more vancouver

i put up a flickr set of our pics from vancouver. we took a bunch of urban shots the previous year, so these are more focused on our trip to lynn canyon and horseshoe bay north of the city, and the pride parade. this was our first time outside the city and it really confirmed what a spectacular setting the city is in. i can't think of another north american city that comes close to being this surrounded by spectacular views. while san francisco has its stunning bay overlooks, and seattle has distant mt. rainier, only vancouver has both a scenic harbor and big mountains just to the north of the city, along with the vast, lush stanley park adjacent to downtown.

some of the highlights of the trip were the incredible weather, the delicious meals, (including a terrific malaysian lunch at tropika on the main commercial drag, robson st., our last day there), and a fantastic fireworks competition. for the fireworks show, held over the harbor, it seems the entire densely-built downtown walks the streets down to the water's edge to watch. watching the crowd reminded me of how young and vibrant the population is there. vancouver seems to have the highest percentage of young folks (many of them the children of immigrants from hong kong) in any city i've been in recently.

the pride parade was fun too. it was interesting to see the large number of families in attendance, enjoying the parade for its entertainment value. in san diego, it seems most families are scared of the gays. since it was pride week, the clubs were packed - nothing like standing in line for a club at 2 in the morning. fortunately, our hotel, 910 meridian on beach avenue was quite close to davie street, the main drag for the gay clubs. i highly recommend this hotel for its location close to davie, english bay, and its apartment-like feel and residential neighborhood location.

just up hornby st. from the hotel was the appleton gallery with lots of great native art. i picked up a cool hummingbird print done in native art style. i was blown away by the quality and creativity of some of the work. plus there's racks full of more pieces in the back.

much of the time we just spent walking around the city, or i hung out at the coffee shop, reading. it was very relaxing to have such a low key weekend with friends in a very hospitable city. while we'll probably do toronto and montreal instead next year, i'll still be thinking of vancouver and how much i love this city.

van: the perfect city

just back from vancouver but i wanted to post some pictures before heading to bed. i'll follow up with details of the trip when time permits, but it really feels like a city of the future with its high density, diverse ethnicity and progressive views. it's always a humbling visit for a san diegan urbanist, but in the summer time, when its spectacular setting combines with the best weather on the continent, it truly becomes the perfect city.