Meanderings: More Pictures along the way - April 24th, Vancouver, British Columbia

Today is Thursday, April 24th and we are off to see the city of Vancouver. We have bought tickets for "The Vancouver Trolley" which is good for two days. We can get on and off as frequently as we like at any of their 24 stops.

The first stop after we swing by all the hotels to pick people up is Stanley Park. This is a view looking across the bay to the city.

They have a large display of Totem Poles created by the First Nations people (Native Americans).

Below is each totem with the plaque that describes each who created each one and what it represents.

Next through Stanley Park was an interesting view of Lions Gate Bridge. The road goes right over the entrance to the bridge so the driver stopped so we could get a picture.

A more traditional view of the bridge.

There are a lot of trees down in the park as a result of a major storm two years ago. In one of the snapped off trees is an eagles nest. The picture on the left shows the tree with the nest and one of the eagles perched on the top branch. The picture on the right is a blowup of the eagle.

I think we spent the most time in Chinatown, specifically in the Sun Yat Sen gardens at teh Chinese Cultural Center.

Just before entering the gardens, they have a circle in the pavement with each of the symbols of their years. I got a picture of the snake and was going to get the others on the way our but we left a different way.

Entrance to the public side of the garden. The circle with the images of the animals is just in front of the statue of Sun Yat Sen.

Diane in front of the pond of jade water, with the split hallway of the private part of the garden in the background.

The China Maple Hall (that is what the sign with the Chinese characters in the upper center says). This is where our guided tour began.

Looking across the water from the Moon Door.

The China Maple Hall for the courtyard outside.

The pagoda or Ting.

There are a lot of these rocks in the garden. This one struck me as looking a little like George Washington. I told this to Diane when we first got there and then the tour guide told us that many visitors from the US tell him that it looks like George Washington.

The following show two of the designs of the floor in the garden. The one on the left is from the feminine side of the garden with the curved, round edges. The one of the right is from the masculine side with the square and sharper edges.

At the entrance to Chinatown are arches that were built in 1986 for the Expo that was held in Vancouver. They are to welcome the visitors to Chinatown.

This is a picture of the smallest building. Notice that the front of the building is very narrow, only about 6 feet. In fact, that is the building. The part behind that narrow front section is actually a separate building.