1) Yanta takes in the view at our condo in Vancouver ... note: the dining room chairs have not been stolen; they are being made in Bangkok and are currently on route! ... as is the missing rug in the livingroom which is also on route from India
I've known Yanta Thims since teaching her swimming lessons back in 198x. She jokes - but only really half-jokes - that every job she's had is thanks to me. Granted, it's true. I hired Yanta as a Leader Guard, promoted her to supervisor, and, after I left the city's employ, met with her to encourage her application to that world renown international humanitarian organization I was working for at the time. She did apply and joined me there too ... and quickly rose through its ranks to be the lead guru in her particular skill set. And she's just finished a year creating a new company for them to boot!
Yanta and I could write a bible-sized novel on our history. History that spands three decades from our crazy days (daze?) as lifeguards on the pool deck; to teaching many an Instructor School; to coordinating many company reorgs; to the Amazing Race; and to that epic of parties - the now mythical Moulin Rouge Party - G and I created and hosted well on a decade ago that shall forever live as THE party of the century. She remains a dear friend and it was so nice to have her in Vancouver for a week before I headed out travelling.
Since then I've found myself in Toronto for a short visit with Lady Sarah, Phil; Blee and the Keg Girls before dashing to London for a celebratory dinner with my folks and a visit with Lady Kay, my grandmother, who recently turned 101. I'm now ensconsed at Blue Mountain (and yes, there has been snow!) for strategic planning meetings [rolls eyes]. I shall be - gladly - flying home to see G on the weekend.
2) looks like I'm giving advice to Lady Kay in London; 3) Blee and a very pregnant Lady Sarah in Toronto
4) mom and papa celebrate; 5) my suite at Blue
6 & 7) the view of Westin Trillium House and the slopes at Blue
8) weeks ago we made home-made pasta with raosted pumpkin filling; 9) served with a sage butter sauce ... OMG it was SO good. Can you say 'restaurant quality!'
10) for the appetizer - oysters, shucked by yours truly (which was actually a first for me)
New York City-based Complex Magazine published its list of the 50 Most Stylish Neighbourhoods in the World last week. These are the go-to places in global cities, areas that - apparently - emerge as destinations for unique fashion, style, and culture. And to my utter surprise, my little neighbourhood here - Gastown - is listed as the 4th most stylish neighbourhood gobally. The top ten for your information are:
1. 1st Arrondissement, Paris
2. Harajuku, Tokyo
3. SoHo, New York
4. Gastown, Vancouver
5. Kreuzber-Friedrichshain, Berlin
6. Wynwood, Miami
7. Sodermalm, Sweden
8. Ladbrooke Grove, London
9. Central Districk, Hong Kong
10. Brera, Italy
Go figure! My own pereception of Gastown does not necessarily mirror Complex's. Mainly because the place is overrun with tourists during the cruise season May through October. Tourists and style hardly go hand-in-hand. And while, sure, Gastown is completely charming and has some of the country's finest restaurants and uber chic boutiques within its tiny precincts, the 'it' spots for stylishness has moved on to Railside me thinks.
... but let's onwards to some stylish (and not so stylish) movies ...
Saam gwok dzi gin lung se gap (aka Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon)
Based on the 600-year-old novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" by Luo Guangzhong, director Daniel Lee's sweeping movie has common-man cum war hero, Zhao Zilong (Andy Lau) rise to fame by rescuing the son of warlord Liu Bei (Hua Yueh). Charged with liberating the land from the evil warlord Cao Cao (Damian Lau) and his just-as-mean daughter Cao Ying (the always brilliant Maggie Qi), Three Kingdoms is full of the shock and awe requried of Chinese action movies but fails in its character development. It is more a series of battles - done brilliantly for sure - linked together with talkie bits, which is rather a shame for sure as the acting of both Lau and Qi deserve better. However if you are a film buff new to this genre or this period of Chinese history, do pick it up. My rating 6 out of 10.
Saint Ralph
The year is 1953 and fourteen year old Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher) remains self-reliant despite the challenges life has presented him. He lives alone in his family home and lies to authorities that he is living with his grandparents. His widowed mother, who is perpetually hospitalized, thinks he is living with a friend. His father is dead. Not surprisingly Ralph is obsessed with girls - in particular nurse Alice (Jennifer Tilly) - and is often in trouble at St. Magnus Catholic School in Hamilton and brought up before the school`s strict headmaster, Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsett). In an effort to redirect his hormones Father Fitzpatrick orders Ralph on to the school`s cross country running team. There, under the guidance of the team`s unorthodox coach, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), Ralph finds his stride - so to speak - as he makes a bid to run in the Boston Marathon. Wholly unbelieveable as it is, this quintessentially Canadian film, directed by Michael McGowan, with equal parts folksiness and quirkiness delivers a heart-warming story with enough laughs and drama to make it to the finish. My rating 7 out of 10.
