Vancouver!

[sinnatious]

I hadn't actually really planned to go to Vancouver at all. But I needed out of San Francisco, and had secured accommodation with a friend later in the week, and was left with an awkward gap of a few days. So at the last minute I wound up booking a flight to Vancouver

Comments

[teekoness]

The Skytrain predates the Canada line by a good twenty years. It was named because the Southern portion is up on large pillars causing it to go through the sky. To add to the confusion, locals often use Skytrain to refer to the Canada Line. 1/2 times when someone asks for directions to the Skytrain, they mean the Canada Line.

Capalino is a massive rip off. Unfortunately it's normally that busy. I tend to direct people to Lynn Valley's suspension bridge instead. (It's free.)

Vancouver has the nickname of "Brollywood" due to the need of brollys (umbrellas) and the tendency for tv/films to film here. I've lost track of the number of times I've been watching something and I find myself noticing the various landmarks from home. Apparently, whenever I visit the downtown library I get teleported to another planet.

Eep, I can literally see my workplace in the pics. So weird thinking of my home as a tourist attraction. We don't have much in the way of cool old buildings or major tourist attractions. One thing they I will confirm is that the real star of Vancouver is nature.

[sinnatious]

Ah I see, thanks for the explanation of the Skytrain fracas. I felt very betrayed at the time, haha.

I agree that Capilano is a huge rip off. Still enjoyed it, but that other bridge sounds like it would have been a much better idea! Ah well, that's what you get for poor research/planning.

Haha that's a cool nickname! I'm going to keep an eye out for Vancouver landmarks in films from here on in. What movie did your library appear in?

I think you sell Vancouver short! I consider it similar to Melbourne in that there might be not lots of traditional tourist attractions per se, but the city as a whole is just a brilliant place to hang out. Lots of good food and just really pleasant to walk around in, weather permitting. And I only really got to check out the downtown area - there might have been even more gems hidden a little further out!

[teekoness]

The library tends to show up on tv more than movies. It was in Battlestar Galactica and Caprica. The Vancouver rainforest features a lot in Stargate. The Skytrain doubles a fair bit for other city's subway. Shows like Supernatural, X-Files, Dead Like Me and various others have filmed here. Generally they avoid using landmarks because they are too obvious.

True Vancouver is a nice city. Gastown and Granville Island are pretty nice. I guess people don't think about their home as a tourist attraction.

[sinnatious]

Ah I see! Maybe that explains why some areas seemed inexplicably familiar. That's pretty cool.

Heh when you live there it's all just ordinary, you take it for granted. Even the obvious things sometimes - my hometown had a turtle rookery that was apparently quite famous but we always forgot about it when we'd have friends or family visit. For a spot of fun you should look up familiar places on wikitravel to see how tourists will likely view it!