 Because we woke up to another gorgeous day, we decided to drive up to Grouse Mountain to see what we could learn about it and take in the view. There are actually three ski areas in and around Vancouver, this being one, that we want to explore for possible use this winter. The place was teeming with people and in order to see much of anything we would have to take a very crowded cable car up to the summit. The thought of packing into a large enclosed container today was not appealing to us so we drove back down into downtown Vancouver, leaving it for another day. I did manage to get a good picture of the city from the road, back down the mountain though as you can see. We parked on Robson Street, the main shopping area and walked; window shopping and taking in the sights. There are all the obligatory stores; Calvin Klein, MAC, Aldo, Levi, Nike, Armani, GAP as well as dozens of others where someone with endless supplies of money could really have a blast, however not having those resources, we were content to simply walk. It was great just to see the cars and people as well as enjoy the architecture and skyline. That is one thing we have really noticed here in Vancouver is the beautiful architecture displayed throughout the city. Its uniqueness is so conducive to the ambience of the city and it seems to have been well thought out beforehand. No matter where you look here, there are pockets of gorgeous skyscrapers intermingled with a real variety of other, "pretty", shorter buildings and parkland.
The other thing we find most interesting here is how people drive. British Columbia is definitely a much more relaxed province and the evidence is in the driving styles of its citizens. For instance on Highway 1, a major thoroughfare, which winds throughout the city and the speed limit varies between 70 to 90 km , there is an HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane in places to "reward" car poolers during rush hour and facilitate their ability to get to their destination faster. Well, drivers here use it regardless of the time of day and despite their speed so that even if they are driving below the speed limit and there is little traffic in the other lanes, they jump way over into the far left HOV lane and dawdle along just because they have a passenger! No one seems to be in a hurry, aggressive drivers are few and far between and it just seems more laid back here. Even the cabbies just go with the flow. It definitely requires an attitude adjustment on my part after being used to driving in Toronto and the GTA where passive drivers get nowhere fast. I have to learn to slow down, make allowances for bad driving and be patient. It's all part of the changes we are really enjoying and becoming accustomed to and part of the reason we chose this lifestyle. Stress is a proven, leading contributor to an early grave and perhaps that is why during a recent study it was discovered that the average lifespan is greater in BC than Ontario. Something to think about!
|
