Through My Lens: December
I’m always glad to see the back side of November. I know, I know ― it’s a miserable month everywhere in Canada, not just here, but for some reason, out of all the places in Canada (and elsewhere) I’ve wintered, I find Vancouver’s Novembers the hardest to get through. Which is pretty ironic given the Lower Mainland’s nickname: “The Tropics of Canada.”
As soon as I flip the calendar over on the morning of December 1st (metaphorically speaking, of course, since I don’t actually have a wall calendar anymore), I feel so much better. December is when I shake off my November blues, and realize that the city has put on its glad rags when I wasn’t looking. Even the Scroogiest of Scrooges cannot help but feel a little festive.
Here’s an example: Robson Square. I’ve loved its light displays since my first ever office job in downtown Vancouver as a fresh university grad, when I would wander through the square after dark on my way to catch the bus home. The ice rink ― shut down for many years ― was refurbished for the 2010 Olympics, and has been open every winter since.
Through My Lens: Vancouver in Fall
Before the calendar flips over to December, and I have to finally, reluctantly, grudgingly admit that it really is winter, here’s one last photo showing Vancouver’s fall colours at their best. I took this photo from Burrard Bridge in mid-October 2011.
Through My Lens: Biomed Building
Since September, I’ve been spending most of my days at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It’s a beautiful campus located on the Point Grey peninsula of the west side of Vancouver. This is a photo I took in early October of the Biomedical Research Centre I walk by each day on my way from the bus loop to my office. I liked the contrast between the blue sky and the red ivy.
The Sylvia Hotel
The Sylvia Hotel is a small beachside hotel in Vancouver’s English Bay with a long and storied history. These photos were taken when the hotel is at its most colourful —in the fall, after the ivy has turned red.
The hotel has some other colour as well: Errol Flynn was a frequent guest and there is an urban legend that he died here. Team Russia, including (it was rumoured) the Russian hockey team, stayed at the Sylvia during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
The Sylvia Hotel has overlooked English Bay since 1912. Originally an apartment building, it was converted to an apartment hotel during the 1930s and to a full-service hotel after World War II. Its name is taken from the daughter of the building’s original owner. Until 1958, the Sylvia was the tallest building in Vancouver’s West End — hard to imagine today as the eight-storey building is dwarfed by the condo towers that surround it.
Two of my home exchangers came to Vancouver for family weddings and found the Sylvia most convenient for other members of their families to stay. It’s a lovely place to go for breakfast — I recommend the Beachside Benny — and the hotel is also the setting of two children’s books about a resident cat named Mister Got to Go.
Through My Lens: Canada Place
A friend was in town this week on business, so I met up with him one evening after work. We went for drinks and something to eat and a long catch-up at a bar near his hotel that overlooks Canada Place.
Afterwards, we took some photos. Here’s mine.
VIFF
Travelling to another country doesn’t always require that you get on a plane. One of the best alternatives to travelling (for me) is hanging out at an international film festival.
Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is held every October and is one of the largest film festivals in North America. This year, I had a choice of 380 films from 75 countries. Which meant that this month, for the price of a movie ticket, I saw Serbia, Bosnia, South Africa, France, and the Czech Republic.
How cool is that?
Through My Lens: September
As much as I love to travel, I always love to be home again. Especially after a longer time away.
I was gone for six weeks this time, what with my house-sitting stint in Burnaby and my mad dash around the Eastern Time Zone. Now I’m back in my own space, in my own neighbourhood, enjoying all that I love about work and play in Vancouver.
Both this year and last, Vancouver endured a miserably cold, wet spring, but a fabulously long and hot summer. The highs this past week were an incredible 27°Celsius ― that’s warm for Vancouver at any time of the summer, but almost ten degrees above normal for late September. And so, everyone is spending as much time outdoors as possible; the beaches, the parks, and the seawall are filled with people enjoying the last gasp of summer. We all know it won’t last much longer.
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park
In the heart of Chinatown is one of Vancouver’s hidden gems: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park. The garden was named the 2011 Best City Garden by National Geographic. The park (where these photos were taken) is an extension of the garden and has no admission fee. If you’re in the vicinity, be sure to stop in. It’s a peaceful break from the noise and bustle of Chinatown.
London 2012
All eyes are once again on London as it’s the opening day of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Having lived in a host city, I can say from personal experience that the Olympic spirit is alive and well when you’re on the ground in the thick of it. When you’re watching the Olympics from afar, however, that spirit can be overshadowed by the politics and the commercialism and the media looking for a story. My hope is that Londoners will enjoy the party as much as I did here in Vancouver in 2010.
This time, not being in the thick of it, I will spend the next few weeks cheering for the athletes who proudly represent Canada, enjoying what glimpses of London I’ll see on my TV, and brushing up on my world geography. (Quick, everyone: Where’ s Comoros?)
Olympic Rings in Burrard Inlet, February 2010
Through My Lens: Summer Sunset
Back in December, I posted a photo of a winter sunset over English Bay. At that time of year, the sun sets behind Point Grey ― that’s the land mass at the far left in this photo.
This time of year, the sun sets directly northwest of Stanley Park, behind Bowen Island. I took this photo about a week ago, one evening shortly before 9 p.m.
There and Back Again 