Seattle-Vancouver trip (Day 14-18)

Day 14 - Drove the two hours to Vancouver and took some time finding lodgings again. Alot of the cheaper inns were fully booked and we learnt out lesson to book in advance in future.

Once we settled down in Best Western Inn (the cheapest available), we went to Stanley Park. Vancouver is covered in green and much of our visit was spent with nature. It's a really beautiful place. The existence of a creator cannot be denied in such a lovely place.

The day ended with dinner at Guu, a Japanese restaurant where the service was so slow, we waited 30 min for each dish. The food was good but the servings were really small and Louis had to buy another meal from BK after that. Canada is much more expensive than the US.

Day 15 - Went to Whistler. Another two-hour drive up a mountain. Saw and touched snow for the first time! I look terrible in the photos but it was so cold that appearance was the last thing on my mind. The chairlift was scary at first but got better on the way down. The views are awesome.

Snow-capped mountains. =]

Had a really expensive hot pot dinner at a Cantonese restaurant. It was delicious and the waiter was really nice and helpful but living in Canada will require a very healthy bank account.

Day 16 - Visited a tourist attraction - The Capilano Suspension Bridge. And left for Victoria via ferry. We drove the car onto the ferry actually.

As usual, beautiful views everywhere you look.

Louis had booked a room at Traveller's Inn the night before, so we arrived in Victoria well-prepared this time. Headed to Downtown Victoria and the wharf for some sight-seeing and had dinner at Barb's Fish & Chips.

This is some government building.

That's the wharf behind me.

And this is the place where we had dinner.

Look at what I found! Such a cute wolf-dog! Harharhar...I think it's a husky. It was very friendly. And for those who are looking to live by the sea can buy a floating house with heating and full utilities for half a million Canadian dollars. It's like a house that doubles up as a boat. I want!!!

Started the long walk back to the hotel because the guy at the reception told us that parking was hard to find. LIES. There were lots of parking! However, walking was not without its disadvantages. We caught the beautiful sunset at about 9.20pm. Yup. 9.20pm at night. The further north you go, the later the sun sets.

Found the gates to Chinatown on the way back.

Day 17 - Went back to Downtown Victoria to explore the shops and Chinatown in daylight before heading to the Royal British Columbia Museum. Had lunch at White Spot, a chain of restaurants. Had left my watch in the hotel room before that but thank God, we found it when we went back. Careless me.

My fries look darker because they are sweet potato fries. Very yummy!

Louis in Fan Tan Alley, part of Chinatown. This was where opium was sold in the old days. Now it's just a narrow alley with shops selling Indian and new age-ish stuff.

This is the back of the Royal BC Museum. Quite an interesting place. We spent a few hours exploring.

Decided to leave for the ferry terminal just in case we could not get back to Vancouver on time. On the way, we stopped at a small town - Sidney. Was quite boring actually. Alot of antique stores and second-hand book stores. Bought a book and a Calvin and Hobbes comic from one of them before going to the ferry terminal.

And that's the end of the trip. Drove back to Seattle. Slept in the car because our flight was at 7.15am and we didn't wanna spend money on lodging. Returned the rented car at 5am and took shuttle back to the airport.

Arrived in SFO around 11.15am and I just slept for the rest of day 18. Oh...I finished watching Desperate Housewives and before Louis went to work, we went to try Quizno's Sub. I think Subway is still better. Heh...