As soon as you get off the plane, you are pushed through a tube into the gleaming and airy Vancouver International Airport (YVR, for all you airport code junkies).  Before even reaching immigration, you pass through a hall that is more like a virtual wilderness park complete with trickling streams, faux trees, and recorded sounds of birds and other creatures.  Welcome to Vancouver – one of the most outdoorsy, and, soon-to-be greenest, cities on the planet.

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The phrase “welcome home” really fits the bill at this cozy and friendly B&B.  The West End Guest House is fittingly located in Vancouver’s West End, a mostly residential area in between the glass tower lined downtown and the lush, huge, green Stanley Park.   Lovingly restored and run by Evan and Ron for the last twenty years, this is unequivocally the best B&B I’ve ever stayed in.   Now, granted, I don’t stay in too many, but there was just so much attention to detail here and little touches that won me over as soon as I stepped inside and was warmly greeted like an old friend.   They know how to do it right here and make you feel ‘at home’ from the start.

The house was originally built in 1906 entirely of cedar.   There are interesting bits of history scattered around the house about its and Evan’s family background.

The owner, Evan, says, “It isn’t a museum, but every once in awhile I find out something new about the first occupants, the Edwards Family or something else about early Vancouver.  It is because of this connection with the history of a relatively young city that is most meaningful to me.”

It was also nice to see that each Victorian-inspired room, still has modern touches like iPod players, flat screen TVs, fresh, clean designs, and even a furry stuffed animal to cuddle up to if you get lonely.

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About a year ago I did something I never do. I wrote about a place I hadn’t been yet.  But it was Olympics time and it was in Vancouver.   I got swept up in the excitement and knew I’d go someday.  Now I have. If you want to tour Vancouver, it is a manageable and walkable, green town.  As far as cities go, it’s fairly small.  With a population of about 600,000, it’s about the size of another cool city, Portland.   Vancouver seems like one of the most outdoorsy cities I’ve ever been to – when you have a backdrop of snow-capped mountains on one side and tons of coastline all around, you know it’s a healthy and active place.  But don’t get me wrong, it’s still a city with glass and steel skyscrapers rising high, but interestingly enough 90% of these buildings are residential as I was told by my bike tour guide, Josie.   Seems like a cool place to live and if you think so, I guess there’s room for you too.

For more info on Vancouver and it’s different ‘hoods read my earlier post.

Vancouver. Vancouver. Vancouver. Why is that one of the words that once you say it a few times…it starts to sound really weird? Van-COO-ver.

Okay, so what I am going to write about Vancouver? About the Olympic Games happening there right now? About my wonderful trip there? Nah. You may recall I haven’t been yet as it is on my ‘where next’ list. But since it is so much in the news right now, I figured I’d take this opportunity to get to know the city a little bit more. Researching and learning about any new place always gets me excited to visit and I am hoping to get up there this summer.

Quick Overview:

This Canadian city in the Pacific Northwest routinely tops the Economist’s survey as the “World’s Most Liveable City.”   Each city is given points for these top factors:

• Stability
• Health care
• Culture and environment
• Education
• Infrastructure

Vancouver is a young, vibrant urban center surrounded on three sides by water.  You can go to the beach or ski on the same day as it is surrounded by amazing nature and the natural beauty of the sea and the mountains. Some reasons to go:

Stanley Park: The views, the activities, and the natural wilderness beauty here are quintessential Vancouver.  One of the largest urban parks in the world, Stanley Park is nothing short of magnificent. Wander through the forest, along Burrard Inlet, past cricket fields, rose gardens, and the park’s superlative collection of First Nations totem poles.

The Neighborhoods: Yaletown was the former meatpacking and warehouse district and is now one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Vancouver.  It has been converted to an area of apartment lofts, nightclubs, restaurants, and boutique shops.     The West End is chock full of great cafes, good nightclubs, varied bookshops, and some of the city’s best restaurants. That’s part of what makes it such a sought-after address, but it’s also the little things, like the big, stately tree-lined streets, the mix of high-rise condos and sturdy old Edwardians, and the way that, in the middle of such an urban setting, you now and again stumble on a view of the ocean or the mountains.  Shaughnessy is a great place to drive or bike, especially in the spring when trees and gardens are blossoming. Designed in the 1920s as an enclave for Vancouver’s budding elite, this is the hoity-toity address to have.  It’s worth a look even  if only to see the stately homes and monstrous mansions, many of which are now featured in film shoots or rented by Hollywood movie stars while they’re in town filming.  Besides touristy Chinatown, Richmond is something to experience. Twenty years ago, this area was mostly farmland with a bit of sleepy suburb. Now it’s ‘Asia West,’ an agglomeration of shopping malls geared to the new (read: rich, educated, and successful) Chinese immigrant.  It’s like getting into your car in Vancouver and getting out in Hong Kong.

Granville Island: Locals and visitors love the mini-ferry ride across False Creek to the Granville Island Public Market where you can shop for delicious lunch fixings; it’s brimming with farmers, butchers and fishmongers.

Kitsilano beaches: Follow the coastline road to the University of British Columbia and you’ll travel past a magnificent array of beaches, from grass-edged shores to windswept stretches of sand, to cliff-side coves so private that clothing is optional.

