The Greater Vancouver area is divided into several connected but separate cities, including Richmond, Surrey, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and of course Vancouver itself. It's easy to get around in most of the lower mainland, but downtown Vancouver is (almost) physically separated from most of the rest, and (actually) from the other Vancouvers (West and North). Getting in and out of downtown can be a huge pain, too: on several roads, no left turns are allowed, and one of the most obvious ways to get to the mountainous northern suburbs of Vancouver is a 3-lane bridge (with variations allowed on which direction travels in each lane), the Lion's Gate bridge.
Eventually (sometimes very eventually), you make it up there:
Somewhat less difficult to get to, but much, much more difficult to park in, is an enclosed, Disney World-style village of shops and restaurants called Granville Island. It's fairly unremarkable, so far as tourist traps go, except for two things:
- Very large seagulls.
I guess the ocean brand gulls grow much bigger than I'm used to, because there were some toddlers seeing eye-to-eye with these birds of refuse.
- A BALD EAGLE HUNTING THESE SEAGULLS
I shit you not. As Lisa and I were driving off of Granville Island, we saw a real, honest to God bald eagle swooping around beside the bridge, chasing after seagulls whose thoughts might have sounded something like this: "Is that a bald eagle? I thought they were endangered! What a majestic bird. And it's coming right tow-"
I've been struck by just how well-equipped Vancouver is for cyclists. Everywhere we go, I see bicycle paths integrated into the road, instructions for bicyclists on construction or special circumstances that affect them -- it's really quite amazing. People in Toronto would kill for the amount of support bicyclists get here in Van. The hippy lobby really has done a number on this town!
Finally, a sign:
