31st December 2017 - Happy New Year - Well Not Quite Where I am!

For most of the world it is now 2018 but for me there is another 11 hours or so at the time of writing this blog until I can ring in the new year. It is still 2017.

Feels a little strange coming from one of the first countries to ring in the new year to one of the last!

Onto my adventures for today.

Day 4 in Vancouver

Another beautiful day and I slept in again and did not have breakfast.

First stop after a shower is take the Canada line from Yaletown Station to Aberdeen to drop off my Christmas presents to my relatives place. Arrived and they are not home which is good so I leave them outside their door in a plastic bag. Hope no one takes them!

Straight back on the Canada line to Richmond to catch a bus to Steveston Fishing Village. - unsure which bus to catch. Some people are telling me on the other side of the road others on this side of the road at Richmond Station. I end up crossing the road several times missing so many buses to get me there. I finally ask a bus driver which is the quickest or most frequent way to get me to Steveston Village -  bus 410 on the opposite side of Richmond Station. Just missed one as I crossed the road but another came in 5 minutes. This time I asked the bus driver again as I boarded the bus. So confusing - Railway means Steveston Village however there is a railway Ave enroute as well - don't get off at the incorrect stop!

Arrive at Steveston Village and have no idea where I am but find my way to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery - not to see the cannery but to purchase the Salmon tin money boxes I collect. Just as well as the Cannery actually closed for the day at 2 pm and I arrive about 15 minutes before it actually closed.

After my visit to the Cannery I walked down to the fishermans Wharf where alk the boats dock to sell their caught products - whole fish octapus prawns even salmon roe and caviar.  Not today though- I will have to leave my purchase of prawns off the boat for another time - besides they were frozen today and the fisherman were trying hard toflog off the last few buckets of seafood.

Next was a walk along the boardwalk along the foreshore to the end before turning back and catching the nearest bus back to Richmond and taking the sky train back to Vancouver downtown. I took the 402 bus instead of the 410 bud. It stopped a little further from the sky train station at Richmond but not too far to walk to.

Along my walk I took so many photos of swans ducks and the marsh areas. The old 1880's boat sheds and shipworks were also interesting to visit. Many of the building had previoulsy not been open to the public until recently.

Photos to be attached.

View from inside the old boat shed where one of the resident swans likes to swim in and out of.

The marsh area outside the old boat shed - ducks reeds and boats in the background at sunset

This is why Steveston Village is called "Railway". The now disused railway lines are still visible along some of the main streets in Steveston Village with a permanently housed old locomotive train on display to the public within a park.

My favourite photos of the marsh area near the old boat shed at sunset.

The Chinese Bunk House located right at the end of the boardwalk 

Several of these little cottages from the fishing village along the board walk are now open to the public.

A few photos of the interior of one of these cottages in the fishing village along the board walk. 

The seagulls here are the size of chickens - well fed not from the locals dropping their food but from the fruits of the harbour they catch.

Back to the hostel for some dinner and a change of warmer clothes for tonights NYE fireworks at 9 pm and midnight. Going alone for the first time.
I don't think I will do the midnight movie this new years eve as there is nothing interesting worth seeing.

I have 3 new roomates who are all only staying for the night.

Past 8 pm now. I better make a move for the 9 pm fireworks. My phone is still only charged to 78% and it has taken hours.

9 pm kiddies fireworks are now over
Full video of unedited 5 minute fireworks display has already been uploaded onto Youtube.

Finally the midnight fireworks are over and it is now 2018 in Vancouver. The fireworks were 15 minutes long - I can't believe I sat in the cold for 3 hours just to watch the midnight fireworks. I did not want to lose my viewing spot from watching tge 9 pm fureworks so a couple sitting next to me from Japan did the same thing.  We did everything to keep ourselves warm such as using pieces of clothing as a temporary blanket to keep our legs warm - I used a spare scarf I had packed and spare set of mittens as toe warmers in my boots for extra warmth - neither worked still freezing cold - so cold my feet were numb!

Were the midnight 15 minute fireworks worth the wait? No - I started videoing the fireworks but in the middle it became a big mess of coloured smoke so stopped videoing for a while then continued to video the rest of the midnight fireworks after the fireworks became "coherent" again.

Photos of midnight fireworks attached. Also refer video uploaded onto You Tube. Apologies problem uploading You Tube video several failed upload attempts.

30th December 2017 - Granville Island Day 3 in Vancouver

Why am I still so jetlagged?

I had a good night sleep although I was up until 11 pm on night 2 in Vancouver.

After 2 days of cold and heavy rain - the sun came out and my head kept telling me throughout my sleep to head to Granville Island today so I did.

