Backyard VacationMom and I had a mini-vacation the weekend of February 2. My employer, IBM, gets special rates at certain hotels around the world and we decided to take advantage of the discount offered at the Four Seasons in Vancouver.
We travelled with our overnight bags on Skytrain's Expo Line Friday afternoon (I had the day off). We shopped, swam, read, and ate at restaurants for two fun-filled days. We went to a movie on Saturday afternoon (Babel with Kate Blanchette and Brad Pitt) and to the Vancouver Art Gallery on Sunday morning.
The Gallery is currently showing an exhibit by Fred Herzog, a Vancouverite who immigrated from Germany in 1952. Fred has over 80,000 colour photos of Vancouver -- from 1952 onwards. There are 180 pictures on display and what I found amazing was that many of the prints were produced on a colour inkjet printer. If you get a chance, I recommend dropping by the art gallery, if only for an hour. (Admission on Tuesday evenings is by donation.)
Our brush-with-fame story is a relatively weak one: We ate breakfast at the same restaurant "Sting" had eaten dinner at the night before. "Bacchus" is an upscale restaurant that provided a warm and friendly setting for a mother and her daughter. We sat in easy chairs near a roaring (albeit gas) fireplace and read Saturday's Vancouver Sun. We dined on scrambled eggs and crisp bacon. Delicious.
On Saturday night, after dinner at Red Robins on Robson Street, Mom and I returned to the hotel for a swim in the indoor/outdoor pool on the 4th floor. Rain was falling on the pool when we ventured out past the hard plastic flaps that separated the indoor area of the pool from the outdoor area. We were the only 2 people using the pool and it was really quite lovely. So was the hot tub that followed, and the shower and sauna. We slept well that night.
A vacation in one's own backyard can be good for the soul. Not only does it remove you from the every-day routine, it's also a neat opportunity to experience a city through tourist's eyes.
Our brush-with-fame story is a relatively weak one: We ate breakfast at the same restaurant "Sting" had eaten dinner at the night before. "Bacchus" is an upscale restaurant that provided a warm and friendly setting for a mother and her daughter. We sat in easy chairs near a roaring (albeit gas) fireplace and read Saturday's Vancouver Sun. We dined on scrambled eggs and crisp bacon. Delicious.
On Saturday night, after dinner at Red Robins on Robson Street, Mom and I returned to the hotel for a swim in the indoor/outdoor pool on the 4th floor. Rain was falling on the pool when we ventured out past the hard plastic flaps that separated the indoor area of the pool from the outdoor area. We were the only 2 people using the pool and it was really quite lovely. So was the hot tub that followed, and the shower and sauna. We slept well that night.
A vacation in one's own backyard can be good for the soul. Not only does it remove you from the every-day routine, it's also a neat opportunity to experience a city through tourist's eyes.
1 comment:
People should read this.
Post a Comment