Dome and Domer

In recent years, we've made going to Queen Elizabeth Park a bit of a winter tradition. The view from the hill provides a vantage point for a part of downtown Vancouver. The gardens in the old rock quarry are much less colourful than during other parts of the year.



Although November, today wasn't rainy; in fact, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Yet, because of the missing insulating cover, it felt pretty cool when not in the direct rays of the sun.


Yet we never go to this park for the outdoors. We escape the weather to relax for a bit under the dome.



The Bloedel Conservatory was opened in 1969 but had a new roof installed this summer. We met friends for lunch in the jungle. The colourful birds and parrots were our company. We spent a few hours in an environment very different than the one outside the structure. The breeze did seem colder when we went back outside! We enjoyed the outing.

Today's Hike

In this photo, we're walking on a fairly-easy trail near the Pacuare River in Costa Rica.



Nah. Just kidding! We were really in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, BC.



I have now deemed today as the date of the first annual trip. I vow we'll always go to the Bloedel Conservatory during the week between Christmas and the New Year. Traditions can be started at any time. It was a nice place to have a surreptitious picnic. Spending a few hours in with all the tropical folliage and birds proved an excellent diversion on an otherwise dreary day.

A Little Respite from Winter

In the entry here yesterday, I was commiserating about the crappy weather. Last week's sun and temperatures in Puerto Vallarta make the poor weather here seem all the more obvious. It's not cold in Vancouver in the winter; in fact, today's probably just about average at around 7C (45F). It just stays overcast, dark, and rainy at this time of the year. This seemed very obvious during our first year here, especially after spending all those years in the Persian Gulf. I thought that I'd now gotten used to it though.

Yet, for some reason seeing this at noon from the balcony is making me more angry than depressed. This is probably the fourth day in which I've not seen sun!



Yet, I devised a temporarily relief. I've talked with friends who are not working tomorrow to meet up for a picnic. One might wonder how it would be possible to do this given the weather. Well, I said I'd buy everyone a ticket into the Bloedel Conservatory.




These are pictures from almost exactly three years ago. We've gone since then too. It is perfect medicine for days like today and is much closer than Mexico. I think spending an hour and a half inside will be just what the doctor ordered.

Greetings from Vancouver!

Lynne and Joel made it up late yesterday afternoon. It was a nice evening and we managed to get going fairly early this morning. We took the SkyTrain downtown and just walked around the Waterfront for a bit. Then we boarded the Canada Line, got off at King Edwards, and waited a few minutes for Bus #15. We walked up the hill from 33rd to the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park.

Yesterday's weather was stunningly beautiful and tomorrow's promises to be. Today, however, has been rather typical for December. It was cold and there was a relatively steady, misty drizzle for most of the day. So I guess it was a suitable day for the planned trip to the dome. We were inside for quite some time.



After, we were getting hungry and it was getting rather late for lunch. We went back to the bus stop and went all the way downtown on the north bound bus. We got off at Davie Street and made it to Stepho's for a Greek lunch at around 2:00. It was a return visit as last year we did the same. One thing that I did differently today was to order the moussaka rather than my usual souvlaki. Good all around.

Later, I wanted to see the German Christmas market but we ended up saving the $5 admission and just walking through the stunning Vancouver Public Library, the T&T Asian Supermarket by the Stadium/Chinatown SkyTrain station, and International Village Mall. There were no movies we were very interested in seeing, so we just had coffee and came back to New Westminster. Of course it gets dark at around four o'clock on a day like this.

Very pleasant time, even though the weather was rather uncooperative. This is, after all, Vancouver in December. We have learned to love it, mostly.

Coming North for the Tropics

Friends, Lynne and Joel, are coming up from Washington state next weekend. It's a bit of a tradition arranging a few trips a year to see each other. Jay and I were down for their son's graduation from college in the spring. It's their turn to drive up here.

I asked Lynne what we should plan for activities on Saturday and she suggested we try something "Christmassy" (Or should that be "Christmasish"?) I will leave some of the options open and let 'em decide after they get here.

I did think of a great way to spend at least one hour though. I had to look in this blog to see when we last visited Bloedel Conservatory in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park. I found that Jay and I visited during the week between Christmas and New Years last year. I'm pretty sure 2010, after connecting with VanDusen Gardens, was the first year it was decorated for Christmas. I'd love walking into the humid, tropical environment under a 70-foot, triodetic dome on any cold day. Even if one spends an hour inside, it really feels like a mini-vacation. I guess that might be because I like vacations wherever verdant banana trees grow. In addition, seeing all the lights and poinsettias is a bonus this month.

And actually, I want to see if my friend is still there.

Playing Local Tourists

So far this week, we've stayed close to home. Yesterday, it was great spending time in a tropical garden right in Vancouver. I do love the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. The 70 foot high, clear dome was built in 1969. In it are mature tropical plants from all over the world. The Vancouver Parks Department owns the tourist attraction but it's now run by the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association. After taxes it costs just over five bucks to visit. On a cool, grey, rainy, December day in Vancouver it is priceless to spend a few hours beneath the tropical canopy accompanied by parrots and other avian. It honestly felt like a tiny vacation sitting in that small jungle.

Today, was movie day. Generally, movie tickets have become almost prohibitively priced. On Tuesdays, the Empire Theatres in Guildford, BC have general admission of $5.99 and it charges $8.99 for 3-D features. We saw True Grit first. Then, we went for coffee. An hour later, we returned for the most recent Narnia installment which required the glasses.

Tomorrow, however, we'll make a break for it. I just reserved two nights in a Victoria hotel. Rather than driving, we'll bus to the terminal and go on a BC Ferry as foot passengers. The buses on the island will whisk us into the capital of British Columbia.

Best Wishes

for the New Year!


Tropical vegetation in the Bloedel Conservatory, Vancouver, BC.

Instant Tropical Vacation

Yesterday, much of Canada was in a deep freeze. Meanwhile, the temperature here in Vancouver was a balmy 8 degrees Celsius (45 F). Still, it was a real treat to visit Vancouver's Bloedel Conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park. Built in 1969, it is the second largest domed conservatory in the world.



Yesterday was the annual plant sale with free admission. This year's
usual entrance price is just $Cdn 4.10. That's quite a bargain! Being able
to sit under the canopy of a tropical rain forest on a January day is worth
considerably more! (Jay seemed to know all the types of plants.)