It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway – 3am starts are not my friend. But thanks to finishing packing the day before so I didn’t have to engage any brain cells this morning, we got out and to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

Pearson airport is pretty huuuge, but before too long we were through security and found out way to the lounge. It was nice enough, and so big.

These big curved departure screens were a bit a fun novelty.

They didn’t have a ton of food and drink on offer, but they had coffee so all the rest doesn’t matter so much. Breakfast was a nice bagel with cream cheese.

We hung around there waiting for the flight, and before too long it was time to do a bit more walking to the gate and get on the plane.

Before toooo long it was time for Brekky – and what a breakfast, glad they woke me up for it 🙂

For a while there it felt like they just kept serving food and food and food. Before breakfast there was a little packet of mixed nuts. After breakfast there was a tray full of snacks, and who am I to say no to a Kit Kat. After all that, it was time to get right back to sleep. I was asleep or at least half asleep for the whole 5 hours, but on the plus side by the time the flight was done I was feeling at least half refreshed after the early start.

Vancouver airport had some interesting architecture going on – it’s hard to say but there was a waterfall flowing down that stone wall.

One nice thing with this place was that our accommodation booking came with a free airport transfer, so we gave Uber a rest for once and took the transfer as provided, which worked a treat, we were whisked away from the airport and right to our accommodation.

One thing I noticed on the way was the way the country has been galvanised by recent events happening to the south. Some petrol stations has big “This station is Canadian owned and operated” signs, for example.

Vancouver has lots of trolleybuses – electric buses with big electricity-catching poles kinda like trams. As we were being driven into town, there was one going the other way with “SORRY” the only thing written on its front message/destination board thing. I’m thinking maybe that’s about as Canadian as things get 🙂 It’s also a whole lot greener than Toronto – heaps more trees and shrubs and gardens to be seen, which is nice.

It wasn’t easy to tell but there were a few subtle clues here and there about which part of Vancouver we were staying in.

Due to the difference in time zones, our flight left at 7am, arrived at 8am, and took about 5 hours. We knew it was going to be a long day ahead, and the check-in time for the accommodation wasn’t til 4am. Happily though they stored our luggage while we went for a bit of a wander around, had a drinks break, saw some nice flowers, lots of Canada Geese, and had a very nice wander along the ‘beach’ of English Bay.

After a delicious “Donair Kebab” for lunch we went back to the hotel lobby to just sit down and do nothing for a bit. There was a whole Australian tour group that had arrived the same day, so we had a bit of a chat with some of the people waiting for a room.

Fortunately we didn’t have to wait til 4pm, as around 2pm our room was ready. Certainly can’t complain about the views!

Having dumped our bags in the room we set out again the get important supplies (i.e. snacks). There ware a few supermarkets nearby and the range of stuff is pretty staggering. Lots of pre-packaged meals, and a very smart ‘oops I forgot I am having people over’ product of a pre-made charcuterie board, including the board! Also some ridiculously large sandwiches that i think could feed a whole family.

Unrelated to anything else, I also found a building that I thought made a nice photo. I also found a few hills which were less-than-nice to have to walk up.

For dinner, we didn’t have to go far – this area is lined with restaurants all up and down the street. We settled on a Japanese restuarant and has some tasty sushi rolls among other things, including some tempura avocado.

So it’s 9pm now but if we were still on Toronto time it’d be midnight, which could help explain why I’m feeling worn out. Time for an early night I think, let’s see what Vancouver has to offer tomorrow. (Sorry if there are tons of mistakes because I’m tired and haven’t bothered to proofread!)