On Wednesday we walked down to the waterfront for our sightseeing tour on a seaplane! We waited a couple of minutes in their tiny airport terminal, where we had coupons for free coffee, tea and hot chocolate. Mum and Dad got drinks, but they only had time for a couple of sips before our flight was being called, so they had to leave the rest of it! Lucky they were free! There was 7 of us on the plane, and the captain. Here's a photo of us taking off:
The flight was so much fun. We got fantastic bird eye views of the city of Vancouver, Stanley Park, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver.
We also flew up near the mountains and the clouds were low so they gave it a cool effect.
We then flew in a valley between mountains and were so close to them it was pretty scary! Landing back in the harbour was fun but a bit bumpy with the water spraying and splashing.
We then walked back to Canada Place and did the Canadian Trail walk around the building. We got to see two cruise ships docked there which were pretty impressive. We then had lunch at food carts. Mum and I went Mexican while Dad had Japadog. Afterwards, we walked back along the waterfront to Stanley Park. It had started to rain so we stopped into Starbucks so Mum could have her much needed coffee. Luckily, the rain stopped and we went to hire bikes. Mum and I got pretty pink bikes :)
Starting off was so hard. I hadn't riden a bike in probably 8 years and Mum in 10 years so we definitely struggled! Eventually we got the hang of it again. Stanley Park has a path around the whole edge of the park just for bikes, so it keeps you away from pedestrians, and it's all one way. We ended up riding about 9km, and we stopped a few times along the way, like at these totem poles:
This is the Lion's Gate Bridge which takes you into North Vancouver:
Once we finished our ride we took the bikes back, tried to fix our helmet hair, then caught a taxi back to our hotel. Mum and I had sore butts from all that bike riding! We chilled in the hotel for awhile then went down to Canada Place and had a really nice dinner at an Irish pub down there. We then stayed along the waterfront to see everything lit up at night which was really pretty. These are the sails at Canada Place:
The lights changed every so often. This is the Olympic Cauldron lit up. It changes colours
We then went for gelato at a place that won a gelato festival in Italy. There was 30 contestants, 29 from Italy and one Canadian, and the Canadian one. The gelato was so delicious.
Yesterday we caught the bus to the UBC campus. It took about 40 minutes from downtown. The campus is huge. When we first arrived we were feeling so overwhelmed and lost. There's also a lot of construction going on to make new buildings, so it was hard to really get a feel for what the campus looks like. We walked to the building where I'll be living on campus. We couldn't go inside, but the outside looks nice. I'll either have a view of some trees, or tennis courts. We then checked out the Commons Block and saw the dining hall from a distance. We checked out some of the buildings including Chemistry where I have one of my classes, so we looked at the room. We also saw the Student Union Building, and the University Village which both have stores and places to eat. I picked up a brochure for their Recreation Centre and I'm thinking of signing up for yoga classes!
At the Village we went to Mahoney & Sons, the same restaurant we had dinner at the night before. I had beef dip, which is almost on every menu here in Canada. It's a sandwich filled with shredded beef and caramelised onions, and you get given a small bowl pull of like a gravy or jus, and you dip the sandwich into it. It's so good. I also had a side of yam fries (or sweet potato fries) which are pretty much a Canadian staple. Before we left, we went into the UBC Bookstore which is absolutely huge!!! They sell practically everything in there, and so much merchandise with UBC plastered all over everything. I got a UBC hoodie which is so comfy, notebooks, an academic planner, and a drink bottle. Dad got two Thunderbird shirts, which is the UBC football team. I also collected my textbooks, which I ordered online. Some of them seem pretty interesting, a couple are thick and heavy though! We didn't get any photos of UBC yet, we were just trying to take it all in. I will soon though!
We caught the bus back to downtown, then went into a pharmacy and stocked up on more toiletries for me. We went back to the hotel to chill for a bit, then went shopping on Robson St for last minute things. I got to skype my best friend Emily which was a lot of fun :)
We went out to dinner at a Thai restaurant on Robson St. It wasn't very nice, and it was our first disappointing meal of the whole holiday! We went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store afterwards and got ice cream to cheer ourselves up.
This morning we rented a car and drove into North Vancouver to shop for dorm essentials! We went to Staples and got all my stationery, and also got a printer for $40. The ink cartridges are more expensive than the printer though! We then went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought practically everything. Towels, sheets, a comforter, a pillow, a mirror, an iron, ironing board, cork board, shower caddy, alarm clock, cutlery, drying rack, etc. We finished our shopping before lunch time, so on the drive back we stopped at a viewpoint in Stanley Park.
We had a light lunch a cafe in the park, then went back to the hotel. We then walked down to see the BC Place Stadium where their soccer and football games are played
We walked around the whole stadium and we saw Rogers Arena where they hold ice hockey games and concerts.
We then walked through the neighbourhood Yaletown which was a really nice area with lots of restaurants. We're chilling at the hotel right now. Tonight we're going out to an Italian restaurant on Robson St
Tomorrow I move into housing at UBC. Mum and Dad are coming to help me move in. I have to admit, I am definitely more nervous than excited. I just want everything to go well. Saying goodbye to Mum and Dad is going to be really hard :( Wish me luck, guys.
Love,
Emily
Good Luck Em. Excited for you xx
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