Vancouver is a city that has often been named by studies as having the world's best quality of life. And it is really not hard to see why. It's beautiful and I loved it. It's not a large city - population less than 600,000 - but it is multicultural, imposing enough and lively enough, while remaining compact, thoroughly in touch with its natural surroundings and, well, liveable.
I was staying with my friend Troy and was able to walk comfortably from his lovely flat to downtown. (For schlager/Eurovision friends who know Troy - he's a fantastic host with a great place, and he loves hosting, so go stay with him!) When you reach downtown, you find an assortment of impressive, modern, glass-and-steel skyscrapers - however what I loved about these is that there's substantial space between each one occupied by much lower-rise buildings. That means that you can actually appreciate each tall structure individually, and you never feel overwhelmed by them. Troy tells me that urban planning has been strong here. And I absolutely loved as an example of the human scale of the city that at one busy intersection in downtown, there is a substantial plot of, er, community allotments. You won't see that in Los Angeles...
You're never far away from the water that lines three sides of the city. On the eastern side you have the rather stunning Canada Place exhibition centre, built with white sails - but more importantly for the casual tourist, also a pier offering a truly amazing panoramic view of the mountains across the other side of the harbour. On the western side you have the lively beach area of English Bay. And to the north, you have the huge and rightly famous Stanley Park. It's huge and my exploration didn't extend beyond the 9km seawall path which encircles the park. This is incredibly beautiful and it's clearly not a park you'd get bored of quickly, or possibly even within a lifetime. Although there's a perfectly good bus network in the city, you can walk between all of these points fairly easily.
There's a fairly substantial gay scene in the city, concentrated on a single street, Davie Street, where rainbow flags fly proudly. Combine that with a culinary scene that is apparently famous for its multicultural diversity, and you get an impression of a city which is a pretty major hub and cultural centre, not a backwater. Admittedly, it's not utopia, as there is a substantial homeless population and associated social problems, although for historical reasons this is heavily concentrated in one ghettoised area of the city where tourists are unlikely to wander. And, disturbingly, I also came across written and anecdotal evidence of a queer-bashing problem.
I ended up doing less sightseeing in Vancouver than envisaged. Instead I had an intense holiday romance for a few days with a gorgeous Canadian guy called Jon, on a short holiday himself from the neighbouring province of Alberta. We met at Celebrities Nightclub. Avid readers (?!) of this blog may recall that this hasn't been my first holiday romance (as in, guy I've spent significantly more time than just one night with), but this one was different and very, very rare and special. Rare and special enough that I extended my stay in Vancouver, seriously didn't want to leave, and still often now feel more than a touch sad that I had to say goodbye to Jon so soon. We've been keeping in contact since, and I would like very much to see him again sometime; with the vast distance involved I don't yet know whether this will prove viable on both sides. But even if there weren't potentially a boy involved, Vancouver would be a very attractive place to live, at least for a while. Watch this space.
A couple of social observations I've been making are:
The whole Banff area is a national park and a major tourist destination. Lonely Planet says: "If you were to sit down and try to design an area of the world that would be the most spectacular, the most awe inspiring and the most scenically overwhelming, odds are it might look a lot like Banff... National Park." And it's pretty hard to disagree with that. I've definitely not seen an area of countryside so beautiful in my lifetime.
Banff Town was built for tourism but is included in the National Park area, meaning that there remain strong restrictions on its development and growth; it therefore seems to be a manageable size. The town's setting could hardly be more stunning; looking in either direction down the main road, the man-made structures are dwarfed by a mountain directly behind. The town's buildings complete the picture postcard feel, although unfortunately the businesses within these buildings are often less impressive - tacky gift shops and chain eateries abound, something that a flick through the local newspaper showed the town council wants to do something to control. But the best thing to do is go to the tourist information office and get their excellent information on hiking trails which take you out of the town - there are lots of them, ranging from straightforward to hardcore. (You can also find canoeing, kayaking, whitewater rafting and horseback riding if they're your things.)
