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Page 5 of Part 4: My Life in Canada: January 2005 - December 2005!

July 2005 continued: At 9.00 in the morning we picked my brother and family up to head back to Vancouver. We drove through Mount Robson Provincial Park which was quite beautiful with some nice lakes and stunning mountain scenery. Mount Robson Provincial Park is located in British Columbia right at the border with Jasper National Park in Alberta and it features amazing scenery and the highest mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (3,954m/11,862ft). We stopped in Kamloops for a picnic in a lovely park. It was so hot out there, but the weather was great and the views from the picnic area are wonderful. After quite a long drive and some stops along the way we arrived back in Vancouver just around 5.00 in the afternoon. This would allow us to rest up for the rest of the evening and then we could visit Vancouver the day after with my family. My family was still going to be here for about a week before heading back to Belgium. The weather was absolutely fantastic, really warm and sunny!



The first afternoon we went to Stanley Park in Vancouver to enjoy all the sights of the park. Stanley Park is very close to downtown Vancouver and has a lot to offer. You can walk here from Vancouver's waterfront in about 15-20 minutes. There is a seawall of 9km (5.5miles) around the edge of the park where you can walk, bike or roller blade. You have wonderful views over the city, ocean and mountains around every corner. Stanley Park is an evergreen oasis of 400 hectares (1,000 acres) and one of the largest parks in any urban centre in North America. It's a nice getaway from the city because of its natural west coast atmosphere. You can also find the Vancouver Aquarium, giftshops, gardens, a miniture railway, restaurants and also lot of walking trails that bring through the thick forest of the park and more. We spent the afternoon here and went back home around dinner. The rest of the evening we just relaxed at home and watched some TV.


    

    
A shot from the Kamloops picnic area and some photos of our visit to Stanley Park in Vancouver


The day after that we explored downtown Vancouver. We visited the Canada Place. There is the Canada Place promenade which is wonderful for a photo opportunity stroll. The Canada Place is also home to the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, The Pan Pacific Hotel, The Vancouver Port Authority Corporate Offices, The CN IMAX Theatre and World Trade Centre Office Complex! The Canada Place is also a Cruise Ship Terminal (Operated by the Vancouver Port Authority). Some of the most luxurious and largest ships afloat sail from Vancouver to Alaska where passengers experience the natural beauty of the glaciers, mountains, wildlife, and culture of America's last frontier. The ships are operated by premier international cruise lines including: Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean International and Silver Sea Cruises. At the time we were at the Canada Place we saw a couple of cruise ships leaving the port of Vancouver off to a voyage to Alaska.



Besides that we also visited Gastown that week. This is a historical part of downtown Vancouver with many nice giftshops, cozy cafes and restaurants. Definitely stop at the Steam Clock which has been there for over a century. I thought it was still running on steam, but it seems that it is hooked up by power now. Every once in awhile you will hear the steam blowing out of the clock while tourist gather around it. We also visited Robson Street which is "THE" shopping street of Vancouver with many fashion shops, a place where lots of celebrities shop when they are in the city to film a movie. We also wondered down to Chinatown which is the largest in Canada and the second largest Chinatown in North America after San Francisco's. Vancouver has a large history of Chinese immigration. The World Expo in 1986 also attracted new Chinese immigrants, mainly from Hong Kong, leading to the nickname "Hongkouver".


        

    
Some photos of our visit to downtown Vancouver


For the rest of week we went up to Cypress Mountain to enjoy a lovely view over downtown Vancouver and the surrounding area. We also visited beautiful Lynn Valley where my mom conquered the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge…way the go mom! I am so proud that you went over a suspension bridge that high above the ground, even though it was a bit difficult. Lynn Valley is a beautiful park with a suspension bridge, waterfalls, hiking trails and the most popular attraction in the summer is the "30 Foot Pool". There is also an Ecology Centre where you can find out more about this rainforest, nature and much more. This park is an all year round place to visit. In the winter it might be more wet and muddy, but still worth to see it! The 30 Foot Pool is located about a 10 minute walk upstream after you passed the suspension bridge. That where we were headed for. It's a part of the Lynn Creek where the water is stagnant and it's perfect to take a dip in this cool water. Or just watch how some crazy kids jump of the cliffs into the deep water. Or just bathe in the sun on top of the rocks while the rest goes swimming. We sat at this spot for a while and relaxed for some time.



We also visited beautiful Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks in Vancouver. Jericho Beach is one of the big beaches of Vancouver. It's a beautiful beach with wonderful views over downtown Vancouver, West Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean. This place is great to relax, swim in the ocean, have a picnic, have a walk, enjoy a beautiful sunset, fly a kite, play beach volleyball and so much more. This beach also connects to Locarno Beach and Spanish Banks. It was a beautiful sunny day and the views over downtown Vancouver, the ocean and the mountains were gorgeous. We had a great time. Michael and I also made a copy of the video from our wedding and our trip to the Rockies so she could enjoy it again once she got home. We had a bundle of photos printed for her to take home as well. I think she was happy with that! Well, sadly enough July 27 was there again! My goodness, it was time for my family to go home again. We had a great time and saw some beautiful sights. Our wedding was perfect and we had the time of our life! It was difficult to say goodbye to my mother again…but I am glad she had a good time here and that she enjoyed our wedding! I hope my brother and his family also had a great time seeing all the beautiful sights and I hope they enjoyed Canada a little bit. I tried to show them the most beautiful spots in this area as well as the most beautiful spots in the Canadian Rockies and as most of you probably know after reading all my stories here I can never get enough of this beautiful Canadian scenery! So, I hope they liked the places I showed them and I hope that they have some nice memories from this trip! I sure have some fantastic memories of this trip!


        

    

Some photos from Lynn Valley and Jericho Beach in Vancouver


August 2005 - December 2005: After my family left we went back to our usual routine and we both had to go back to work soon after. My mom and I still keep in touch at least once a week, and sometimes more than once a week. It’s always so good to talk to her and I really enjoy that hour we have to chat about everything and anything. In this part of the year not much has happened. There is one girl at my work that I really got along with so well, she lives in Maple Ridge, which is about a 20-30 minute drive from our place. She invited me one day in November to go to here place and go for a walk on the dikes in Maple Ridge and to see Pitt Lake. That was so much fun. We had lunch, we went for coffee and spent a great time talking about all sorts of things when we went to the dikes and Pitt Lake. She also lives in a really nice apartment with great views over the mountains. For the rest we had a great Christmas with Michael’s parents who made a great dinner. New Year was excellent as well and we were able to see the beautiful fireworks from their place with a wonderful view over the river.


    

    
A shot from the Kamloops picnic area and some photos of our visit to Stanley Park in Vancouver


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