Downtown Vancouver
Stepping out on my first day I quickly realised that Downtown Vancouver is a melting pot of cultures, arts and enthusiastic joggers taking in the breathtaking sights of the Sea wall.
With a population of just 600,000, Vancouver is a vibrant grid planned city surrounded by a picturesque mountain range. Boasting such breathtaking views, it’s no wonder that with each turn you are more than likely to step foot onto a film set or bump into a famous face or two. In the first weeks, I had explored the Vancouver Art Gallery (home of Emily Carr classics), window shopped along the famous Robson Street, caught the ferry to the Public Market on Granville Island and selected Yale Town as my favourite place for a dinner and night out.
Living in the urban and tree lined suburb of the West End, we had Stanley Park as our backyard. Once finally convinced that there were no bears living in this 405-hectare park adjoined to the downtown area, it became our location of choice for an evening stroll, run or skate (a short-lived new hobby) to take in the sights of our new home.
A month in and I had started my new job in Olympic Village (an area constructed purely for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games) and had also realised that Vancouver needed a serious lesson in the art of coffee making. As I sipped my Starbucks to and from work, it was the mountain range that truly captured me. It was time to invest in a sturdy pair of hiking boots and explore beyond the Vancouver gird.
