We started the day with a hearty breakfast at Bellagio's which is just a few blocks away from our hotel. After that we had to go back to the car rental place because we wanted extra insurance on the car and they had to check that we hadn't damaged it already and were trying to get insurance after the fact. Why did we need extra insurance? Well, let's just say that Vancouver has very strict rules about what constitutes the "right" side of the road. Parking at the rental place was insane and I fully expected someone to sideswipe us while the agent was giving the car the once over.
After leaving the rental agency we decided to do some shopping on Granville Street. When I say we, I of course mean Rose and Joyce because I would have rather stood in a box of broken glass and repeatedly stuck a fork in my eye. We did find a chocolatier who had excellent confections so that made it somewhat less painful.
We then went back to the hotel where Rose met Ahnes and her husband Charles and they all went off to an art exhibit. Joyce and I decided to go check out Gastown. Well, mainly Joyce decided because I was pretty content sitting in my air-conditioned room watching Shanghai Noon (which is the same thing I do in Toronto except without the air-conditioning which makes it so much sweeter). After Joyce asked 18 times if I was sure I just wanted to stay in the room instead of walking all over Gastown I began to think that maybe I did want to go to Gastown or maybe I just wanted her to be quiet. I guess we'll never know. Gastown was okay. The big attraction there is this old fashioned clock that is run using the power of steam. You can see steam pouring out of the clock as it keeps time. The thing is, the steam clock was built in 1977 and has 3 electric motors that along with the magical power of steam help it keep time.
Another Gastown attraction is the statue of the district founder John Deighton aka "Gassy Jack". The origin of the nickname is unknown but his strict diet of cabbage, beans and broccoli probably provide a clue.
After walking around a bit we saw a street fair. Lots of booths, big crowds, music, entertainment the only problem was it was actually a barbecue for the street people of Gastown. Hoards of people lined up for hamburgers. It was a very nice thing for the organizers to do but I was sort of hoping for cotton candy and dart game where I could win a giant stuffed animal.
We met up with Rose, Ahnes & Charles for dinner at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. This is the cooking school restaurant where students can get practical experience. The food is usually fantastic and at a reasonable price. Plus, because they are students and sometimes quite nervous it's very easy to rattle them and be unreasonably demanding.
After dinner there was a fireworks show which I had no desire to see but was completely outnumbered so while the rest of the group took off up some treacherous mountain pass (actually it was just a flight of stairs but still quite imposing) I sat on a bench and relaxed and incidentally, caught the entire fireworks show because, and I'm sure you know this, fireworks shoot up really high in the air.
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