Vancouver Remembered

Vancouver was amazing. Exotic, no. But, peaceful, and a life-goal: most definitely.

KB and I spent most of our time wandering about. We first went to a place called Gusto for dinner and took the SeaBus, which is a wonderful way to get from North Vancouver to the other side of Vancouver without a problem.

The next day, we spent the morning walking around Grandville and Broadway streets, where there are plenty of little boutiques and tons of nice people to interact with (whose ever heard of a 17 year old store clerk offering to bring me other sizes and not being condescending about it?!) We came back and dressed for the evening which was an introduction to the conference. The man, Dr. Eagan, talked about getting students to know things in-depth. He spoke about what were the advantages of thinking about something not only breadth wise (so knowing a lot of things) but rather being possessors of knowledge in a very personal way. After that, we wandered over to the Elephant and Castle where we ate copiously.

The next morning was spent conferencing, but being rather bored by it. So many times, people talk and you just want to roll your eyes. KB and I spent the rest of the day wandering again, discovering beautiful parks and buying future Olympics nick-nacks. Come on, look how cute they are! We prepped for our session the next day.

We spent the 9th presenting and listening to other people present. The most interesting people were a man who designed a game to teach art history and a woman who talked about her curriculum on teaching "normalcy" and "difference" and "disability" through HP book 7. They were interesting, KB and I squeaked through and I was giddy about the arrival of CA. he arrived that night and we went to our hotel, which was a lovely little "apartment-style" (ie had a kitchenette) place. I loved it.

The next morning we attempted vainly to rent a car, couldn't do it and so spent the day visiting landmarks and exploring. We went to the Art Museum which had an exhibit on Linda Barry and other artpieces/cartoons/comics. CA went crazy about it because Civilizations (the Sid Meyer's creation) was featured, but it talked about the evolution of games and what they spoke to. Mainly, I was obsessed with Linda. She creates some absolutely amazing things, things that will be great for teaching and more. We also went to the aquarium which was incredibly nicely maintained. The had sea otters. CA freaked out. We had a quiet dinner in Gastown that night and discovered some amazing artwork (I love totem poles. Sue me).

The next day, we went to Granville Island in the morning which is this lovely little public market. Then we spent the rest of the day on Grouse Mountain, on the Capislano Suspension Bridge and exploring nature. For me, a person who has always loathed the outdoors, it was beautiful and a welcome change. We came back and met AB and a friend of hers who were in town for only the afternoon for a drink at Whinston Chill. It had a great atmosphere and they served my favorite vodka there. We wandered across the street for a slice of pizza, hungrily, at like 3 in the morning.

The following day we basically wandered. We shopped, hung out, ate a delicious dinner at a super-fancy Italian place and enjoyed Vancouver.

The following day, we went to Victoria. We saw the amazing Butchart Gardens and went to the city of Victoria which was elegant and delicate. The history museum there was very well done, featuring a lot of interactive exhibits. By the time we got back, there was just a little time for eating and then we grudgingly got up the next morning to leave.

Overall, Vancouver was incredibly clean, but moreover, the first place to which I've ever vacationed that said, "It's going to be great when you live here." I could have pictured myself living there, which I could not have done anywhere else we went. I came back from there feeling refreshed for once. For pictures, see here. Or better yet, check it out yourself. (: