Until now I had never been to Vancouver, in fact I had never visited Canada. I was not sure what to expect, as many times you see on the news that Canadians’ do not hold Americans in high regard. I think this is a major false hood – at least here, I can not speak for all of Canada. I have much enjoyed my trip here. I have been here for 4 days, the people are warm and friendly, the city is extraordinarily clean, and the food is terrific! This experience is a bit different than many “cruise ship experiences” in a port city. The port is easily accessed, it is at the Vancouver Convention Center, and in fact it is under the Convention Center. There are hotels so close that you won’t have to worry about getting transportation to the port because you are within a few steps of your ship. Cruise ships leave from here to explore the cost of Canada on the way to Alaska. Although I am not here to depart on one of these cruises, I wish I was, I am here as a traveler and a cruise agent – I am here attending a cruise trade show and conference. I have had the pleasure of checking out a few of the ships while they were in port. I have enjoyed them greatly, I am getting a feel for the ships up here; they are not your Ft. Lauderdale or Miami behemoths; they are the smaller – medium sized ships – but don’t let that fool you there is still so much to do on them…No you won’t be surfing on board the ship, but aboard these ships you will be able to tour glaciers, get off in ports like Victoria, BC or Skagway, Alaska. You will be able to explore the last great North American wilderness. You can test your skills as crab fishermen on the Aleutian Ballad in one of the ports, you can climb a glacier in another or take a horse drawn carriage ride in Victoria.
Let me tell you, there is so much to do in this city, I recommend staying a few days in Vancouver before and after your cruise. The city as I said is extremely clean, the air is crisp and for many who live in fast paced cities, when they say there is traffic here you will look around and wonder where it is. The city is easily traversed whether it be by foot or public transportation. And YES there are casinos and card rooms here. Yesterday I was able to spend a couple of hours in the Edge Water Casino Poker Room. The poker room has 12 or so tables, forgive me I forgot to take a proper count. The dealers were efficient and polite and the players were great in welcoming this American. Deb played the 1-2 no limit game and was able to walk out with a little more than she walked in with.
There is more to do here than just play poker, although I know many of my followers would be happy with just that… I spent the day at Grandville Island, a quaint little shopping/open air market on False Creek. Grandville Island is actually a peninsula. The area was an industrial center at one time, but about 20 years ago the city planners had the foresight to transform the area into a great shopping destination for both locals and tourists. There are many artisans, making their wares and selling them. All art and crafts that are sold on the island must be manufactured there. There is a seasonal open air farmers market and a year round indoor market with various fresh fruit and vegetable vendors, bakeries – selling every sort of pastries that may come to mind. For you ladies there is so much hand made fine jewelry to be hold that you better bring a charge card! I would love to live here just to be able to go down for the fresh flowers; they were like nothing I have ever seen, cut hydrangeas the size of an NFL cheerleaders pompoms! You can get to Grandville Island by bus, taxi, car – but let me worn you there is limited parking, and aqua bus. We road a bus down to the island, but decided to take an aqua bus back to the other side a False Creek, conveniently there is a stop at Edge Water Casino at Nations Plaza – you may have seen it during the Olympics, there are the flags from every participating nation in the world there. The stop was within a couple blocks of our hotel – the Georgian Court Hotel, a beautiful hotel, located on Beatty Street across from the sports stadium. They provide excellent service and there are many special touches you will find, such as complimentary apples and water on the front desk, and many other fine European style accommodations. If you are into Hockey this would be a great hotel to stay when catching a game. I would however stay at a closer hotel if I was departing on a cruise ship, although it is only an $8 cab fare to the port.
I have also had the pleasure of visiting the Vancouver Aquarium, which features not only Beluga Whales, but some of the only White Sided Pacific Dolphins in captivity. These dolphins are only in this beautiful aquarium because they were tragically caught in fishing nets off the coast of Japan and after being rehabilitated could not be returned to the wild for various health concerns. These days they spend their days educating the public on their species, which not much is known about. I was able to enjoy a very special meet and great with the dolphin’s head trainer, we talked about different issues facing the dolphins, their care, the plight of their species in the wild, etc. This was a wonderful experience for this diver…I just wish I could of gotten in and breathed under water with these wonderful creatures! The aquarium is located in Stanley Park. The park is Vancouver’s first park and covers over 1,000 acres, which is pretty amazing in a city that is covered by high rises and is the second most populated city in North America behind Manhattan Island. The rhododendrons in the park are certainly something to behold, I am lucky to be here during their peak season. Let me tell you there are plenty of them to see, with over 4,500 plants. There is quite a lot of walking to be done in the park, but all levels of fitness can be accommodated there. If you prefer to see the parks flora and fauna without walking you can opt for one of the wonderful carriage rides, this is a fun and relaxing way to experience the park. There are many other activities that one can behold in the park from golf to swimming, don’t come to Vancouver without taking the time to experience Stanly park, you won’t regret staying the extra day or two.
My time here is quickly coming to an end, I hope to make it back here soon with my family to show them around this wonderful city…I hope to bring my “poker family” here to embark on another one of our fabulous poker cruises; I look forward to exploring Alaska via a cruise in the near future!
LATE ADDITION: Tonight we ate at Zachary's on Robson...we found the establishment by accident, just walking to our hotel last night. We decided to try it and boy we're happy we did!!! The food was impeccable, the atmosphere was very warm and inviting. We walked in and there was not a seat in the house, although we only waited five minutes. Zachary's is a very small restaurant, less than a dozen tables inside and a small bar area, if the weather was better we could of enjoyed their out side dinning area. Deb ordered the prime rib, the manager guaranteed she would love it and if she didn't he would pay for her meal...with a guarantee like that who wouldn't try it. Well I guess myself, I had to try something else from the menu after seeing the scrumptious dishes that we being served around me...I decided to have the basil chicken pizza, a very thin, crisp cracker style crust. All I have to say is FABULOUS and Deb did not get a free meal! She said it was one of the best prime ribs she had ever eaten. The large end cut was served with quartered potatoes and various other roasted vegetables that were lightly coated is a delectable gravy, but not your usual brown gravy served with beef. The manager said that he roasts the prime rib slow all day with sea salt and rosemary - Portuguese style. Our service was impeccable, and the prices of our meals could not be beat! The waitress told us that the locals call the restaurant the best hidden secret on Robson Street. I hate to give away secrets, but this one has to be shared! If you want a terrific meal when you are about town in Vancouver you must stop in Zachary's and try the prime rib or anything else on the menu, I'm sure there is something to suite any palate.