Case 39
A film that demonstrates the problems that arise when you rewrite it umpteen times. Result - silliness and disaster. It starts fine enough with the audience becoming hot and bothered by the parents of wee Lilth Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) who are bent on roasting her in an oven. You read that right. That all ends poorly for them and enter Emily Jenkins (Renee Zellweger trying to become scream queen), a social worker who opts to adopt Lilth. When Lilth moves in all manner of odd/strange/creepy/usual (take your pick) things start to take place and Emily begins to suspect not all is good or right with the wee one she's adopted. Seems Lilth is particularly good at sensing one's worse fears (albeit through statically telephone calls) and ending the lives of Emily's acquaintances. All this is confirmed by Emily's friend Lovejoy, er, Detective Mike Barron (none other than Ian McShane being, well, Lovejoy with an ounce more heart). Director Christian Alvart tries hard to knit it all together and deliver some scares but really we sort of know what's up from the get-go. Just another demonic possession; and not a good one at that. Yawn. My rating for the horror of it all (and I'm being faceitious here), 3 out of 10.
Ritânâ (aka The Returner)
Americans will focus solely on the fact Titana is a mix of several US franchise movies - The Terminator, Matrix, Independence Day to name but three. Purists will focus on the - granted - gaping plot devices and holes within the script. But, if you can sit and just watch this film for its entertainment value alone, you'll enjoy it. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Ritana centres on a young Japanese girl, named Milly (Anne Suzuki) who is one of a handful of remaining humans who have survived an alien invasion of earth in 2084. Milly travels back in time to 2002 and hooks-up with a mercenary named Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro) to attempt to find and kill the original alien who sent the signal to destroy mankind. In that hunt they come up against a mafia boss named Mizoguchi (Goro Kishitani) who is actually keeping the alien and the ship he arrived in captive. Ritana is full of that smooth bullet action wizardry found in Matrix as it deploys its kungfu magic, and is a visually stunning film to watch. The action is well paced and despite rather oblique fuzziness on what's actually going on is worth returning to again and again. A solid, fun movie to watch in all its stylized fashion. My rating 8 out of 10.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
This latest edition of the money-making franchise starts robustly with lots of good fun as director Rob Marshall lets Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) do his usual scchitck. In this romp the absence of Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly from the pirate ship is certainly compensated for by the arrive of Angelica Teach (the beautiful Penelope Cruz) as Captain Jack's new foil. The quest this time out is the fabled Fountain of Youth. Jack's nemiss, Blackbeard (an excellent Ian McShane) is back as as well. But after starting well, the film sputters along and this reviewer lost interest as soon as things moved to the ship Queen Anne's Revenge. One wonders if this franchise has set sail into becalmed waters and whether Captain Jack ought to walk the plank and be done with it. My rating 4 out of 10.
Haevnen (aka In a Better World)
Susanne Bier directs this Danish creeper that deals squarely with revenge. Amid the story of Anton (Mikaek Persbrandt), who commutes between his home in Denmark and a nameless west African refugee camp, lies the central story of his son, Elias (Markus Rygaard), who is being bullied at school until he is befriended by new kid on the block, Christian (William Johnk Nielsen). Christian, obviously a very troubled teenager, leads Elias in progrom of revenge on his bullies that forces both boys and their families to come to terms with the complexity of human emotions. If you can ignore the subplots in Haevnen that try to juxtapose Anton's mission in west Africa with the game afoot at home - a device that simply fails - there is a darker theme about the cost of revenge that does make the film worth a peek. Both young actors are good and carry the film between the ever sombre looks of Anton. Haevnen won the Oscar for best foreign film in 2011 that should have easily gone to either Biutiful or the superb Canadian film, Incendies. My rating 6 out of 10.
After returning from adventures in Calgary on Thursday, we were immediately flying off to Portland on Friday for a long weekend to meetup with friends, Karen and Paul, who flew in from Chicago to meet us. This was essentially a foodie run. The last time I was in Portland was waaaay back in 1980 (or so) to visit family who lived in Coos Bay. We took up residence at The Nines, right downtown and instantly started chowing down. First up was a visit to Departure, the hotel's Modern Asian-inspired rooftop restaurant. Portland is known, especially, for its eat local, eat sustainably take on food and kudos go to chef Gregory Gourdet for a fabulous meal. G and I both admitted the pork belly we ate here was probably the best damn pork belly we've ever eaten.
2) our hotel; 3) the living/dining room in our suite
4) more of the room; 5) our bedroom
6) G heads to the club lounge; 7) the bathroom
8) Departure; 9) the pork belly
10) the view from our suite; 11) looking down into the central lobby on the 8th floor
12) G and I head to dinner
On Saturday we ventured out to Portland's Japanese Garden, which is purported to be the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan. We would concur. It's a lovely spot set beside the International Test Rose Garden (Portland is known as the city of roses!).
