Vancouver

On another rainy day we left Squamish and drove back south along the Sea to Sky highway, dropped off the rental car at the Vancouver airport, then checked into our hostel right in the city center.  Seth met up with some music colleagues and I spent the evening watching some of the final game of the world series over curry at the nearby Indian takeout place; at the moment it was a tie in the 7th between the Cubs and the Indians but due to technical issues I didn't watch the end of the game :o(

The next morning things looked brighter and the sun finally came out!  

Jogging along the Seawall.

The bridge to Granville Island

While Seth spent the morning at the library getting some work done I took a long walk over to Granville Island.  The view from the bridge was so beautiful!  The trees still had their colorful leaves, too.

I was surprised to learn that Vancouver is the city with the fourth highest population density in North America, behind NYC, San Francisco, and Mexico City!  Here we can see why.

I eventually made it over the bridge and to the Granville Island Public Market.  It was really a nice excursion!

The thing I appreciated the most about the market is that it wasn't overly crowded but still lively.

As I was reading the guidebook at that food court I realized I was sitting in the exact spot where the photo in the guidebook was taken!!  Spooky.

Just behind the market were some feisty birds.

I had waited all day to take the mini ferry/aquabus back to downtown.  It was so cute and !  I was a little disappointed, however, that I had to ride the larger minibus (the smallest ones are like tiny little pods that glide over the water).  Also, the trip was too short, probably less than a minute long.

By the evening I met back up with Seth and we walked to Chinatown.  For having the largest Chinese population of any city outside of China, the Vancouver Chinatown actually wasn't all that great when we went.

I guess the highlight of Chinatown was the world's narrowest office building (only 6 feet wide).

Gastown

We spent some time admiring the cobblestones and lights of historic Gastown. It was worth waiting until the top of the hour for the steam clock to play the Westminster Quarters with actual geothermal steam.

Friendly Canadians

Chinatown was a bust, but not to worry--Japanese food in Vancouver is amazing!