The ship approached the city, and I could already see the skyscrapers. Sitting on the 14th floor buffet deck, with huge glass all around, it as surreal to move slowly into the dock. I stayed still as the ship moved from isolated nature into a big city hub. After all this nature it was a bit of a surprise. As if I expected another small Alaskan town, with wooden buildings and gift shops. Instead Glass and steal stood proud. Buildings were Beautiful, with lots of interesting architecture. The buildings were not too crowded and had their share of greenery.
We stayed in the downtown area, felt like being back to NY, just much cleaner and with extra green. People were nicely dressed, girls were feminine with style, not anything too avanguard, but with care. I think I’ve been too used to the casual bay area, to flip flops and shorts. I was pleased for the change, enjoying some fashion in the air, a combination of the US with Europe.
We walked to Stanley Park, the central park of Vancouver, and enjoyed the park surrounded by water, views of the green “golden gate wanna be” bridge and a totem park. I seem to have a fascination with the totem poles. I love woodwork, the animal figures, the tall and thin structures, and wings. Something about their simplicity, a sense of power carved out of a tree trunk.
English bay was a long stretch of beach with some grassy areas along it, people getting some sun, chatting, having a picnic, or like us, just people watching. Still comparing to NY, I thought of Battery Park on the weekend, just that this was a Monday! I guess it was sunny enough that it was a reason to declare holiday. We loved the sun, but in reality it was 21c, and that was one of the warmest days in the year. If only there were more of these days a year, I would really consider moving up there.
We strolled down Robson Street, and felt a bit like in the Soho. OK, I do prefer the Soho in NY by far, but it was a good wash for the eyes. Stores, boutiques and people excited about their shopping. Bought nothing, but enjoyed being the observer.
Vancouver is filled with great restaurants, and in the eve we were delighted to dine at a fusion tapas place. The tapas were like a mini buffet; I still got a variety of tastes all served to the table, in fun trio platters.
The next day we went to Granville. We took it easy, acted like locals, shopped at the market, ate over the water, wondered the shops and streets, and listened to some of the street performers. We saw the classic Chinese garden in China town; the garden allows me to surrender. I love the style. No flowers, lots of rocks, trees, like ginkgo, pine and maple, and architecture that blend in as part of the grand scheme. Not huge, but everything has its place, all blends into one harmony of yin and yang.
Chine town is always a place I like to pass through, if only to get a good meal. Some sticky rice cakes filled with black bean paste arrive steaming out of the bamboo steamers, round and sturdy. A great rice noodle soup with veggies and a real dark thick soy sauce, such a difference from the Japanese version. The flavor is rich and consistency is syrupy.
We stroll down Gastown, along the cobble stone streets, shops are cool, and it’s where the town started, probably not as cool back then, but truly lovely these days; flowers over old lampposts, a steam clock, and tourists. What can you do? We all want to find the quaint spots of town. The view from the look out tower down the road was nice, getting an eagle view of the city towards sunset, to complete the day. The next day we visited the Vancouver Gallery and saw some local art as well as some modern art, bringing me back the itch to create.
Vancouver is a fantastic city, and the people seemed to be very kind and nice. Worth the visit!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Princess Alaska Cruise down the Inside Passage
Alaska,
Our first encounter with Alaska was the sweet Taxi driver that picked us up at the Anchorage airport. He did not have much hair on his head, but did have facial hair, a beard. Soon we would notice that many people around here have facial hair, well, the men, that is, especially mustaches. He gave us lots of info on where to go. Start with 4th Ave, its like the old town, with some bars, lots of fur shops, some gift shops, and other stores that sold huge boots and super thick socks, a weird feeling of being in a cold wild west.
This trip was with my Mom Sara, her relatively new boyfriend, Shalom that I met for the first time and Lauren. Hmmm, my Mom with another man, also the first time for me.
We walked through the Weekend market, where more furs and animal skins appeared. The claws of the wolf, reaching the floor, its teeth showing, eyes in place, just the meat missing. I do hope someone enjoyed the other parts as well. The antlers of other animals turned into sculptures, mostly eagle like, some more fur coats and lots of Alaska T shirts and caps, along side the famous Ulu knives, crescent in shape with a wooden handle. Very alluring, some even came with specific cutting boards. We did buy one later on in Ketchikan, but had to give it away as I completely forgot it was in my carry on.” I will dispose of it for you at no charge” said the security man at the airport, making sure I fell like he is doing me a favor…
Food, well, that is always one of the first things I explore, it does reveal much about the place, people and culture. Fish and seafood was for sure what I was looking for.
At the markets there were lots of deep fried fish, with some fried onion rings and some more deep fried fish, and a few fish chowders as well. Meet was abundant as well, including Elk and Reindeer. We found a restaurant that seemed busy and ordered. A big crab salad with hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers and actual real mixed greens, a big portion of Salmon with some boiled potatoes. Food was good, felt fresh. I did not seem to wonder if the crab was imitation or not. I had a feeling I will not suffer from lack of omega 3 on this trip. Around us we saw lots and lots of crab legs, huge plates. Even the few that ordered steaks got steaks that were a much larger size that I have seen before. No doubt that animals are the main sustenance in this part of the world.
The museum of Anchorage was a delight. Beautifully done, with lots of info on how the natives lived and live here. Too bad it takes so long to realize how much the new comers did to destroy and change the locals as they took over the land, and finally to try and restore some of the original cultural beauty that was here. The resilience of the people sure kept amazing me, how they managed to live here for so many generations, under such extreme weather conditions, before all the new technologies arrived. So much of survival was dependent on community. The more technology advanced the more communities, and personal encounters seem to vanish. Communities turn into online friendships. Now that I have over 800 friends on facebook, does it mean that I have a great community life? Or is my community, my computer and myself? Will my community help me when needed, can I ask for a hug?
After the museum we took the coach to Whittier where the grand ship awaited. It seemed huge to me, even though I was told it’s not the biggest one out there; 2300 passengers and 800 crew members. We pass a passport control and then on to the ship. 14 or even 16 levels if you count the upper decks. Maybe more down below that as a guest I had no access too. Elevators, dining rooms, casino, shops, theater, bars…can you tell I was shocked? That it is my first time?
We sailed off (with no sails) in the afternoon.
The cruise was a delight. No cell phones, I checked email only once, constant food, a little gym, grand amusement, which was pretty good with lots of fun dancers and music, movies, sushi and desert buffets, tons of Alaskan food, (fish that is), and all this is before we even got off the ship to explore.
Maybe because this was an Alaskan cruise I loved it so much. The crowd was mostly older, a few teens, but not many children or people in their twenties. That led to a relative quiet journey. Lots of time to sit in front of the floor to ceiling glass right over the ocean, walks around the open deck on the 7th level, and even shows that involved a bit more music from the 60-80’s…(hmm, starting to feel old). Don’t get me wrong, I was totally up for a super amazing dance party with some house and trance, and I love people in their twenties, but it was still nice to be on a ship where it was not all about getting drunk, and that the atmosphere was pretty calm and smooth.
The cruise was going through the Inside Passage, a passage of water that goes between the main land and huge long islands, absolutely magnificent. Even when we were just on our way to places, we passed along the vast ocean, nice mountains, and lots of snowy peaks, glaciers, sunsets, and forests.
We stopped at Glacier Bay, to see huge bluish glaciers pretty close, learned about their formation and saw maps of what it was like before. Global warming is real! We continued to Skagway, a little town that inflates dramatically in the summer. We got to understand the White Pass, learn a lot about the gold rush days (that were actually very short lived in this area), see a black bear (cinnamon really), and amazing nature. Water falls, streams that change their color according to the source of the water (glacier or spring water), a one sided hanging bridge to allow the other side to move as the earth moves, and watch the picturesque train ride along the mountain, seemingly a toy train.
Juneau, the capital was a much bigger town, but still small enough to wonder around by foot. We went on a whale watching tour after my mom insisted, “Shalom really wants to see whales”. It is true; we did not see that many whales or adventurous wild life from the huge boat. Mostly we saw it when taking excursions. We were fortunate enough to enjoy seeing these magnificent creatures in the wild.
In Ketchikan we wondered though the famous creek road, saw lots of totem poles, and enjoyed seeing enormous amounts of Salmons everywhere (swimming that is).
Really I want to mention again the food on the boat, as it was such a big part of the cruise. The buffet was so abundant and so rich with options that it’s just hard to return to normal life. The formal dining room was a 5 star level, amazing food, but of course less options. I love giving options in my yoga class and love options in my food.
We concluded our trip in Vancouver, and I’ll save that for my next entry.
Hope you enjoyed the cruise and please join us again on the Island princess where the food is awesome and the dancers a delight.
Our first encounter with Alaska was the sweet Taxi driver that picked us up at the Anchorage airport. He did not have much hair on his head, but did have facial hair, a beard. Soon we would notice that many people around here have facial hair, well, the men, that is, especially mustaches. He gave us lots of info on where to go. Start with 4th Ave, its like the old town, with some bars, lots of fur shops, some gift shops, and other stores that sold huge boots and super thick socks, a weird feeling of being in a cold wild west.
This trip was with my Mom Sara, her relatively new boyfriend, Shalom that I met for the first time and Lauren. Hmmm, my Mom with another man, also the first time for me.