13) the International Test Rose Garden; 14) G heads to the Japanese Garden
15) the zen garden; 16) the exhibit inside the pavilion
17) more flowers; 18) Karen and Paul heading to meet me
19) the Zen Garden
20) this is how they do the lines; 21) more of the zen garden
22) cranes; 23) a perfect place to reflect
We also made stops while in Portland at Voodoo Donuts (the lines, the lines!); the Saturday Market (open Sundays!); Pine Street Biscuts (OMG, so good - with a nod to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which put this iconic place on the map); Deschutes Brewing (OMG, the beer!); the Roxy (the greasiest dive ever in the Pearl District; complete with our visit with transvestites); the Kells Irish (yes, more beer).
24) Voodoo Donuts; 25) inside the tiny shop
26) what do you want?...; 27) we opted for a box-full
28) maple bacon donut; 29) oreo, peanut butter donut
30) lemon chiffon and peanut donut; 31) baby voodoo donut (filled with raspberry)
32) beer a brewing at Deschutes; 33) we did samplers, of course
34) we had mac n cheese; 35) beers galore!
36 & 37) wandering through the market
38) the bar at Kells; 39) Pine Street Biscuits
40) what you want? ... 41) I ordered the McIsley
42) G ordered the "Reggie"; 43) me so happy
44) the pilot got permission to fly right over the crater of Mt St Helens on our way home (that's Mt Adams in the background)
45) ... oh, and there was shopping of course while in Portland ... with NO tax!!!
Paul and Karen flew back to Vancouver with us and we continued the eating adventure here. On Thursday we headed up to Whistler for the day as Paul was keen to see the sites there.
46) Karen & Paul in Squamish; 47) looking back at Howe Sound
48 & 49) there was lobster feasting at Earl's in Whistler
50) Paul and Karen at International House of Ice Cream in Vancouver ... decisions, decisions ... they have 218 varieties available in house always!
I've since been to Saskatoon and back and am SO looking forward to the next two weeks of doing nothing in Vancouver before heading east again for stints in Toronto, Blue Mountain and then London.
I spent Sunday through Wednesday in Alberta. Firstly in Calgary before moving on to a wee camp outside Cochrane and finally a quick visit to Edmonton before flying home. While near Cochrane I had the honour of staying at W.O. Mitchell's homestead. Born in Saskatchewan, Mitchell (often known as the Mark Twain of Canada) is best known for his iconic 1947 novel, Who Has Seen the Wind, which chronicles the life of young Brian O'Connal growing up in small town Depression-era Saskatchewan.
2) the home where I bunked the night; 3) early the next morning ... snow has fallen
4) always take the path less trodden; 5) my bed for the night
6 & 7) there is a small library with a memorial to Mitchell; 8) the next morning, a mule deer eyes me
9) on the porch; 10) the main room
The Globe & Mail quite rightly called this novel, required reading for all Canadian high schoolers, "One of the finest Canadian novels ever written". Here, here!
The novel has never been better quoted - set to Joni Mitchell's song, Both Sides Now - then during the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. As Donald Sutherland reads, you get a sense of the devasting lesson life under the big flat sky of the prairies births, even to young boys.
I would walk to the end of the street and over the prairie with the clickety grasshoppers bunging in arcs ahead of me, and I could hear the hum and twang of wind in the great prairie harp of telephone wires. Standing there with the total thrust of prairie sun on my vulnerable head, I guess I learned – at a very young age – that I was mortal.
W.O. Mitchell, Who Has Seen the Wind
And spending a night there, amid the paths and trees he wandered, and rising to the the season's first snow settling on the ash and pine, I understand. I understand.
Anyway, on Labour Day I flew from Vancouver to Grand Rapids (of all places). A flight I might add that took some 15 hours of travel (with kind thanks to Air Canada) [rolls eyes]. I am often in Grand Rapids (meaning, I've been so many times I've actually now lost count) and I do very much enjoy the city. It has a 'rapids' (of sorts) but whether one could term them 'grand' is altogether another matter (see picture below).
1) a 'grand' rapid? ... you decide; 2) the GRAM
Grand Rapids is a moneyed city by-and-large with a decent downtown core of refurbished heritage buildings and a thriving arts scene. Yes, thriving! In fact the world's largest art competition, ArtPrize, is held here each September. The prize is funded by one of Grand Rapids famous families, the DeVos' ... who you might know better by the company they created, Amway. Wealth often births artsy-fartsyiness. ArtPrize is unique thanks to its method of voting (public) and it's winning prize of $200,000. While I was in the city I had a chance to see several of the ArtPrize installations being constructed.
