!!! i have always wanted to go!! what a wonderful journal entry. the statues, views and flowers were my favorite, but the bakery items were not too shabby either.

    so nice to have your niece and nephew with you and your beautiful nighttime view!!!

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    1. Happy you enjoyed Debbie, I can highly recommend :) yes it was very special having our niece and nephew with us.

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  11. Oh my you have been up and on the move again! I love it. I love the sites you see and the places you visit. Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog. I used to follow you all the time but somewhere along the line I lost myself and was not making it to your blog. So sorry. Looks like you had a great time.

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    1. Hi Pam, so happy to see you here. It is perfectly understandable when visits drop off. I do it myself, not intentionally, it just happens. Which makes it all the nicer when we reconnect :) Think of you often and wish you well.

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  12. Oh my gosh, Denise, you were practically in my back yard. How wonderful to think we might have trod the same paths as I'm used to thinking of you as being far away. Hope you enjoyed Granville Island ... the food, music and seagulls!

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    1. Isn’t that amazing Penelope? Granville Island was fantastic in every way.

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  13. What a delightful post! I would be thrilled with the origami bird too, what a sweet thing to have in your room.

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  14. What wonderful views of the city at night and during the day it seems the weather was also cooperative, Denise. It looks like everyone was having a great time!

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    1. We had a great time Dorothy, and the weather was very comfortable.

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