Kayaking into Indian Arm: Vancouver is one of the few cities on the edge of a great wilderness, and one of the best ways to appreciate its splendor is by kayaking on the gorgeous Indian Arm.  Barely 30 minutes from downtown, the fjordic landscape is stunning.

Crossing the Capilano Suspension Bridge: Stretched across a deep forested canyon, high above trees and a rushing river, this pedestrian-only suspension bridge has been daring visitors to look down for more than 100 years. Now you can explore the giant trees, too, on a series of artfully constructed treewalks.

Urban sprawl is kept in check naturally thanks to the city’s geography of surrounding mountains and waters.  So neighborhoods overlap and apartments rise. That seems to heighten the city’s international mix, and not just when the Olympic Games are in town.

What did we ever do before the internet? Well, the same thing we did without VCRs (and now DVRs), mobile phones, and microwaves. We went to the library and looked things up in the encyclopedia and we watched less TV and we called people when we got home. We lived like normal and we were just fine.

And before I had this blog, I still traveled.  Up to now I have been to about 43 of the US States and about 45 countries.  I have decided to post some of these trips here so I can basically have a more complete list of my travels all in one place…and also so people can stop asking why I haven’t gone to Greece or Japan, when in fact I have, it was just B.B. (before blog).

• My First Trip Abroad

In 1996, I met my college friend Katie in Europe for my very first trip abroad.  For 3 weeks, we backpacked from Paris to Rome, Florence, Venice, and Pompeii, to Zermatt and Lucerne in  Switzerland and finished in London. It was quite a whirlwind. I was amazed, awed, scared, anxious, shocked, and simply delighted.  I remember our very first night we had already befriended another traveler (a solo girl from San Diego) and drank a bottle of wine literally on a Parisian rooftop (we climbed out our tiny hotel room window).  It was amazing and exciting and yet I remember feeling scared and homesick. What was I doing? Why was I here? It’s hard to believe now as I look back how far I have come and  all the traveling I have done since that first night when I felt so very far away.

I was definitely out of my comfort zone and not exactly sure what I was in for. But, just like now, I realized I just needed a day to acclimate and then, boom! I fell in love. The streets of Paris amazed me. The history everywhere you looked; the luscious architecture; the cafe life; the fresh breads and pastries. My first European train ride through the French countryside literally reminded me of  “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron.” The animated countryside of rolling green hills dotted with stone farmhouses and cypress trees was right here before me in real life. I couldn’t get over the buildings of ancient Rome – narrow lanes of old buildings and shops, then BAM, you turn a corner and your jaw drops as the huge Pantheon reveals itself. Or you come face-to-face with the Colosseum still standing after nearly 2000 years. It is still mind-boggling to me to this day. I remember seeing Mt. Vesuvius and the ancient city of Pompeii. It was amazing and a much bigger town than I even imagined; shops, homes, and people wiped out in an instant.

Switzerland dazzled me with its perfectly quaint alpine homes decked with flower boxes bursting with hardy, chromatic petunias. I was in love with its efficiency, cleanliness, and perfection – a stark contrast to Italy’s craziness, bustle, and messy passion. I liked a little of both and figured my dream home would be somewhere near Lake Como and the alps of northern Italy, not far from the Switzerland border…the best of both worlds.

London was our final stop and, at the time, the least interesting. Perhaps it was because I was exhausted. Perhaps it was because everyone spoke English and it was like being back home. About ten years later I would be back in London for a month and would come to love it much more and get to know its great neighborhoods and fun, charming people.

After my trip, I made a new life goal – to go abroad somewhere every year during my vacation time.  And I did just that.*

*It didn’t hurt that in the ‘old days’ (read: 1998) of my job at ABC7 in Chicago, we  had this amazing deal with United Airlines for approximately 40% off international fares. Unfortunately, like all good things, it didn’t last. But it allowed me to travel abroad for cheap for the first few years at least. Yay, perks!

• 1998 – Return to Italy with Joe (Siena, Rome, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast)
• 1999 – Germany & France with Susan (Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Munich, Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Strasbourg, Paris)
• 2000 – Ireland with David & Shannon
• 2001 – Europe Trip with Mark – 3 weeks and my first time traveling alone for just half the time  (Barcelona, Nice, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Bolzano, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Prague)
• 2002 – Canada Road Trip with Andy (Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec)
• 2003 – Greece with Andy (Athens, Santorini, Mykonos)
• 2004 – Croatia with Andy & his mom (Zagreb, Split, Brac, Dubrovnik, quick wrong turn into Bosnia)
• 2004 – Cayman Islands with Andy and ABC7 Crew
• 2004 – Mexico for work with ABC7 Crew
• 2005 – Tokyo, Japan with Mark
• 2006 – Montreal, Canada for work with ABC7 Crew
• 2006 -2010    World Tour Begins!   (((inhale)))   Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, Buenos Aires, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Dubai, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Amsterdam, Spain, Sweden, London, Wales, NYC, Chicago, LA, NYC, France, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Stockholm, Paris, NYC, Virginia, Colorado, New Jersey, Chicago, LA, New Jersey, Chicago. ((((exhale))))