Grand Rapids is also home to five of the world's leading office furniture companies and is nicknamed the "Furniture City", and, as a devotee of modern furniture, is a bit of a mecca. While in town I visited GRAM (Grand Rapids Arts Museum) to see its collection. Interestingly, GRAM was also the world's first LEED certified art museum. And, of course, it goes without saying that Grand Rapids was also home to none other than Gerald Ford.
What you may not know is that Grand Rapids has one of the most well developed groupings of microbreweries in America. No small feat since we all know the best microbrewery culture is out here on the northwest coast (BC, Oregon and Washington in particular). I drink beer so I do know of what I speak. And HopCat, a bar in downtown Grand Rapids - should you ever visit - is ranked by Beer Advocate as the 3rd best beer bar IN THE WORLD! I would concur having drank there.
3) HopCat ... worth a visit
So culture, furniture, arts, and beer ... see why I visit!
Onwards from Grand Rapids I flew to London for dinner ... well, that was the plan at least. A quick getaway to Riverside to celebrate my folks anniversary with a family dinner and see my grand, Lady Kay (who I note shall turn 101 in October!). Bless her. Dinner out at Michael's for reasons I shan't bore you with here was a wash but we cobbled together a nice meal at home nonetheless with me pitching in a spicy gazpacho and sis, a fabulous lasagna. From there it was onto Toronto for some Toronto International Film Festivaling (the premier of Dangerous Liasions, in particular), visiting friends and a little work.
4) moi and Lady Kay in London; 5) a rare double rainbow just outside
6) my gazpacho with fried shallots and pickled carrot
7) such a pretty group - moi, sis, ma and papa in the garden at Riverside
8) Lady Sarah and Sir Phil; 9) their wee one, Annabelle
10) Blee!; 11) Ironwoman Judy's kitty greets me
I flew back to Vancouver on Friday, September 14, landed around 7:30PM and promptly moved home the next morning! Something I would certainly recommend one not do. It was all a little too harried me thinks. Granted we had movers doing all the work but still. The move went well and G and I are nicely settled into our new condo some 40-odd stories up in the Vancouver sky. We've a 180 degree view from downtown, Stanley Park and Lions Gate Bridge to the west, across through the northshore and then all the way up Coal Harbour to Burnaby. It is, literally, the million dollar view and we're so blessed to enjoy it each morning. Through the move we did lose some plates, a favourite Nigella Lawson bowl and a beautiful lamp but when you consider all this stuff came 4000kms across the country, that's not too bad. Kudos to our movers!
12) a panoramic shot of our new view (sigh)
So it's time to settle in amid the boxes and ponder why we shipped so much stuff west! ....
1) the 34KM long tide water Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay with Mt. Root in background
I'm currently in Michigan - a long way from Alaska I know - and am uploading what is a mother lode of photographs with little narrative ... apologies for that. We cruised the standard ports of call for Alaska - Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and Ketchikan (Salmon Capital of the World, apparently ... though I saw but one dead salmon the entire day there ... go figure). This trip was with Holland America Line's Volendam, a mid-sized ship that holds about 1,400 souls. It's a nice size and having cruised this same route previously on Princess' Dawn Princess (considerably larger), I must admit I prefer the smaller ship and Holland America for that matter - the service is that much more refined; there are fewer young folks; next to no children; and the food - notably at their pricier Pinnacle Grill - is outstanding; we ended up taking four meals there. Plus, with HAL's Mariner Society status we get a few perks that make a difference (a Mariner's luncheon before sailing and lunch with the Captain, who this time out was Peter Bos). On top of this, HAL permits you to haul on board as much of your own wine/champagne as you wish, which we certainly did. HAL's wine list is good - and I must admit very reasonable (with lots of Oregon and Washington State wines) - but it is nice to bring on board some of one's favourites. There is but an $18 corkage fee for bottles opened at table. Interestingly, HAL is not currently offering any British Columbian wines. I spoke with their sommelier about this deficit and advised that they are very keen to do so but HAL purchases centrally for the entire fleet and, as yet, BC producers' stocks are assigned elsewhere. HAL hopes to have BC wine on board during the next round of sales contracts meaning you should see some of the brilliant wines by Blasted Church, Hester, and Nk'Mip on HAL ships by 2014.
The reality whilst cruising is that there is no reality. Reality is suspended purposefully by the cruise line to create a dreamlike world where money (the gaming tables aside) is useless and one roams the ship and shore signing this and that chit, blissfully unawares of the true costs being debited to your shipboard account. In a fashion, cruising is like Las Vegas - a postcard-sized fantasy where you can indulge yourself across all seven of the deadly sins ... sans guilt.