Map of Granville Island

I had a bit of a sleep in after saving some breakfast. Woke up and the sun was blarring outside. Get up I told myself then gad a shower and packed my back pack. I purchased  return ferry departing from the False Creek Ferry Wharf located at the bottom of Thurlow Street near the Aquatic Centre. I purchased my tickets for the ferry from the HI's front desk which is cheaper then purchasing them on board for CAN$5 cash. It is a really quick ferry ride to the wharf on Granville Island.

First stop after alighting the ferry was to find food as I had skipped breakfast between 8 am and 9.45 am daily to go back to sleep.

I visited the public markets on the island before taking a walk around it. I visited many of the original landmarks on the island I visited in the first few years I visited Vancouver.

Photos attached

The old Granville Island railway station which is no longer in use. Last open to transport passengers to Granville Island was during the Vancouver Winter Olympics year - 2010. 

Public transit to get to Granville Island #50 bus

The views of the harbour around Granville Island are amazing on a beautiful Winter's day via a board walk either by bike or on foot. If you are lucky you may even catch a glimpse of the resident seal family who like to pop up when it's feeding time - fisherman and boat owners would throw salmon off cuts or other pieces of seafood and the seals would appear to be hand fed by them.

Under the bridge is the main traffic and pedestrian entrance to Granville Island. The island was a traffic jam of cars and people today!

Kids have their own dedicated buildings on Granville island complete with an kndoor adventure playground, mjniture washrooms ,  a stroller friendly lift and heaps of shops stocking kids' toys, clothes, shoes etc. - this building not to be mistaken for another colourful building for the adults named "The Crystal Ark" nearby on Granville Island

Besides the Island being home to the Emily Carr University - a university dedicated to the Arts, Granville Island is also home to a wide variety of fine arts and performing arts studios, theatres and workshops. The above Waterfront Threatre which which had a current performance of The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe performing was just one of many.

Back to the hostel to unload my purchases and cook dinner. What's for dinner - a nice hot thai turkey and vegetable soup with all the vegetables I purchased yesterday and today. Smells so good was a comnent from one of the guys making a pasta in the kitchen. Tasted even better with a buttered toasted bagel I kept from breakfast this morning.

Thursday 28th - Friday 29th December 2017 - Chistmas Is Now Over Time To Depart On My Next Adventures

It's time to leave work behind for the next 35 days or so.

My ASN shuttle to Sydney International Airport was early and on my way to the airport I receive a text message advising my Qantas flight has been delayed until 19.50 pm. 

It is the first time I am flying Qantas Sydney to Vancouver direct.

I have least  6 hours to kill at the airport. If I had flown Air Canada Sydney to Vancouver direct I would have almost arrived in Vancouver by the time I depart Sydney International Airport.

So what to do in the 6 hours.

1. Firstly check in - too early to do an online check in and bag drop, I have to do a manual check in at the Qantas counter which means queuing up. Checked bags 2 a suitcase and a snowboarding bag.  I am way under in my snowboarding bag but a little over in my main suitcase . Oops - toiletries do weigh a bit. No need to redistribute the weight though to my snowboarding bag. I think I overpacked!

2. Bags weighed and tagged, I make my way to the oversized baggage to check my snowboarding bag in but not before shoving any excess carry on luggage into it eg tim tams chocolates etc and padlocking the bag for extra security.

3. Onto find a Westpac ATM to withdraw as much cash as possible in case my credit card fails overseas. Done. Onto departure gates and security. I ensure everything is pulled out and even take off my shoes as I know they will beep.  

4. Onto some shopping for small gifts to give my relatives in Canada but not before being randomly selected for an explosives swab test by security. Had to open all my bags - no explosives in my bag just my stuffed possum! Forgot to empty my Contigo water bottle so have to quickly drink about 500 ml of water before going through security gates. Purchased 2 bottles of water for $5.50 post security - such a rip off! then onto buy some abalone flavoured macadamia nuts some 5 spice beef jerkey and wattleseed anzac biscuits to add to the rocky road and matcha nougat 

I purchased for my relatives. Had to dump the heavier presents at home unfortunately. A snack at Mcdonalds - filet o fish burger with extra lettuce and tomato - forgot about that horrible yellow plastic cheese included  but did remember about the tartare sauce. This is no ordinary Mcdonalds the kitchen is upstairs and bagged orders travel down a conveyer belt. (One of my cousins posted the exact same photo of this Mcdonalds at Sydney Airport below on Facebook after I posted it on my blog) 

4. No gate number was available however the departures board indicated gate 31. So here I am blogging again at the gate lounge.

Photos attached of airport.