The Rocky Mountains are, well, rocky, with a greyish brown being the dominant colour of the rock in the panoramic views accessible everywhere. However, there is quite a spectrum of colours to observe, with significant deposits of snow remaining (in late June), some areas covered with trees, and some areas dark brown from a coating of water. While I was there the weather was typically sunny but with some fluffy cloud, which added delightfully to the colour contrast as some areas would be in sunlight and others in shadow. Below the mountains you can see beautiful carpets of green trees, and there is also the Bow River which is an unusual, and stunning, light turquoise colour. Although there are plenty of tourists in the area, you don't seem to need to get very far out of the town to leave almost all of them behind - so I genuinely found blissful solitude during my hiking. I only spent two nights in the area, but for a standalone holiday, if it's peace and quiet you're after amongst the incredible scenery, you could easily make it two weeks or more.
Both in Banff itself and, particularly, during the bus rides in and out, you are perhaps most struck by just how many mountains there actually are - a quick Google indicates that there are 1,356 mountains comprising the Rockies. From a single spot outside Banff called the Bow Valley View (where I was motivated to take notes!) at a height of around 1400m you can see Mt Rundle (height 2937m), Sulphur Mountain (2427m) and Sanson Peak (2231m), Tunnel Mountain (1690m), Mt Brett (2946m), Mt Norquay (2483m) and Mt Stoney Squaw (1852m). Nearby can also be observed a formation of limestone hoodoos (no, I didn't know what they are either - best to read the Wikipedia article than have me attempt to explain).
To summarise, as if I need to, this is an incredible part of the world, and one where I very much hope I'll be able to spend more time. I could have spent a lot longer, so just as well my next destination was somewhere as alluring as New York City...
I was staying with my friend Troy and was able to walk comfortably from his lovely flat to downtown. (For schlager/Eurovision friends who know Troy - he's a fantastic host with a great place, and he loves hosting, so go stay with him!) When you reach downtown, you find an assortment of impressive, modern, glass-and-steel skyscrapers - however what I loved about these is that there's substantial space between each one occupied by much lower-rise buildings. That means that you can actually appreciate each tall structure individually, and you never feel overwhelmed by them. Troy tells me that urban planning has been strong here. And I absolutely loved as an example of the human scale of the city that at one busy intersection in downtown, there is a substantial plot of, er, community allotments. You won't see that in Los Angeles...
You're never far away from the water that lines three sides of the city. On the eastern side you have the rather stunning Canada Place exhibition centre, built with white sails - but more importantly for the casual tourist, also a pier offering a truly amazing panoramic view of the mountains across the other side of the harbour. On the western side you have the lively beach area of English Bay. And to the north, you have the huge and rightly famous Stanley Park. It's huge and my exploration didn't extend beyond the 9km seawall path which encircles the park. This is incredibly beautiful and it's clearly not a park you'd get bored of quickly, or possibly even within a lifetime. Although there's a perfectly good bus network in the city, you can walk between all of these points fairly easily.
From the Canada place pier
One of the mountains across the harbour is Grouse Mountain - it's a favourite pursuit for both tourists and locals to go and climb up it, which Troy took me to do. He does it fairly frequently instead of going to the gym, because the "Grouse Grind" climb is a substantial undertaking, climbing 853m over a total distance of 2.9km. But not only was it a good workout (alas I couldn't keep up with Troy and his local friend in the end, but I was satisfied with my time of 1 hour 5 minutes, as 1 hour 30 minutes is supposedly around average!), but the views from the top, of the water and the tree-lined peak beyond, are to die for. Grouse Mountain is also a ski area in the winter, and at the very top of the ultimate peak was a small amount of snow, despite it being late June. There was also a birds-of-prey display taking place at the top, so we got to see a hawk, peregrine falcon and a bald eagle. While birds are not entirely my thing, it was impossible not to be impressed by the size and majesty of the bald eagle. Oh, and thankfully there's a cable car down from the top of the mountain - in itself a memorable experience for the views it offers, as well as making you ask, "Wow, did we really climb that far?" I was seriously jealous of Vancouverites for having this on their doorstep - how on earth would a Londoner make a quick pop out of town to climb their local mountain?!
A view well worth the climb!! At the top of Grouse Mountain
There's a fairly substantial gay scene in the city, concentrated on a single street, Davie Street, where rainbow flags fly proudly. Combine that with a culinary scene that is apparently famous for its multicultural diversity, and you get an impression of a city which is a pretty major hub and cultural centre, not a backwater. Admittedly, it's not utopia, as there is a substantial homeless population and associated social problems, although for historical reasons this is heavily concentrated in one ghettoised area of the city where tourists are unlikely to wander. And, disturbingly, I also came across written and anecdotal evidence of a queer-bashing problem.
