Seattle/BC Day 5 - Victoria

BC Ferries (Tsawwassen, BC to Swartz Bay, Sidney): A cold ferry ride from Vancouver mainland to Vancouver Island.

Scenic Marine Drive: Provide excellent view of Mt. Baker and the Olympic mountains. Lot of small communities and beaches along the way.

Olympic Mountains

Mt Baker

Victoria Downtown: A pretty little downtown, can be easily covered by walk. Lot of entertainment and activities (horse chariot rides, vintage cars, whale watching, sea lions etc). Victoria is the capital of BC.

Undersea Gardens: An unique adventure for the whole family, the undersea gardens provides the world with an exciting and convenient way to view the marine life of the BC coastal region. Visitors to the lower level display area of the vessel descend 15 feet beneath the ocean to watch a variety of marine plants and animals. Through the many viewing windows,visitors can look right into the underwater world of the Pacific Northwest.

British Columbia Parliament Buildings: The Neo-baroque buildings face north on Belleville street facing the Inner Harbour and diagonally across from The Empress Hotel. A statue of Queen Victoria stands on the front lawn as well a statue of a soldier. 

Fairmont Empress Hotel: One of the oldest and most famous hotels, it is well known for its classic Victorian afternoon tea service. During the summer months, the hotel serves tea (along with tea sandwiches, fresh scones, preserves and clotted cream known as Empress cream in its 'Tea Lobby' to more than 800 guests and tourists daily. Afternoon tea is approximately CAD $60 per person,and reservations are often required one or two weeks in advance.

 

Butchart Gardens: Clearly the most romantic things to do, our primary purpose of visiting Victoria. The gardens is one of the world's premier floral show gardens. Jennie Butchart began to shape this magnificent landscape to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences. An abandoned limestone quarry was transformed into the dramatic Sunken Garden. Through successive generations of the Butchart family, The Gardens has retained much of its original design, and continues the Victorian tradition of seasonally changing the outstanding floral displays.

Sunken Garden

Ross Fountain

Saturday Fireworks

Saturday Fireworks

Night Illumination

Map Summary

 

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References

http://www.butchartgardens.com

http://www.bcferries.com
http://www.butchartgardens.com/images/stories/PDF/MarineScenicDrivetoVictoria.pdf 
http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/

Seattle/BC Day 4 - Vancouver

Mt. Seymour 

There was a plan until we realised that the trails were modified due to construction. We strolled for a short while and captured this view of Mt. Baker.

View of Mt. Baker from Mt. Seymour Parking Lot

Lynn Canyon

Twin Falls Trail & Beyond : Breathtaking Waterfalls, If you cross the suspension bridge and would like to get to Twin Falls, follow the boardwalk towards the right after the bridge and then follow the trail East to Twin Falls. There is a sign that will point you in the right direction.

Vancouver Downtown Walk

• Robson Square: Robson Square is a landmark civic centre and public plaza of modernist concrete, located in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the site of the Provincial Law Courts, UBC Robson Square, government office buildings, and public space connecting the newer development to the Vancouver Art Gallery.

 

• Chinatown: Canada's largest chinatown (North America's 2nd after SF Chinatown). It is surrounded by Gastown and the Downtown Financial and Central Business Districts

Millennium Gate (back)

Millennium Gate (front)

Dragons on street lamp posts

• Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden is one of Vancouver's living treasures. In the midst of Chinatown, lies a tranquil yet vibrant expression of Ming Dynasty culture. The first classical style garden built outside China.

• Creekside Park: This attractive park is both a gateway to Science World and a popular venue for summer events and festivals. The Park has many benches and grass berms for relaxing in the sun or enjoying views of False Creek and the downtown core.

BC Place from Creekside Park

• Science World

• Steam Clock: Named after saloon owner "Gassy Jack" Deighton, Gastown is the original site from which modern Vancouver sprung forth. The varied shops and boutiques along the way make this area a popular tourist shopping district. The famous steam clock will fill the air with music every 15 minutes during your visit.

• Vancouver Lookout

 

• Canada Place: A national icon, Canada Place in downtown Vancouver is home to the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, easily identified by the ten white sails representing each Canadian province.

 

• Olympic Cauldron: The Cauldron has a distinctive icy appearance as it is made of steel and glass. It is lit only for special occasions. The five, leaning glass pillars of the cauldron now remain as one of the Winter Olympics’ strongest legacies. They sit in the middle of a fountain, which protects both the pillars and the public. Views of the Shore Mountains and the city of North Vancouver are spectacular from this spot.

 

• Stanley Park: One cannot go wrong with this one. Very popular among tourists and locals, plenty activities to do.

• Rose Garden: The Rose Gardens, situated just steps from the Georgia Street entrance to the park, is a true inspiration and a "must see" for garden enthusiasts as well as Vancouver’s most popular destination for wedding or romantic photos.

• Totem Poles: The totems found here are representative of the art and society of many of B.C.'s Native Nations.

 

• 9 O'Clock Gun: Cast in England in 1816, brought here in 1894, was used by mariners to set their chronometers and also to warn fishers of closings, the gun promptly fires at 9pm local time.