As I sit and write this, I realize I spent an entire week eating three ridiculously-sized meals each day quaffed down with more alcohol than is morally or otherwise healthy, and, aside from an 8-hour hike out to, on to - and ultimately, under - the Mendenhall Glacier (no sizeable feat for the faint of heart true), I did well, nothing. But perhaps that`s the point.
Our proverbial ship came in one morning and by 11:30AM we were on board. We are fortunate that unlike many cruisers our travel to the ship involves but a 5 minute walk from home to Canada Place Pier.
2) the Volendam comes in (this is taken from our condo); 3) we like Holland America as the ships are smaller (this one holds about 1400 passengers)
4) G scopes out the view from the balcony; 5) on the gang plank
6) goodies await my folks on board; 7) our veranda suite before we asked our stewards to reconfigure the bed back to a king
8) ma and papa toast their bon voyage; 9) our table was .... 22
10) HAL logo on the Volendam; 11) mandatory lifeboat drill before setting sail
12 & 13) us practicing putting on the lifejackets
14) mine fits ... sort of; 15) balloons marked the entrance to ma and papa's cabin
16) Mariner's luncheon before setting sail; 17) the obligatory shrimp cocktail but of course
18) tuna tartare; 19) mussels
20) touring the Crow's Nest; 21) the aft pool ... suitable for Polar Bear dips
22) we walked a mile each morning after breakfast; 23) our ship was made in Italy
24) the Captain toasts our departure; 25) the main gallery
26) goodbye Vancouver; 27) under Lions Gate we go
28 & 29) northward we go through the Georgia Strait
30 & 31) more of the Georgia Strait
32) so pretty from the bow of the ship
33) two fishing trawls head south; 34) G looks north
35) no photographia!; 36) another trawler
37) such pretty scenery
38) how'd you like to live here 3 months at a time; 39) our lifeboat is No. 4
40 & 41) G explores the ship
42 & 43) a stroll around the Promenade Deck on the first night out
44) ma and papa check out the menu at the Pinnacle Grill; 45) atop the ship
46) decisions, decisions; 47) beautiful sunset on the first night out
48) the 2nd morning dawns dark but still beautiful in its own way
49) a smaller day trip boat heads south
50) G taking our morning walk; 51) Orcas!
52) Alaskans welcome? the Volendam with Coast Guard boat complete with gunner (rolls eyes); 53) this is a better welcome
54 & 55) I watched the Princess ship dock right behind us in Juneau ... it is such an art
56 & 57) the longshoremen prepare to moor the ship
578 & 59) the crew leads out the main line
60) Juneau's cruise ship dock
61) along the Juneau shoreline; 62) the Mt Roberts Tramway
Arriving in Juneau G and I hired a guide and took a private 8-hour hike out to the Mendenhall Glacier. Once there, we donned crampons and ice axes and spent an hour and a half exploring the glacier before entering a glacial cave, which I must admit was oh-my-god cool. A real highlight!
63) the Mendenhall Glacier seems so far away at this point!; 64) G and Dawn chat as we hike out to the Glacier
65 & 66) before reaching the glacier, you have to scramble up and over a small escarpment
67) on the other side the glacier appears; 68) nearing the ice
69) mountain goat skin and hair ... was it a wolf or bear me wonders; 70) this is a telling marker Dawn is standing in front ... it marks the limit of the glacier in August 2002 ... 10 years later in August 2012 the ice had receded near a kilometer
71) putting on our crampons; 72) and heading onto the glacier
73) G negotiates his way onto the ice ... it`s SO cool!
74) G and I exit a very large ice cavern; 75) I`m last out ... you can see an ice pick above my head I was using to pull myself up and out
76 & 77) heading further up the glacier to re-fill our water bottles with glacial water
78 & 79) got it! ... it tastes like ... well, water! hehe
80) G picks his way down
81) Dawn heads down to the entrance to the glacial cave; 82) in G and Dawn go ... you do not want to linger very long at the entrance as the glacier continues to melt and move
83) inside is a surreal world ... here is G. It sort of reminded me of something out of an Alien movie
84) Dawn moves out ahead of us in the cave
85) G and Dawn pick their way deeper into the cave
86) there is G with the entrance further back past him
87) here we are at the entrance .... it truly is another world
88) a short video from inside the cave so you can see and hear what it was like
89) leaving the glacier behind now
90) ... and hiking back to the car taking the alpine route ... this was very similar to hiking Quirpon Island (in Newfoundland) I thought
91) Dawn and G ahead of me
92) way up now with the waterfall on the left
93) a wary sign; 94) my only injury from the hike is an abrasion I received sliding down a rock face
95) lifeboat drill for the crew; 96) welcome to Skagway - during the Klondike Gold days this town had some 30,000 people ... today, 895 live year round
97) I was going to mail stuff but the office was closed!; 98) I`m staying here next time
99) at the faux Starbucks in Skagway you can order this; 100) an Alaskan State ferry pulls into Skagway from Juneau
101) my folks took the White Pass & Yukon narrow gauge railway to the Yukon and said it was amazing; 102) Starbucks and jewelry store all in one in Skagway
103) where you want to go... ; 104) me with nitwit Sarah in town
105) here`s the train they use to clear snow from the track; 106) the original railway building
107 & 108) the (im)famous Red Onion Saloon (read: brothel) is still in operation today
109) G among the poppies... poppies with make them sleep
110 & 111) Glacier Bay touring morning dawned very foggy but slowly cleared as we arrived at the glaciers
112 & 113) eerie and beautiful I thought
114) G admires the view from the stern; 115) up on top I watch the last of the fog disappear
116 & 117) the stunning Lamplugh Glacier - 13km long
119 & 120) a large sail boat is dwarfed by the glacier
121) the Fairweather Range of Mountains in Glacier Bay here so-named by none other than Captain James Cook
122 & 123) the 40-km long Great Pacific Glacier
124) watching the Glaciers from ma and papa`s balcony; 125) Great Pacific Glacier
126) in Tarr Inlet; 127) we SO wanted to see a puffin and lo and behold ... there he was!
