CANADA
VANCOUVER
Clean, orderly, sophisticated, outdoorsy, cultured and beautiful – it’s obvious why this city is always in those lists of the world’s best places to live. It’s surrounded by water, forest and mountains, so outdoor activities abound, such as Zodiac boat tours from
Sewell’s Marina and the Sea to Sky Gondola. Recommend your clients cycle to Stanley
Park to see the gardens; landmarks such as Lost Lagoon, Siwash Rock, Beaver Lake and Prospect Point; monuments, sculptures and plaques, and wildlife.
It takes about 10 minutes from the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, which is perfectly placed
ROCKY MOUNTAINEER’S GOLDLEAF SERVICE: Crossing the Fraser River; a Pacific salmon dish; and the all-window upper deck
for a first-time visitor keen to see a lot with ease. The best shopping is in this downtown area, but your clients will also want to head to Yaletown, once home to warehouses but now a touch chichi, and Gastown, famed for its cobble streets. Your clients can get free bike hire with an Experience Pass, which also offers complimentary access to many attractions, including FlyOver Canada and Vancouver Art Gallery.
Many consider Vancouver to be the food capital of Canada, with a number of decent and varied restaurants in easy reach. Recent additions to the scene include Ask
It’s such good food they even wrote a book about it: Eat Play Love. And as an aside, GoldLeaf also means free-flowing drinks. Our trip began in Vancouver, with luggage disappearing at the hotel to reappear later in the next hotel. Walking along the platform alongside the giant train (the longest ever had a record-breaking 41 cars) is somehow an occasion in itself. Perhaps because the worry about whether there’ll be a seat for you is just a distant memory of London Victoria station.
It’s not long before the wheels start rolling (at an average speed of 30mph) and the window addiction begins as the giant snake heads east. Thanks to a team of hybrid helpers who not only know how to make a mean drink but also know pretty well everything about the route, the history, the wildlife (where to spot a 100-year-old osprey nest, for example), I knew what I was looking at. We moved alongside the Fraser River, with the Mount Baker volcano in the distance across the US border.
for Luigi, Cinara, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, and The Fat Badger. And Granville Island market is a must-visit to see vendors selling cheeses, pasta, meats and more.
aspire september 2015 — 57
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