Instead of a postcard from Vancouver, I will tell you about my sightseeing in the city. I had one day set aside for sightseeing while I was there and half a day after my last workshop at Knit City Vancouver. My patron Patricia Bell drove me to Cypress Mountain to look at all the downhill slopes and we stopped at the viewpoint in Cypress Park on the way up. Above is a Birdseye view of the city, behind the cruise ship is the huge Stanley Park with beaches and waterfront views along the Seawall (part of the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront path).

View from the waterfront path in Stanley Park towards downtown Vancouver.

I was on my way walking to look at the totem poles. The old building at the centre is the yacht club.Here are two of the nine totem poles in Stanley Park at Brockton Point. They are British Columbia’s most visited tourist attraction.

Driving to Cypress Mountain we crossed the impressive Lions Gate Bridge – the longest suspension bridge in Western Canada with a total length of 1517 m – and a landmark. From Lowden’s Lookout I could see it from a distance.

Take a look at this skyscraper that I spotted from the car coming back from Cypress Mountain across the bridge, downtown; called Alberni by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – 43-storey residential skyscraper by Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) – located near the waterfront in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood.

Patricia and I stopped in Gastown (Vancouver’s first downtown core) to look around and visit the shoe store; John Fluevog. Check out these original shoes and boots, as well as the lovely shop gallery space.

I stayed at the Atrium Inn, about 6 km east of downtown, next to PNE where the Knit City Vancouver market hall was, while Patricia stayed at the Pan Pacific downtown. Above is her view from the 11th floor.

Here is my mountain view, as my room was at the back (and not facing the motorway), I was so happy to have that view instead. Hastings Park was next to the hotel with both an Italian Garden and a Japanese Garden. Below you can see the Italian Garden.

Patricia and I stopped at the idyllic Granville Island to visit Maiwa (a retail store that has become a school of textiles and a foundation), it was raining heavily so I didn’t take any photos there. However, I did shop!

Our last stop was afternoon tea (in fact: Mad Hatter High Tea to be precise) at the magical Neverland Tea Salon, where teacups dangle from the chandeliers and the cakes are like art pieces. Patricia took me to my new hotel for the next days and that was the end of our sightseeing. On my last day in Vancouver I did however have time to visit The Museum of Anthropology (MUA) and I will write a separate post about it. There is so much I didn’t have time to see, so I hope to be back one day. I had a brilliant time in Vancouver!