128) the marvellous Margerie Glacier
129) moi with Margerie in background
130) leaving the Tarr Inlet
131) we even were lucky to watch the Margerie Glacier calf whilst there ... the sound when this happens is amazing
132) this humpbacked whale was right beside the ship; 133) if you look close, you`ll see a sea otter lying on his back eating
134) Captain Bos sees whales
135 & 136) humpback whales breaching just for us
137) and large harbour seals sunning themselves on the rocks
138) this was a whole pod of whales ... I counted 5 blow holes at one point; 139) ma and papa enjoy the view on a formal night
140) moi getting ready to head down to dinner; 141) we were chasing the Sea Princess this evening
142) random picture of the lights in the lounge; 143) ma readies herself for dinner
144) steak tartare; 145) beef wellington
146) salmon appetizer; 147) leg of lamb
148) dessert art; 149) celebrating the anniversary in the Amsterdam dinning room with Chef
150) celerbating the anniversary again in the Pinnacle Grill
151) a short video of the anniversary celebrations in the Amsterdam dinning room
152) our room stewards - Ughi and Suruya- left animals for us each evening - a turkey; 153) an elephant
154) a dog; 155) a monkey which scared the hell out of me when I opened the door
156 & 157) taking a tour of the kitchens
158) one night each cruise the Pinnacle Grill transforms itself into Le Cirque ... which is of course THE restaurant in NYC ... complete with the china used by the restaurant; 159) appetizer
160) probably the best Caesar salad I`ve very eaten; 161) I ordered steak
162) ma`s salad; 163) we all received this amuse of fois gras and rhubarb
164) rack of lamb; 165) fois gras and salmon starter
166 & 167) desserts including a lime panna cotta
168) ma and papa at dinner at Le Cirque; 169) a wonderful little touch is this box of chocolates left in your stateroom after dinner
170) G strolls after dinner; 171) wow, what a lovely evening
171 & 172) dessert buffet night! ... need we say more
173) doing laundry on board
174) Alain prepares our dinner table-side; 175) the appetizer
176) filet mignon for me; 177) surf and turf for G
178) dessert
180) arrviign into Ketchikan ... with 4 other ships already there; 181) a busy harbour
182) these lads board first before letting us get off; 183) welcome to Ketchikan
184) near the salmon ladder in Creek Street; 185) homes built up along the cliffs
186 & 187) the Creek Street artist area
188) great name for a shop; 189) G wanders
190) returning under Lions Gate Bridge; 191) G heads for home
It was a grand cruise but new adventures await here in Michigan, I suppose. I fly to London on Friday to meet-up with my parents for a final anniversary family dinner before flying onwards to Toronto next week for some Toronto International Film Festing ... oh, and a little work too.
My folks have been on parental leave, of sorts, visiting Western Canada. They arrived from London to Calgary 3 weeks ago and landed on our doorstep - via Lake Louise and wine tasting in the Okanagan Valley - on August 17th for a fortnight stay and a cruise up to Alaska and back with us (but that's another post). They were last in Vancouver in 1979 and the city has transformed immensely since then. We put them up at the Westin downtown during the stay and enjoyed wining and dining with them making pits stops at The Salmon House, Salt Tasting Room, Water Street Cafe and here at the condo complete with some Dom Perignon to celebrate their anniversary (which is actually today!) - Happy Anniversary kids! Hope you're enjoying the golf at Chateau Banff Springs.
2 & 3) there will be Dom!
