Tag Archive | British Columbia

Long Last Day of Vacation in the Pacific Northwest

Mon, July 11, 2016: Vancouver

            Our last day of vacation dawned somewhat drizzly—but this sort of weather is common in Vancouver. Wait ten minutes and the sun pops out—which it did. We had to check out of our room at 9. 30 am and so we hurried with our showers and finished our packing with the idea of stashing our bags back at Margaret’s to which we adjourned for another grand breakfast.

I had a couple of errands to run right after breakfast and Margaret was obliging enough to take us around to the shops to get them done. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch and we were quite delighted to feast on the marvelous leftovers from last night’s bistro dinner which we had carried home in doggie bags. As might be expected, they tasted even better the next day.

Lunch done, Margaret suggested we watch Amal, a very interesting off-beat film made with Canadian-Indian collaboration starring Naseeruddin Shah and Seema Biswas as well as a new British actor of whom I have not heard, Rupinder Singh. The film was heartwarming and thought-provoking and led to a nice post-viewing discussion. It was also a very relaxed way to finish up our hectic vacation, so we were grateful for the quiet time.

It was time then for us to get to the airport for our red eye flight back home. Margaret once again stepped in to offer us a ride and an hour later, we were checking in for the first leg of our Alaskan Airlines flight to Seattle. There we raced off to Wolfgang Puck Express for another Pizza (the Mushroom Special—just as delicious as the meat-laden one with which I had started my vacation) and then we made our connecting flight from Seattle to New York. We traveled first class but despite the extra leg room, we were unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours.

We arrived in New York’s Kennedy airport at 7.00 am from where we quite easily used the Airtrain to get to Budget from where we picked up the rented car that got us home to Connecticut. It was annoyingly long as we fought traffic all the way home and took more than two hours for what is usually a one hour journey. Still, we had a great homecoming and a lovely reunion with my brother and his family who had a Welcome Home poster on the door waiting for us. Although we’d had another one of our top vacations, it was great to be back home in our own bed and baths again and to savor the joy of a home that we truly love.

Thanks for following me on this stretch of my travels. It is always a pleasure to have you by my side as I explore the world and see it through eager eyes. Until I gallivant away again, I wish you happy journeying. May the road rise up to meet you!

 

Surveying Surrey–in British Columbia, Canada

Sunday, July 10, 2016: Surrey:

We awoke and breakfasted at Margaret’s. Her unit was just a three minute walk away and it was a sheer pleasure to pass by the homes of the folks in Chelsea Gardens which is superbly landscaped and truly a dream environment for the retired. Llew and I kept thinking that we would not mind buying a place there ourselves! Margaret had a fabulous Continental brekkie ready for us: cereal with milk, English muffins and French croissants with butter, jam, mango juice and coffee. It was fit for a prince and we ate well.

We then bid her goodbye and called a cab to take us to the home of our friends Louella and Kevin (parents of the bridegroom) so that we could have some private time with them—because apart from wishing them briefly at the wedding, we had really not interacted with them at all. They were very obliging indeed in having us over and we really did spend a delightful morning in their beautiful home and garden which we were visiting for the first time. The Euro UEFA16 finals match was on between France and Portugal and most folks had congregated in the family room to watch it. Llew spent a while taking in the excitement in front of the telly while Louella gave me a tour of the gardens pointing out beautifully established trees and newly planted ones The garden was a riot of lovely color and with perfect temperatures outside, it was truly a pleasure to sit there and enjoy the ambience of it all.

About two hours later, we called another cab to take us back to Margaret’s at Chelsea Gardens and it was not long before she drove us to Apna Chaat House for a really unique lunch: Indian chaat which is basically street food served all over the country. We ordered an enormous portion of bhel puri and Punjabi Mix which was dahi, sev, batata and bhel puti all mixed together. The portions were huge so that with kulfi falooda that finished our meal, we had ourselves a royal repast—and a most unusual one for Llew and me who do not have many Indian eateries where we live to indulge our nostalgic teeth!

Back home with Margaret, we adjourned to our room for another shut eye—we realize that we have lost out on a great deal of sleep, thanks to early morning risings to whale watch and late evenings out at the Piano Bar. Still, we are not complaining. There will be time enough for rent when we get home.

Margaret called us back to her place for a drink before dinner to which she was treating us—at Tasty Bistro in Surrey. I had a beer, Llew had red wine, Margaret had a rum and coke and then it was time to drive off to one of the best Indian meals I have ever eaten. We ordered Chilli Paneer, Kadai Chicken and Fish Curry over rice with garlic naans and we had a Kulfi for dessert. This meal was truly different from anything we had ever eaten plus we had the pleasure of seeing Margaret’s son Glen and his girlfriend Ann who made super company. Overall, it was truly a good evening and a really fun time for us.

It was about 10. 30 pm when we got to bed after yet another lovely day in the company of friends of whom we are very fond.

Until tomorrow…