Vancouver Recap

We’re home.  We’ve been home for a couple of days actually, and I am still swimming in laundry and catch-up.  Fourth of July and a movie date with girlfriends yesterday didn’t leave much time to recover from travel, but the fun was worth it.  I feel like I’ve had a couple of weeks now without real life or boring details and responsibilities, and I am actually ready to get back on track with something normal again.  That said, it’s been a good few weeks.

Vancouver is such a beautiful place, and we were positioned right on the harbor, so our morning walks gave me a beautiful scene.  (You can click on these photos for a large view, by the way.)

The thing I always wonder when I am in such a beautiful place is if you ever get used to it.  I see locals in grocery stores or running along the seaboard or having coffee in the park, and I have to wonder if it’s old hat to them or if they are still in awe of the place in which they live.

I think the thing I loved most about Vancouver was the contrast of natural beauty with these endless waters and snow-capped mountains set against an impressively beautiful city skyline.  It’s the best of both worlds.

And the parks.  OMG the parks, people.  I can’t even begin to explain how lovely they are.  And traveling with a toddler, we were there everyday.

And I could go on about so many other lovely things about this city.  Charming older areas with cobblestone streets and an antique steam clock.

And a colorful Chinatown with some really beautiful gardens and delicious little bakeries.

We didn’t rush to see anything significant or check off a list of any kind.  I just enjoyed the city with my little family, and it was such a lovely week.

Despite reading reviews and tips, I was seriously unimpressed with the food, and food is such a factor in my wanderlust, so I was pretty disappointed.  We were also detained at the border for over two hours on the way back as we were “randomly selected” for a vehicle search, and we waited in line for an hour and a half before being seated.   With a toddler.  And a limited supply of goldfish crackers and only one obnoxious battery-operated toy.  That put us pretty late getting into Seattle for the last night which pained me because it’s a city I love so much.

But despite those few little hiccups, my break from real life was perfect, and as usual, I’m sure the unkind things will fade from my memory to leave only the fuzzy sensory details and romanticized side of our destination.  I think travel is like real life in that way.  While I’m in the thick of it, some details seem really unpleasant, but then I look back later to think it was all roses.  I love that.

One thought on “Vancouver Recap

  1. your pictures are gorgeous and i love the one of jude reaching toward you. i’m sorry the food wasn’t better, but being that close to stanley park sounds like a total win. i’d move there in a heartbeat and never look back. 😉

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