We started our day at about 6:00 a.m. The sun was up, and Phil was up before me which is a rare occurrence. He offered to run down to the corner coffee shop and get us each a coffee which I wholeheartedly accepted. The medium roast brew from Blenz Coffee was definitely one I would try again.
As I mentioned yesterday, our hotel, Rosellen Suites at Stanley Park, is a little dated but charming nonetheless. The elevator has this dial that indicates which floor it is on and the door to get in or out on a floor is an honest to goodness door (note the door handle). There is an old fashioned telephone next to the reception office and apparently it works!
Our first stop of the morning was breakfast and we chose The Basic on Denman Street. Good sized portions and definitely good food. I’d eat there again if I lived here. I had The Brit–two sausages, two pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, baked beans and toast. I paired it up with a glass of cranberry juice. The baked beans were really good, not overly sweet.
Our purpose for the day was to hang out and see the sites in Vancouver before we started our cruise on Wednesday. Being so close to Stanley Park, seeing what it had to offer was a logical choice. The park is named for Lord Frederick Arthur Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby. He was a member of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom and was appointed the Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893. He was an avid sportsman–was one of the original inductees of the Hockey Hall of Fame and presented Canada with the Stanley Cup.
At the start of our exploration, was “A-Maze-ing Laughter”, a collection of 14 patinated cast-bronze figures created by Yue Minjun. Each animated figure appears twice in the collection.
We followed along the beachfront for a good distance before deciding to head to the Vancouver Aquarium. Along the way we enjoyed the Rhododendron Garden which was bursting with colorful blooms and majestic trees that towered high in the sky. Many had enormous trunks and were the result of multiple trees growing into one. The views of snow-capped mountains across the Lost Lagoon were equally breathtaking.
After a brief stop at the aquarium, we continued on another 0.7 km to see the totem poles on display. Our final stop was the Brockton Point Light Station, the most eastern point in Stanley Park. A square white tower with a red stripe, it was originally built in 1914 and was taken out of service in 2008.
Having walked nearly 5 miles, we finished our site seeing for the afternoon with a late lunch at Peaked Pies. The Australian restaurant specializes in a variety of pot pies that may be topped with a scoop of mashed potatoes, a scoop of mashed peas and brown gravy. I savored a chicken, mushroom and leek pie, but opted out of the mashed peas. Phil chose a variety with kangaroo meat! He said it did not taste like chicken.
After a few hours of rest, we opted for a simple dinner of pizza by the slice at Nat’s Pizza and a relaxing evening back at the hotel.
Tomorrow we are sea-bound!
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