The weekend, so far, has been too busy to allow any of the picture editing, researching and posting, I had planned or at least contemplated. Both Friday and Saturday were no-walk days, owing to the fact that we both developed some serious blistering on our toesies. Rest days, yeah!! We were, nevertheless walking over to Coal Harbour, stopping at a public house to restore strength and stamina with a sleeve of lager, instead of clocking mile after mile …. wimps.
We had oodles of fun hanging out in the City of Vancouver, exploring (slowly, you understand, as to assure those band-aids remained sticking to the offending toes) Davie Street & Robson for restaurants and shops, as well as enjoying excellent souvlakia at maligned “Stephos“, a Greek institution, where they seated me on a sopping wet (I swear) cushioned bench. Before I realized that someone had emptied a pitcher of water on the seat (I hope, that’s what it was!!) my slacks & underwear were dripping wet. They gave me a towel to sit on, however no compensation, like a nice little dessert, for example. But the food was enjoyable despite the extracurricular Aegean puddle and we had a good time.
To somehow keep pace with my growing snapshot library, I’ll just pluck all those pictures, which have accumulated over the last few days, in here – no rhyme or reason or any particular order. Simply
‘Pictures of a Vancouver Summer’
(as experienced in large part from Vancouver’s most delightful balcony)
Despite urban encroachment, the northern Pacific subfamily of Great Blue Herons, Ardea herodias fannini, maintains a successful breeding colony in Stanley Park, in the midst of downtown Vancouver. The following link is an early July 2013 update on the fledgeling herons. If you have the time, it’s definitely smile-inducing to read about their tribulations as they mature!
West Vancouver against the backdrop of the Rockies* on the opposite shore
*correction: North Shore Mountains
“or what”, actually. I had to take a quick video of an incoming seaplane over English Bay [not posted here].
After a visit to the Granville Food Market on Saturday morning, where we acquired some splendid halibut for dinner, not to mention Rainier cherries, green asparagus, local blueberries, a number of assorted greens, cheese and some funky sausages, we were happy to relax at home.
Barry assembled our late al fresco lunch on the balcony and that’s when the fun started. Many boats, many more than last weekend, seemed to cruise False Creek today. Under sail, under power, to and fro, up the creek-down the creek, it was busy out there! One boat especially caught my attention. It seemed to fly two black & white flags, while also displaying large, purple unidentified objects on deck. A quick check through binoculars identified the purple thingies as balloons in the shape of octopi, mostly, and the flags showed … skull & crossbones, pirate insignia. Heaven help us, Canada is under a buccaneer attack! Further investigations confirmed several adults and juvenile subjects aboard dressed in pirate attire. Hats, kerchiefs, eye patches & swords galore – and not only on this one boat, but several, no, many of the vessels passing our viewpoint, were manned by pirates. And there were skirmishes between rival pirate boats, water (presumably) was squirted in great arcs between boats, fake (presumably) sword fights across gunwales and tight maneuvers between ‘hostile’ vessels. This was one of the most entertaining luncheons we’ve had in a long time. Later I found out that the witnessed warfare was a charity gig by one of the local yacht clubs. What a splendid idea!
You can appreciate that it’s rather difficult to find the time to write a post when it’s this entertaining and darn busy around here! Therefore, just a few more images, snapped either as I was wandering about the fair city of Vancouver – or sitting on a comfortably cushioned chair on the balcony.
Amazing!!
I saw this water-sculpture-cum-science-project on my first walk along the seawall and it continues to be alluring. The creativity of some humans is awesome!
Steel versus Nature
NOT IN A STRAIGHT LINE by Photolera Claudinha 
One beer coming up! You would have to be closer to the B.C./Alberta border to see the Rockies.
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terrrific photos, Claudia! Thank you for letting us take part in your strolls through this fabulous city!
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Ok. Got me! The Rockies are not EXACTLY the Pacific Range. What you see from Vancouver are the North Shore Mountains, part of the Pacific Coastal Range, right? Looking forward to the beer!!
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Wow! fabulous photos and I am so enjoying seeing my home town again through your lenses. I'd like to see what you come up with when winter arrives … all the greys, the rain. Just one small point, those are not the Rocky Mountains in one of your photos. I will buy you a beer when you tell me what they are.
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