We totally misread the weather today. It was so warm in our room because the fire had been on all night. When we got outside, the sun was out and it felt pretty good with a light fleece and a coat on. By the time we had found a cafe for breakfast & walked back to the street to get the hop on hop off bus, the sun had gone & it seemed to be getting colder. We expected the bus would be heated but it wasn't. In fact, there were a couple of windows open. We decided to do a complete loop on the bus & see where we wanted to get off. The loop took about 90mins & we decided to get off at Granville Island. This is an area full of shops, primarily crafts & gifts & eateries. By the time we got off the bus, we were cold. We went into a few shops just to warm up. We finally decided to buy hats, even though we had them back at the hotel. Mum, you will be pleased to know I chose one with a giant pom pom! I was instantly warmer when I put the hat on.
The commentary on the bus told us the history of Vancouver-it was initially called Granville-and about the original indigenous tribes that occupied the area, the Squamish & the Musqueam. There are a lot of native Indian influences around. There are lots of totem poles & Indian arts & crafts. The Inukshuk is everywhere. This is a traditional sculpture made of unworked stones used by the Inuits for communication and survival.
We spent 3hrs at Granville Island before getting back on the bus to the city. We discovered the 'Colosseum' was in the street adjacent to our hotel. It is actually the library. We went back to the hotel to put on thermals, scarves & snow boots before heading out to the Christmas markets. It was about 4pm & not completely dark so we found a pub & had a couple of drinks first.
The markets are fairly small but there were lots of stalls to look at. It was a German market so there were lots of handmade wooden decorations, gingerbread, chocolates & stollen. There was a carousel so we had to have a ride, the horses even went up & down! After the ride we had a mug of Gluwein before heading down to Gastown for dinner.
Gastown is the original downtown of the city. There are cobblestone streets & fabulous street lamps. We had come through the area earlier on the bus but there didn't seem to be a lot open. Unfortunately there still wasn't a lot open when we came back. We will try again in the middle of the day later in the week. There is a steam clock in Gastown powered by the subway. On the hour, it hoots & whistles so we waited around to see that before finding a pub for dinner.
Vancouver is a lovely, picturesque city. There is currently lots of construction going on making it quite noisy in parts. The locals seem very friendly. We even had a lady ask if she could help us this morning as we were holding a map & looking at street signs.
Tomorrow is Black Friday. This is a US tradition. The day after Thanksgiving is a massive sale day. The Canadians have adopted this & it is being heavily advertised. It might be a good idea for us to stay out of the city tomorrow!
We might head to Grouse Mountain & Capilano Bridge instead although we have just found out Santa's Workshop opens on Saturday up there. A decision needs to be made!