5. Finally after waiting at  gate lounge 31  for hours I board the Qantas flight. First thing I do wrong is put my bag in the wrong overhead locker and sit in the wrong seat. I just managed to squeeze my wheelie bag into the overhead locker but it was so tight I wasn't sure how I was going to get it out and down again. It wasn't oversized so I took out my tablet from the front pocket and it loosened it a little allowing me to now pull it out without trouble. When I realised I was in the wrong seat I changed seats and placed my wheelie bag in the correct overhead locker with ease and someone elses wheelie bag bigger then mine was already up there. Note to self never get a middle asile asile seat allocation, not only were the overhead lockers smaller, the seat pockets were too as my tablet would not slot nicely in it as it did in the non asile aisle seat ie seat 66C instead of seats 66D E F and G. Only problem was my seat would not recline or pop upright again. Then there was my special meal request stuff up - maybe I should have stuck to my guten free meal request I originally had but amended. I requested a non lactose meal which was unavailable - how can a major Airline like Qantas not have this option? What I received when I opened my hot meal served before everyone else was a vegetarian meal which was a pasta dish with lots of cheese ! I informed the airline staff of this and they apologised advising the code had been entered incorrectly as it was not actually a non lactose meal but vegetarian - and it should have been a vegan meal - vegan? Since when did non lactose mean vegan???? and was advised that as soon as I had some rest to change my meal request on my profile online. I think I'll just leave it and bring my own food again on my return flight. So I chose from the menu the salmon kale and slaw as I thought from previous experience it was a safe non lactose meal option containing mayo and not dairy products. What I received was a salad with smoked salmon which tasted fine however I only ate a few mouthfuls as it contained heaps of bones and they were huge but fine enough to choak on! So left it. I don't usually waste food so good but 2 strikes is enough to put me off!

Movies on the Qantas flight were less then desirable - I watched the so called Premiere movies "Snatched" - couldn't handle it so watched another movie "Diary of a wimpy kid" which was ok but then watched the entire first season of Ronnie Cheung International Student - really funny!

I fell asleep and probably missed the refreshments offered but breakfast was ok some kind of spinach and bean fritter with tomato relish? It didn't look like it had any cheese in it and tasted ok so I ate most of it but not the dry hard chia roll included. Oops I accidently ate the garlic roll earlier that came with dinner - didn't know it was garlic butter inside the roll - not too much harm done.

28th December 2017 - Day 1 In Vancouver
Arrived in Vancouver nearly on time (around 2.30 pm) but only to have my five spice beef jerky confiscated by agriculture (quarintine) when I declared it - don't believe anyone at Sydney Airport when they ask you which country you are taking the jerky into and that jerky is OK to take into Canada but not NZ when only Chrocodile and Kangaroo jerky is ok to take into Canada because they don't have these animals in Canada. Beef jerky is prohibited because of the risk of mad cow disease which Australia does not even have but Canada does - go figure!

No arrival cards necessary to enter Canada - all electronic and straight through customs then baggage claim  which took forever - remember the first in last out principle - that's what I get for checking in so early at Sydney Airport at the Qantas counter!!!!! The girl sitting next to me was still waiting for her bags when I received mine - now to wait for and pick up my snowboarding bag which was another wait.

Through the exit doors finally and next stop foreign exchange - note never exchange money at the airport - with a commission fee of more then CAN$5 and an exchange rate of 0.85 ie 0.10 less then normal exchange rate Aus$ to Can$ I just exchanged a minimum of Aus$100 to Can$ - just enough to pay return taxi fares.

I'll deal with money tomorrow.

Cab from Airport to HI Downtown Vancouver Can$31 cheap as a flat rate of Can$35 is usual. Pouring with rain I arrive at the hostel and leave my bags outside under cover to the entrance. Next is to hope and pray I can pay the entire amount of my stay on my 1 and only Visa card. 3 transactions with signatures only no pins - success - paid in full.

Next  - haul all my luggage to the 4th floor one bag at a time in the tiny ancient lift - at least it is working this year! Then a hot shower change into some warm  dry clothes and to bed. Deal with everything else tomorrow.

Only 1 other girl in my 4 female dorm room - she is departing early tomorrow anyway - unfortunately she stank of garlic and made the room stink of garlic too so I had to put up with it for a whole 24 hours. She closed the blinds and shut the window tight.

29th December 2017 - Day 2 in Vancouver
She left the following morning getting up at 5.10 am but not leaving until after 7 am. After she left I opened the window to let some fresh air in and air the stuffiness and stench of garlic out and let the light in by pulling the curtains back. I got out my lavender tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil mist  and sprayed my bed area - so much better! I couldn't sleep all night and the girl was making all sorts of loud sounds throughout the night. So tired I went back to sleep after writing in my travel journal and then woke up had breakfast and a shower then slept a bit more then went out to recharge my Tim card, Compass card , reactivate my bank account deposit some money into it get a local Rogers sim card grab a YMCA fitness program for the month of January and have something to eat as well as do some grocery shopping since my bag of supplies did not arrive when it should have in time for Christmas - meaning yet another thing to chase up missing parcel via Australia Post yet again!!!!!!