4) papa, ma and moi at home; 5) ma and papa up on the rooftop terrace at our place
6 & 7) Guinness notes that Jack Chow's Insurance Building is the thinnest commercial business building in the world .... it's about 7 feet wide and is a landmark in Vancouver Chinatown
8 & 9) a morning visit to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park in Chinatown (hey, that's our home in the background!)
10) papa and moi at DSYS; 11) ma and papa pose for the requisite photo op
12) so pretty!
13) papa settles into the suite; 14) at Jack Poole Plaza and the Olympic flame
15) Papa wonders where the heck G is taking him (answer: this is Blood Alley in Gastown and we're going to Salt Tasting Room)
16) the menu board at Salt Tasting Room; 17) decisions, decisions
18) mom`s board of food; 19) my wine BC wine flight
20) decisions, decisions at Water Street Cafe; 21) I had oyster appetizers where they restaurant buried the precious pearls in a sun-dried tomato madeira sauce (I'm not a fan)
22 & 23) visiting Granville Island
24) ahoy! ... fish; 25) this is where we buy our veggies
26) (sigh) orchids; 27) fresh local fruit
28) ma and papa browse the fish
29) another requisite photo op ... this time at Granville with the Burrard Bridge and English Bay in the background; 30) shades of John Lennon?....
31 & 32) taking the AquaBus across False Creek to home
One of the things Papa was very keen to try while in Vancouver was the notorious Grouse Grind climb up Grouse Mountain. I was not too enamoured of the idea as, having done this, know just how tough a slog it is. The trip up is one-way only and once you're past the quarter mark, you're committed. My Papa is on the closer side of 80 years old not 70 so I must admit I was a tad hesitant. But Papa runs daily and plays near-on 100 days of golf a year and, again to be honest, is probably better fit then I. So .... on a coolish Sunday morning with fog still hanging on the mountain up we went. Papa did tremendously well over the roughly hour and a half of constant ascent and can add his name to the roster of official Vancouverites having successfully conquered the Grind. Well done Papa!
33) Papa at the Grind gate; 34) [Papa thinking] I'm going up there?!
35) happy at the half way marker; 36) onwards over the bridge
37) negotiating the scramble and brambles; 38) hamming it up at the three-quarter mark
39) reaching the TOP; 40) me making it official at the Grinder Timer
41) Papa makes it official too!
42 & 43) decisions, decisions again ... a tough one for Papa as ice cream is his favourite food and Casa Gelato has 218 varieties on display at all times to choose from
44) like kids in a candy shop; 45) with mom at Stanley Park
46) with Papa at Stanley Park; 47) at the Stanley totem poles
48 & 49) one evening we ventured to West Vancouver to The Salmon House for a lovely dinner overlooking the City
50) there were scallops; 51) and REAL oysters
52) and roast chicken; 53) and Hadai Gwaii halibut wrapped in BC smoked salmon
54) the view of English Bay from our table; 55) G, Papa and ma taking in the view after supper
56 & 57) we also did a road trip up to Whistler of course
58) ... and then onto the Holland American Volendam we all went
1) I'm often of two minds: two countries; two passports - but no gold medal though
Back in another time and in a life far, far away I was tracked for Olympian gold ... in swimming. The 100m backstroke and 100m individual medley were my events. I swam competitively and in that life practiced, essentially, 12 times a week - every morning and every night and twice on weekends when we weren't away for meets. My parents were like all Olympian parents and sacrificed tons of time commuting me back and forth to practices and meets, and volunteering at trainings to become timers and turn judges ... both as busy professionals. Commitment I've always said is not a simple word: it is an action. I swam because I enjoyed it - despite the authoritarian exploits of my coach Mrs. Bowman, who patrolled (and that is the only word that is appropriate) the deck, a stack of flutterboards under arm, ready to hurtle one at any swimmer who was not giving 110% or missed a turn.
(We, secretly, did our utmost to spy on her between breaths and stole whatever shortcuts we could whenever possible).
I wonder where Mrs. Bowman is now, whether she is still alive and coaching, or if she has ascended to the big swimming pool in the sky.
I enjoyed swimming and my team-mates, and, being damn fine in backstroke, winning of course. But my heart is not competitive by nature (blame the aquarian in me). I did not want to be an Olympian despite the dollars being spent on preparing me for what today is called in Canada "owning the podium". It was with great relief and credit to my folks (perhaps they were relieved too?) that I broke the news I wanted to exit the fast track to Olympian gold.
And so I onwarded to English horseback riding and jumping but never (to this day) lost my love of swimming. I think of this all now as I watch the Olympics and am awed at the times posted by Olympic backstrokers. When I swam I was doing a 100m backstroke in around 1:02. Today, the lads swim this in about 0:52. Amazing what three decades brings isn't it?!
