After a week of happy library days attempting to get slightly ahead of the game I spent last weekend refining my tour guide skills as my Godparents came to visit. The weather forecasts had been less than optimistic with rain predicted for all four days they were here. Luckily the meteorologists were proved wrong (how unusual!) and we had two days of sunny blue skies which makes a huge difference to the impression people get of Vancouver. Grey skies and rain detract massively from the city’s appeal and there is a limited range of things you can do inside. On a clear day the mountains, beaches, forests and parks are all at their finest and it’s very easy to see why Vancouver’s province, British Columbia, labels itself the “best place on earth.” After a rainy tour of the UBC campus on the Friday (concrete, concrete and more concrete plus a few trees) our plans for Saturday involved taking a sea plane to Victoria, the capital of BC on Vancouver Island. The views flying over downtown Vancouver, alongside the mountains and over the ocean were stunning. When we landed in Victoria we were met by our chauffer and guide for the day - living the high life for the weekend definitely a nice change from the student days I am so accustomed to!
Victoria turned out to be quite different from Vancouver with a distinctly British feel to some of its architecture. The Butchart Gardens, a short drive out of the city, were beautiful, even in the absence of spring which has yet to reach these parts. I can just see my Mum (a big fan of all the growing green things) setting up camp when we go there in a couple of week’s time, getting her to leave may be a struggle! At lunchtime we stopped in a restaurant by the beach and re-fuelled with fish and chips before continuing our tour of the area with a trip to millionaire’s row, the queen’s residence in BC and some random castle I don’t remember the name of....
Back in Vancouver, Sunday morning marked the end of my rugby season and my last game for UBC. Unfortunately it was rather shorter than I would have liked as 15 minutes in I was on the received end of a double tackle which lead to one part of my leg moving while the other did not and my knee bending in ways it shouldn’t do in the middle. According to the experts I’ve damaged the cartilage round my knee cap which is why it is now fat, bruised and refusing to do any running/stair climbing/long distance walking for a while. In the afternoon I hobbled my way in to downtown to meet the visitors before heading out to the Capilano suspension bridge. The bridge is one of Vancouver’s main tourist attractions – the whole thing is slightly disconcerting as you make the 136 metre crossing, wobbling, 70 metres above the river.
With my Godparents having returned safely to the UK it’s not long until my parents and sister arrive in Vancouver which is really exciting as I haven’t seen them since August....