It was wet cold and dark by the time I arrived back at the hostel end of day 2. Had some quick dinner of hot thai soup with a croissant then bed and catch up on emails blogging etc.

Photos of just some of the Christmas light dusplays throughout Downtown Vancouver  along Burrard Street attached - sorry for poor quality very wet!

Rating : 7/10 someone described Qantas as not being as "polished" as other airlines and in some respects this is true eg latest in flight movie selection and not offering a non lactose meal that isn't vegan. However in terms of Customer service they rate OK. Staff are polite even if  incorrect in providing information on several occassions. One set back maybe there is no easy way to contact Qantas whilst overseas and they need to operate a Dreamliner for long haul direct flights such as this supplementary direct flight between Sydney and Vancouver return during peak holiday seasons. The flight was almost fully booked which would be the same as the Air Canada flight. Note Qantas flight depart and arrive Sydney and Vancouver at more reasonable times then Air Canada flights do. It is also a shorter flying time then Air Canada.

Sunday 24th December 2017 - Dulcinea's Archives on Christmas Eve

I'm working until the bitter end on Christmas Eve but have a bit of time whilst waiting at the bus stop on my way to work this morning so I thought I would find and share some of my other photos and possibly videos of my adventures pre blogging.

1. Winterfest @ Bondi Beach. Yes that's correct an outdoor ice rink right beside the beach. It is meant to be an annual event during the coldest winter month although in the past years due to lack of sponsorship the event has been pulled. 

2. The Peace Arch @ the Canadian US boarder crossing near White Rock on the Canadian side where my friend drove me to and parked her car in one of the nearest car parks so we could stop and take some photos of the Peace Arch . I was carrying a very small back pack and taking photos when a broader officer approached me and asked where I had come from as he thought I had walked across the US Canadian boarder avoiding detection from boarder officers - my reply to him when asked the question was "the car park!" My friend and I had no intention of traveling to "the dark side" as we didn't even have our passports with us!

3. Food colours used in the snow can be a lot of fun. Above are 2 examples of my first and only attempt of colouring snow. Exhibit 1 "Happy Birthday Unicorn Fart" - pass! Exhibit 2 " Bleeding  Snowman"- fail!

4. Does this location look familiar? It should  as it was in a tv series. Yes "Storybrooke" is a real bakery in Steveston Fishing Village located near Richmond BC Canada which sells freshly baked bread loaves onsite in woodfire ovens. However don't  let the 

resident baker lure you inside the entrance to the store as he tried to with me. It just felt wrong - he was a little creepy and there was a sort of a Hansell and Gretel feeling.  I feared I would never get out of the store once I was lured inside as it was a very strange set up with loaves of bread displayed on shelves inside the store with no counter as seen through 2 very large front windows. Customers were served via the front door outside from the street which was a split door opening at the top half of the door - refer above photo.

5. Pana Chocolates - a must visit on one's trip to Melbourne. Their chocolate bars are available at selected retail stores but a visit to one of their chocolate cafes is special. Above is just one of their dessert slices you can purchase there unavailable from selected retail stores

6. A train trip to Ballarat just to see the city's architecture is  a great day trip from Melbourne. The grand architecture of Ballarat is illustrated above. Ballarat Railway Station is a grand white building complete with an internal overhead walkway bridge and staircases which is the only way to get across the station from platform 1 to platform 2 over and above the series of railway tracks.

7. If you love French food you must visit Hardware Lane in Melbourne's CBD and eat at this cafe. Coffee served in a bowl which you drink with a spoon or ham and cheese meltie on a crusty bread roll - both French style. Service and menu are bilingual.

8. Australia Day celebrations in Whistler are  probably just as big as they are in Australia.  Rain sleet or snow Australians line up in sometimes freezing conditions and in heavy snow from the crack of dawn to get into The Long Horn. Often only wearing shorts a singlet or t-shirt thongs and the good old Aussie flag draped around necks for warmth. Ugg boots are a more sensible option. I never go to he Long Horn - opting for an on mountain backcountry snowshoeing tour on Australia Day or a snow cat and on mountain dinner with other Aussies with a dare to cover the Canadian  flag which is a permanent fixture with an Australian flag (but only for the night) - refer photo above which is a little dark but the flag is visible in the background.

9. Ok this not from my archives it was actually taken in the city on  Boxing Day when the post Christmas sales were on.