Vacation details...

city of glass © Raffaella Loro

I'm midway through my West Coast adventure... and I must admit to being a little weary of travel right now. After spending six months as a jet setter I was actually enjoying the quiet evenings I was spending in my new home. But I shouldn't complain too much... I am enjoying my time here and I am looking forward to seeing the famous Lasqueti Island in a couple days.

As for my trip so far... After a full day in Victoria I hopped over to Vancouver for my scheduled photoshoot and other photographic adventures. The shoot was fantastic, the weather was gorgeous and my clients were really fun models. The shoot had originally been scheduled for Friday but I came over a day early which turned out to be a good plan as we decided to take some shots on Thursday evening just so we could get in some more locations. Friday morning the sky was very overcast so we rescheduled the second set for Saturday (which turned out to be equally gloomy). I took advantage of my newfound free time by doing all the touristy things that I did not have a chance to do the last time I was in Vancouver.

When I first arrived in Vancouver I discovered that my eyecup (the cushy bit with dipotric adjustment) had fallen off. I was most displeased with that discovery as I had noticed that it was broken before I left Victoria and I had taken special care in the transport of my camera so I wouldn't lose that piece. However my efforts were in vain and the eyecup had somehow disappeared. My first plan in Vancouver was to go in search of a replacement eyecup, which I hoped would not prove difficult. I knew the location of several camera stores downtown so I went for a stroll which turned out to be more of a trek since i was carrying a backpack stuffed full of the items I would need for the next several days... in addition to my tripod. My quest proved to be more difficult than I wished, and I went to store after store only to find that the part that I wanted was either not carried or back-ordered. My camera is not unusable without this piece, but it is a pain to shoot without as my nose get smashed up against the LCD screen. (which reminds me/... tomorrow I am going to head to the various Victoria camera shops in search of the piece.) I wandered around for a bit more but eventually I ended up near Canada Place where I was going to meet with my clients for the photoshoot. I photographed them for a couple of hours and then I headed to West Vancouver to meet with my darling cousin Nuala who most graciously allowed me to trespass for a couple of days. The evening was rather quiet, we supped and conversed for a bit before heading to bed.

Friday morning I woke to overcast skies, but I took the bus downtown anyhow hoping that I might discover slightly better conditions... but of course they proved to be no better. So I took the seabus over to North Van and then transferred to the appropriate bus (#236) which took me to Capilano Suspension Bridge. I am not really a fan of heights but all the same they don't bother me terribly, so I figured that the suspension bridge wouldn't be that big of deal. I strolled around the very touristy park for a couple hours. The park first made me think of Swiss Family Robinson but later was more aptly compared to an Ewok village. I returned to downtown and after going up the Harbour Centre to take in the 360 degree views of Vancouver I called up my friend Matt (whom I inherited from Aryn... inheriting friends is something I seem to do well I think) and I headed across the bridge to geek out over his new MacBook Pro and then we went looking for a replacement eyecup only to discover that the one camera store that did actually carry them in stock had closed down it's Pacific Centre Call location. I cried and cursed them and then we headed to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park where we just missed the dolphin show but were able to catch the sea otter feeding and bellowing of the elephant seal. After discussing the skill and efficiency of the sidewalk artist, inherited friend and I parted ways and I headed back to West Van to meet up with cousin and her beau for an Indian feast.

As mentioned above, the weather on Saturday was no better than Friday (in fact it was worse)... so cousin Nuala and I went to the Vancouver Art Gallery and strolled through the various exhbitions before heading for some lunch. We parted ways and I took in the live BC History performance/exhibit at Storyeum in Gastown. It was a delightfully cheeseball presentation but the sets were fantastic. It was worth the price of admission just to see it rain indoors (I'd never seen that before). I would have been interested to go on a tour of the place with some of the set designers to learn how everything was put together. More on that in my next post however because I'm a little pressed for time at the moment. After Storyeum I ran up to Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens and wandered about there briefly before heading back to the waterfront centre to meet up with some Vandigicamers for a photowalk. We ended up walking all the way along the waterfront to commercial, passing the rail yards and sugar refinery and various colourful walls along the way. We went for dinner at Cafe Katmandu and had various traditional Tibetan meals. I had the Lhasa Momo (national dish of Nepal) which are steamed dumplings very similar to wontons. After dinner we all headed to Trout Lake Park for the Luminares Procession. Picture taking ensued until 10pm or so when I headed back downtown to go to sleep. Sunday morning I was late catching a bus to the harbour so I ended up being a little late, but luckily I was accompanied by my inherited friend so we went for lunch at The Mill in Coal Harbour with a server who spoke with a suspiciously faux English accent. Before I knew it I was back in Victoria, arriving at my brother's home just in time to catch him before he went for a walk. We strolled along the Songhees and then went to The Reef for some caribbean cooking. Blah blah blah... Sunday arrived, I did some apartment locating for my sister, some brief photo editing, and then dinner with Tonio at ReBar... then I got a call from Aryn saying he was off the trail and back in Victoria (an entire day early). So today we're off to Lasqueti by way of Saltspring... and then I'll be off to Fort St. John by way of Victoria.

No more computer for me for the rest of the week. I'll officially be on vacation.