It was great to have a different focus to our travels today. After leaving our hotel, located in the hotel and backpacker section of the city and walking downtown for breakfast at Starbucks, we enjoyed a bit of retail therapy at Sears, a major department store.
Vancouver is a pretty city, smaller than Sydney but with a similar 'feel' in some ways. Waterways are surrounded by quite hilly residential areas, then the towering moutains (some still with snow even in mid summer) edge the frame. Although yesterday was a clear day, we were not able to see Mt Baker many kilometres away in Washington State from the viewpoint at the top of a building.
We were able to look back across the harbour we had crossed in the Seabus earlier in the day with Jaye, Bill's nephew. We were also able to watch the seaplanes landing in this harbour.
Jaye's partner, Angie recently graduated in nursing, so the parties are continuing. We were pleased to be able to join in on the luncheon put on by her family in their beautiful home on the slopes leading up to the mountains across the harbour. A number of Angie's closer friends from Uni and also their families were present and enjoyed swimming in the pool - heated to a comfortable temperature.
The summer temps include a maximum in the low 20 degrees during the day, with evenings some few degrees cooler. Vancouver is said to have a milder winter than much of Canada, with snow on an average of 11 days per year and average temps around 6 degrees. Of course it is a short drive (30min) to a number of the best snow fields in the world. Of significance to us are the long days, with extended twilight that we saw until at least 11pm on the night we flew in. Last night we fell into bed around 10pm - broad daylight. This morning we awoke around 5.30am - broad daylight.
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