I ended up doing less sightseeing in Vancouver than envisaged. Instead I had an intense holiday romance for a few days with a gorgeous Canadian guy called Jon, on a short holiday himself from the neighbouring province of Alberta. We met at Celebrities Nightclub. Avid readers (?!) of this blog may recall that this hasn't been my first holiday romance (as in, guy I've spent significantly more time than just one night with), but this one was different and very, very rare and special. Rare and special enough that I extended my stay in Vancouver, seriously didn't want to leave, and still often now feel more than a touch sad that I had to say goodbye to Jon so soon. We've been keeping in contact since, and I would like very much to see him again sometime; with the vast distance involved I don't yet know whether this will prove viable on both sides. But even if there weren't potentially a boy involved, Vancouver would be a very attractive place to live, at least for a while. Watch this space.
A couple of social observations I've been making are:
- Canadians do not seem too fond of Americans. As a friend of Troy's put it ever so slightly bluntly to me: "Canada has all the good points of the US, but none of its bad points." Ouch!
- Regular cannabis use seems much more mainstream and 'normal' in both the US and Canada amongst people in my age range - even thoughtful, professional and health-conscious people. I've encountered genuine surprise from North Americans that I don't use it - you might call me the reserved type, but I'm pretty sure that regular use amongst British (...and European?) people in my demographic would be rare.
The whole Banff area is a national park and a major tourist destination. Lonely Planet says: "If you were to sit down and try to design an area of the world that would be the most spectacular, the most awe inspiring and the most scenically overwhelming, odds are it might look a lot like Banff... National Park." And it's pretty hard to disagree with that. I've definitely not seen an area of countryside so beautiful in my lifetime.
Banff Town was built for tourism but is included in the National Park area, meaning that there remain strong restrictions on its development and growth; it therefore seems to be a manageable size. The town's setting could hardly be more stunning; looking in either direction down the main road, the man-made structures are dwarfed by a mountain directly behind. The town's buildings complete the picture postcard feel, although unfortunately the businesses within these buildings are often less impressive - tacky gift shops and chain eateries abound, something that a flick through the local newspaper showed the town council wants to do something to control. But the best thing to do is go to the tourist information office and get their excellent information on hiking trails which take you out of the town - there are lots of them, ranging from straightforward to hardcore. (You can also find canoeing, kayaking, whitewater rafting and horseback riding if they're your things.)
How's that for a backdrop on the High Street?
The Rocky Mountains are, well, rocky, with a greyish brown being the dominant colour of the rock in the panoramic views accessible everywhere. However, there is quite a spectrum of colours to observe, with significant deposits of snow remaining (in late June), some areas covered with trees, and some areas dark brown from a coating of water. While I was there the weather was typically sunny but with some fluffy cloud, which added delightfully to the colour contrast as some areas would be in sunlight and others in shadow. Below the mountains you can see beautiful carpets of green trees, and there is also the Bow River which is an unusual, and stunning, light turquoise colour. Although there are plenty of tourists in the area, you don't seem to need to get very far out of the town to leave almost all of them behind - so I genuinely found blissful solitude during my hiking. I only spent two nights in the area, but for a standalone holiday, if it's peace and quiet you're after amongst the incredible scenery, you could easily make it two weeks or more.
Both in Banff itself and, particularly, during the bus rides in and out, you are perhaps most struck by just how many mountains there actually are - a quick Google indicates that there are 1,356 mountains comprising the Rockies. From a single spot outside Banff called the Bow Valley View (where I was motivated to take notes!) at a height of around 1400m you can see Mt Rundle (height 2937m), Sulphur Mountain (2427m) and Sanson Peak (2231m), Tunnel Mountain (1690m), Mt Brett (2946m), Mt Norquay (2483m) and Mt Stoney Squaw (1852m). Nearby can also be observed a formation of limestone hoodoos (no, I didn't know what they are either - best to read the Wikipedia article than have me attempt to explain).
The picture says it all, no caption needed really...
To summarise, as if I need to, this is an incredible part of the world, and one where I very much hope I'll be able to spend more time. I could have spent a lot longer, so just as well my next destination was somewhere as alluring as New York City...
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