Category: vancouver

After a walk yesterday looking for apartments for lease or rent, there are none, I rewarded myself ordering a gin and tonic on the outside patio of a restaurant near my place. Two guys came in and took the table next to mine, and the last one available, introduced themselves Cameron and Rob and said we hope you don’t mind but we have some friends showing up with their kids and we would like to spill over onto your table. No problem I said I only came in for a quick drink. The waitress appeared with my G&T and the guys insisted on putting it on their tab and after some conversation asked me to join them for the evening. I thanked them and declined, those days are gone. Their friends arrived, one family in a car waiting to turn right at a red light next to the patio and much to the surprise of me and the 20 folks sitting on the patio, they allowed their small dog to jump out of the car window, run across the sidewalk, under the railing and into the patio where it was grabbed up by one of my new found friends.  

On my way out I stopped and found the waitress dealing with my table and paid for the first drinks of my two new acquaintances. Recognizing her accent I inquired which part of Cork are you from, to which she answered with a big grin I am from Limerick but I am going to university in Cork but how did you know.

I asked and those 8 young men sitting opposite us at the big table across from the staff cash registers, inhaling burgers and drinking large beers they are also Irish. A one eyed person could have picked them out of a police line up as being Irish, plus it was Happy Hour. She looked even more surprised so I tapped my card on her reader, gave her a smile and left. I only have a trace of my old Northern Irish accent and it would have been impossible for her to recognize it is a noisy restaurant.   

That or a variation of it is how I spend my days wandering around Kitsilano.  

PS A cynical ? friend says the Amazon educational announcement for their staff is a long term, tax deductible PR success and you will not get much in the way of degree for the amounts announced.  

On the campus I saw a group of cheering children, with parents protesting climate change.

But very much in favor of pizza.

Walking back to the bus terminal I saw this etched into a bench on the campus.

On the way this young man asked me to take his picture using his mobile phone and I said sure. He asked I be certain to get all of him including his sneakers in the picture which I did. I asked if I could take his picture and it was his turn to say sure. His name is Okot, he is from South Sudan and is studying creative writing at UBC.

After getting my ticket I took an electric bus, Vancouver has had electric buses since 1948, back down 4th Avenue.

You can take the metro to Richmond the predominantly Chinese suburb of Vancouver where the food court in the mall offers mainly food from different areas of China.

There is old 60s art on the back of a building.

And an ad for marijuana, it’s legal here at the front of the building.

You find there is someone with a sense of humor more warped than your own. Moral: A skunk drinking vodka and wearing sun glasses should not try to cross 4th Avenue at night wearing sunglasses.

A small dogs waits patiently at the door of the fish shop on 4th Avenue.

If you applaud and laugh with people going to a party on 4th Avenue they will try to persuade you to come with them. I told them I wasn’t dressed for it – but next time.

Walking along the beach you can meet Julia who is creating a memorial bench, the other benches are weather stained brown, for her husband who died 4 years ago. To express my appreciation for her making Vancouver a nicer place I went back the next day with a small gift of some chocolates.

For me this photo sums it up