• Prospect Point: Go to this landmark to get the best views of the North Shore Mountains, the Lions Gate Bridge and the Burrard Inlet. The Prospect Point Lookout is "A Vancouver Tradition" at the highest point in Stanley Park.

Lions Gate from Prospect Point

• Seawall Trail: The seawall refers to the 13.7 miles walking, jogging, cycling and inline skating path that lines Vancouver's waterfront from the convention centre on Burrard Inlet (Coal Harbour), around Stanley Park and False Creek, past Granville Island and ending at Kitsilano Beach Park. It is the most popular recreational facility in Vancouver and is on the "to do" lists of many visitors.

Downtown from Stanley Park Seawall

Canada Place & Vicinity (from Stanley Park Seawall)

• Lost Lagoon: An artificial, captive body of water, west of Georgia Street, near the entrance to Stanley Park. There is a 1mi perimeter trail.

Map Summary 

  

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References
http://lynncanyon.ca
http://www.scienceworld.ca/
http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley/
 
 

Seattle/BC Day 3 - Whistler & Vancouver

The stretch of Highway 99 that twines along the cliffs of Howe Sound @ Horseshoe Bay to Squamish is called the Sea-to-Sky Highway. The view along this route is very scenic, take time to stop at the various vista points. Further along this highway is the Olympic village of Whistler. There are various tour companies that offer this day trip to Whistler. There is a train that runs this route - Rocky Mountaineer Sea to Sky Climb train, but we couldnt afford the round trip price. We wanted to visit at our own pace and thus decided to drive.

West Vancouver

Setting out from Downtown Vancouver, you'd first cross the Lions Gate Bridge and join 99N. Soon you'll reach Horseshoe bay and Lions bay. Both are small communities with beach/sea activities. You can also Gambier Island, Anvil Island and bunch of others.

Britannia Beach

Due to lack of time, we skipped this. The famous attraction here is the Mine Museum (apart from sea activities). Activities at the museum include - tours of the mine shafts and gold panning.

Shannon Falls

The 3rd highest waterfall in BC at 1100ft, named after William Shannon. The waters originate from Mount Habrich and Mount Sky Pilot. The park provides trail access to Stawamus Chief (see below). There is a viewing platform to get a closer look at the falls.

Shannon Falls

Stawamus Chief

Massive 2300ft granite cliffs just a mile away from Shannon Falls. Stawamus Chief is the 2nd largest monolith granite in the world and is very popular among rock climbers. The park is very busy in summer with campers, climbers and hikers. There are 3 tough (about) 1-mile hikes to the 3 peaks with 1700-2000ft elevation gain. Gulp! We tried to climb and after about quarter mile gave up (partly coz we were still recovering from the Fremont Lookout hike and partly coz the elevation gain was just tremendous).

Stawamus Chief

Brandywine Falls

This 230ft waterfall is best seen from the viewpoint which can be reached following the short trail. The viewpoint also provides scenic views of Daisy Lake (falls destination) and the surrounding mountains (note the black tusk).

Brandywine Falls

Tusk

Whistler Village

The quiet mountain village of Whistler is located 75-miles north of Vancouver. Whistler is best known for its winter sports including world-class skiing and snowboarding and home to several 2010 Winter Olympic events. Its beautiful mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, are the perfect spot for summer outdoor activities too. We roamed about the village and picked 2 activities - Peak-2-Peak Gondola (their most popular summer activity) and a short trail walk. 

 

 

View from Whistler Gondola

We ascended using Whistler Gondola to Roundhouse Lodge, followed by Peak-Express - a chairlift to the peak of Whistler Mountain.. brrrr.. it was very cold. At the peak we took a short walk along the trail. After getting down from the peak, we caught the P2P Gondola from Whistler's Roundhouse lodge to Blackcomb's Rendezvous - a total distance of 2.7miles. We even experienced a lift stoppage in the middle of the valley for about 25 minutes (imagine being suspended in a gondola 1430ft above valley floor). We descended Blackcomb on Solar Coaster and Wizard express.

Inukshuk @ Whistler Peak

Black Tusk @ Garibaldi Park

We wished to spend another day at Whistler - there is so much to do in the village.

Olympic Park

On the way back we want to stop by the Olympic Park. But they close at 4:30pm (so early?). But the detour provided us with a roadside view of bear cubs.

Cypress Mountain Vista Point

Cypress mountain lookout is a good vantage point to get an excellent photo shot of Downtown Vancouver with Mt. Baker in the background (assuming clear skies) and Stanley park in foreground.

Downtown Vancouver with Mt. Baker in background

Lions Gate Bridge + Downtown + Stanley Park

Night View of Vancouver from Burrard Bridge

In the evening after dinner, we walked the downtown streets to get familiarised for the next day's activity (Vancouver downtown exploration). We walked along Burrard St Bridge and took these postcard perfect pictures.

Map Summary


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References

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/getting_here/whistler_sea_to_climb/index.htm

http://britanniaminemuseum.ca/

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/shannon/

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/stawamus/

http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/garibaldi/