When I watched the opening ceremonies, my first reaction was to immediately look into how to revoke my British citizenship - wasn't that a dreadful mishmash! Mr. Boyle created and directed as though he was working the silver screen; there was nothing Olympian about it. But perhaps it played better live in person? It's good being British and Canadian and having dual citizenship as you can pick and choose who (whom?) to egg on. As Britain is doing brilliantly - Canada, well, less so - I shall don my best British accent and cheer 'em on.
This past weekend was British Columbia Day which means it is a long weekend. It also coincided with the garish, horrific spectacle that is Vancouver's Pride Weekend. Being such, we did what any self-respecting gay lads would do - we left the city. My only advice to those enamoured by pride festivities - the parade in particular - is this, found on a sign in Seattle.
2) advice for pride paraders courtesy of Seattle
We opted to drive to Seattle this trip and enjoy the scenery. Our goal, threefold:
3) shop; 4) eat; 5) see [this is Mt. Rainer taken from our room at the Bellevue Westin]
We were very successful in all three goals!
In a way, this was a trip of mountains as each night we had a view of either Mt. Baker or Mt. Rainer. Mt Baker (3286m high) is 60 odd kilometers from Vancouver and can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city - I see it each morning from my office window. Mt. Baker is the one of the snowiest places on earth. Mt. Rainer (4392m high) is 80 odd kilometers south of Seattle and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list. For perspective, Grouse Mountain that dominates Vancouver to the north is 1200m high and Whistler Moutain is 2181m high.
In another thought, the Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma area is so immersed in all things Dale Chihuly that sightings of his artwork have become ubiquitous. Sadly so. We also purposefully visited to see the Eero Saarinen exhibit at the Nordic Heritage Museum and - of course - the Museum of Glass in Tacoma.
And all this plus it was 92F during our stay! Unbelieveable!
6) dawn from our room at the Sheraton, Guildford; 7) Mt Baker from our room at Sheraton, Guildford
8 & 9) breakfast (very) early in Bellingham at Horseshoe Cafe
10) the historic Bellingham National Bank; 11) heading into the Horseshoe
12) the entrance to the Saarinen exhibit
13) the famous 'Womb Chair' (in middle); 14) Saarinen's even more famous 'Tulip Chairs'
15) did you know who designed the Arch in St. Louis? .... this is his original drawing ...yep, Saarinen again. He also design Dulles Airport in Washington, DC; 16) if you were an immigrant into the US at the turn of century, you would have been asked these questions
17) the Nordic Heritage Museum; 18) the Museum of Glass in Tacoma
19) the Chihuly fountain out front; 20) inside the glass studio workshop
21) you can watch glass artists working here; 22) Chihulys
23) more Chihulys; 24) these look like rice grains to me ... those bases are also hand blown
25) the Tacoma Dome from the museum; 26) Chihulys in the Bridge of Glass
27) more Chihulys in the Bridge of Glass
28 & 29) G wanders along the Bridge of Glass
30 & 31) our room at the Westin Bellevue
32) dawn from our room at the Westin ... you can see Mt Rainer above to the right of the construction crane
Last night the Gastown Grand Prix returned to the streets of the downtown east side of Vancouver after a three year absence. The race is a criterium where cycling teams vie strategically to get their top guy on the front of the peloton by the last lap. Men's and women's categories are raced and the total purse is $40,000. The course is great as it circles a 1.2km circuit right in Gastown on its cobblestoned narrow streets and presents two hairpin turns that are tricky to negotiate in a pack. There were spills. Best of all, it all happened immediately in front of our condo so we could - drinks in hand - watch from on-high. But the action is down on the street so naturally out we went.
The race draws top cyclists - even during Tour de France season - and the field included Tour de France and Olympic riders. Way back in 1991, he-who-now-is-a-disgraced, soon-to-be-stripped-of-his-titles rider, the drug-using American, Lance Armstrong, won the Gastown Grand Prix. Me wonders if he will have this title stripped too.
(as a side note on Mr. Armstrong, it is sad that all the good he has done for cycling and cancer and personal motivation will blackened and forgotten because of his misdeeds. It is sadder still that he and his lawyers have the wherewithal and funds to drag-out the legal battle that will ensue until long after Mr. Armstrong has cycled off to whatever fate awaits him in the Tour de Heaven rather than be a man, admit what he did, and get on with it)
... but that aside ....
The men's circuit goes 50 laps (or 60km) and the eventual winner was Ken Hanson; the ladies circuit goes 30 laps (or 36km) and the winner was Loren Rowney.
What's amazing is standing right at the barriers as the peloton flashes by and realizing the tremendous wind you're feeling is being created by them and their speed.
2) the peloton is lead by a white Lotus; 3) they're off!
4) the leaders roll in close; 5) view's better down here than up there
6) riding down Water Street's cobblestones; 7) the finish line and podium
8) here you'll get a sense of just how fast these guys are moving
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