Vancouver - Day 2!

Woke up this morning after some well sought after sleep feeling pretty good! Awesome waking up in Ryan's lounge room, with a fantastic view of Vancouver city and the mountains in the background - can see why Ryan loves this little pad so much!

As I write this, I'm looking out the window and catching glimpses of sea planes ferrying passengers to and from the various islands around the place. Just this alone really drives home that I'm a world away from sleepy little Brisvegas!

The first item on the agenda for today was to organise my emergency replacement Mastercard. Yes folks, it's a long story, with myself only realising he could not locate said item the night before he flew out - not a great start to the holiday but I was pretty calm about it I think - ask my flatmate Mikey! Anyways, all sorted. Within 20 minutes of being on the phone, my card had been approved and was going to be sent here at Ryan's address the following day at 10:30AM - less than 24hours - pretty efficient service - thanks Mastercard!

With the homework done for the day it was off to "Hamburger Marys" for a big greasy fry-up! Now this joint is a genuine American style Diner - something I was wanting to experience for a long time. Got my booth and ordered the "Yukon Style" Breakfast - cheap too at $8.99! Now I'm not sure what Yukon Style purports to be, but Christ on a Bike!; the meal was massive! 3 Slices of toast, about a dozen eggs scrambled; 3 sausages and 7 rashes of bacon - not to mention the kilo of spuds fried as hasbrowns ..OMG! I'm sorry but no wonder North America has an obesity problem. I think I startled the waitress with my "Jesus!" exclamation when she set down my plate.

Two things I like about the diners/cafes over here though: 1. The endless/bottomless cups of coffee they serve, and 2. The friendly service that's given, as hospitality staff here get a big portion of their wages from tips. So I've received only the best of service with big smiles, and it does make this little foreigner a little more comfortable and at ease when exploring a new world.

Breakfast down I then waddled my way down Davey St and did a bit of window shopping - nothing to strenuous, probably due to the fact I was feeling very top heavy from huge amount of food I had just consumed.

Came back to the flat and picked up my camera and then headed down to English Bay - just a short stroll away. Absoultely beautiful day - chilly yes, with the bay breeze washing over me, but standing still for a moment, I could almost believe the sun had some warmth in it!

Lots of people were out doing the same thing as me that day - strolling through the parks, enjoying pehaps one of the very last "warm" and clear days Vancouver had to offer for maybe the next six months.

Took a few snaps (some of which you will see here) and just sat down on one of the benches (in the photo above) and took it all in. It's nice to just sit down and people-watch, and try and get a sense what other's peoples lives are like in a city far removed from your own. Of course being in Canada, you get to hear a lot of francais being spoken; reminds me so much of London where you would hear the same. I must say though, and this not to be ignorant or rude, but the French spoken here seems to be a little, hmm how do I put it, rudimentary ? I mean the words and the grammar are the same, but the inflections and intonations are not. French when spoken by a true French native is a beautiful language to have hear uttered. Here it just seems not as passionate or articulate -well we are talking two countries apart I guess!

Anyways...I sat down for a bit enjoying the sun and watched yachts, and container ships traverse the circumference of the harbour. I did read my trash mags, "New Weekly" and "Who Weekly" too - it's a holiday ritual.

Walked back along the promenade and saw my first black squirrel! Ryan tells me there are skunks about the place too - yet to see one of those though!

Went back to Davey St and picked up some wine and headed back home. Ryan came home soon after and we chatted and made plans for the night ahead.

Freshened up and headed back, yet again, to Davey St. Had an awesome Thai meal at a little restaurant there with Ryan and the maitre de somewhat impressed with my little knowledge of the Thai language (Thanks Ten!) . Had a nice bottle of Californian Sauv Blanc too - quite impressed!

Headed back out on the chilly streets and went to a bar caled "FountainHead". Another gay sports bar! They love this stuff over here. I just can't see it happening back home, with raucous bellowing and cheering over a NFL match on the big screen. Somewhat disconcerting! I mean have we lost our gay roots ??! Where's the disco music with tacky videos ?..I dunno I do lead a sheltered life I guess! Ok, a point of note here - NFL... I just don't get it! I mean is there a more disjointed and interrupted game on the planet ? The player (quarterback is it ?) runs for 10 yards, gets tackled and the whole game grinds to a holt! The ref then makes some random call over a personal microphone for the whole crowd (and the folks back home watching) to hear; people then run off and onto the field. The teams then go back and "huddle" and 10 minutes later we're ready for the next play - I mean seriously people (and I will be crucified by ex-pats from the US and Canada), but what's it all "aboot" eh ?

Anyways! off my little soap box now. The bar was pretty cool - friendly staff etc. Ryan cajoled me into having a pint of "Granville Island Brewing Cypress Honey Lager" - quite tasty and sweet - but I think this is where the night took a turn for the worse!

We left the Fountainhead and moseyed along Davey St (yet again :) and went into a little random adult shop. Checked out the calendars and the mags, but was quite surprised by the, erm, standard size of the dildos on display! I mean, you put one of those up ya, and it's gonna come out ya mouth! C'mon, seriously, it just don't look practical, it looks like a visit to the Emergency Ward more than anything!

After this we went back to Pumping Jacks again. This time, punters were thin on the ground, and not too many "bears" to speak of! Had a few scotches here and again was mildy amused with the 80's tracks on rotation here. Tears for Fears, "Head Over Heels" came on (one of my faves!) and again I was reminded of another time I had head this same song - on a Virgin Train heading from York to Edinburgh. I love these instant flashbacks with my historic songs; I think I can really chronicle my life and travels with music - such a powerful medium!

It was pretty chilled by the time we hit the ole frog n' toad - we did finally clarify what "Canucks" are/were from a friendly lesbian next to us - and no they're not, as we thought, "Canadian Ducks", it's just another word for Canadians ..a bit dissapointed with that reality quite frankly. Anyways that's it for day two - more adventures tomorrow - "Show us ya Canucks!"