We walked through the Weekend market, where more furs and animal skins appeared. The claws of the wolf, reaching the floor, its teeth showing, eyes in place, just the meat missing. I do hope someone enjoyed the other parts as well. The antlers of other animals turned into sculptures, mostly eagle like, some more fur coats and lots of Alaska T shirts and caps, along side the famous Ulu knives, crescent in shape with a wooden handle. Very alluring, some even came with specific cutting boards. We did buy one later on in Ketchikan, but had to give it away as I completely forgot it was in my carry on.” I will dispose of it for you at no charge” said the security man at the airport, making sure I fell like he is doing me a favor…
Food, well, that is always one of the first things I explore, it does reveal much about the place, people and culture. Fish and seafood was for sure what I was looking for.
At the markets there were lots of deep fried fish, with some fried onion rings and some more deep fried fish, and a few fish chowders as well. Meet was abundant as well, including Elk and Reindeer. We found a restaurant that seemed busy and ordered. A big crab salad with hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers and actual real mixed greens, a big portion of Salmon with some boiled potatoes. Food was good, felt fresh. I did not seem to wonder if the crab was imitation or not. I had a feeling I will not suffer from lack of omega 3 on this trip. Around us we saw lots and lots of crab legs, huge plates. Even the few that ordered steaks got steaks that were a much larger size that I have seen before. No doubt that animals are the main sustenance in this part of the world.
The museum of Anchorage was a delight. Beautifully done, with lots of info on how the natives lived and live here. Too bad it takes so long to realize how much the new comers did to destroy and change the locals as they took over the land, and finally to try and restore some of the original cultural beauty that was here. The resilience of the people sure kept amazing me, how they managed to live here for so many generations, under such extreme weather conditions, before all the new technologies arrived. So much of survival was dependent on community. The more technology advanced the more communities, and personal encounters seem to vanish. Communities turn into online friendships. Now that I have over 800 friends on facebook, does it mean that I have a great community life? Or is my community, my computer and myself? Will my community help me when needed, can I ask for a hug?
After the museum we took the coach to Whittier where the grand ship awaited. It seemed huge to me, even though I was told it’s not the biggest one out there; 2300 passengers and 800 crew members. We pass a passport control and then on to the ship. 14 or even 16 levels if you count the upper decks. Maybe more down below that as a guest I had no access too. Elevators, dining rooms, casino, shops, theater, bars…can you tell I was shocked? That it is my first time?
We sailed off (with no sails) in the afternoon.
The cruise was a delight. No cell phones, I checked email only once, constant food, a little gym, grand amusement, which was pretty good with lots of fun dancers and music, movies, sushi and desert buffets, tons of Alaskan food, (fish that is), and all this is before we even got off the ship to explore.
Maybe because this was an Alaskan cruise I loved it so much. The crowd was mostly older, a few teens, but not many children or people in their twenties. That led to a relative quiet journey. Lots of time to sit in front of the floor to ceiling glass right over the ocean, walks around the open deck on the 7th level, and even shows that involved a bit more music from the 60-80’s…(hmm, starting to feel old). Don’t get me wrong, I was totally up for a super amazing dance party with some house and trance, and I love people in their twenties, but it was still nice to be on a ship where it was not all about getting drunk, and that the atmosphere was pretty calm and smooth.
The cruise was going through the Inside Passage, a passage of water that goes between the main land and huge long islands, absolutely magnificent. Even when we were just on our way to places, we passed along the vast ocean, nice mountains, and lots of snowy peaks, glaciers, sunsets, and forests.
We stopped at Glacier Bay, to see huge bluish glaciers pretty close, learned about their formation and saw maps of what it was like before. Global warming is real! We continued to Skagway, a little town that inflates dramatically in the summer. We got to understand the White Pass, learn a lot about the gold rush days (that were actually very short lived in this area), see a black bear (cinnamon really), and amazing nature. Water falls, streams that change their color according to the source of the water (glacier or spring water), a one sided hanging bridge to allow the other side to move as the earth moves, and watch the picturesque train ride along the mountain, seemingly a toy train.
Juneau, the capital was a much bigger town, but still small enough to wonder around by foot. We went on a whale watching tour after my mom insisted, “Shalom really wants to see whales”. It is true; we did not see that many whales or adventurous wild life from the huge boat. Mostly we saw it when taking excursions. We were fortunate enough to enjoy seeing these magnificent creatures in the wild.
In Ketchikan we wondered though the famous creek road, saw lots of totem poles, and enjoyed seeing enormous amounts of Salmons everywhere (swimming that is).
Really I want to mention again the food on the boat, as it was such a big part of the cruise. The buffet was so abundant and so rich with options that it’s just hard to return to normal life. The formal dining room was a 5 star level, amazing food, but of course less options. I love giving options in my yoga class and love options in my food.
We concluded our trip in Vancouver, and I’ll save that for my next entry.
Hope you enjoyed the cruise and please join us again on the Island princess where the food is awesome and the dancers a delight.
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