So public transit, where I come from is a four letter word. Out here in Chilliwack we can only dream that one day we will have any form of transit taking us to Abbotsford never mind down-town Vancouver (Greyhound excluded of course – put does that fall under the category of transit?). In the past couple of years I’ve had the privilege of taking advantage of the public transit systems in both Toronto and New York and frankly I became a transit junkie. For a whole week in each of those cities I managed to make my way and see a million sites with no car! I came out of the whole experience with “I Would Walk 500 Hundred Miles for You” playing in my head!
Day 1 of The Vancouver 7 Day Express
It’s 7:30 a.m., I’ve skidaddled from Chilliwack to Mission, Port Haney, Maple Ridge,Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Port Moody and arrived at the Waterfront Station on West Cordoba St.in the middle of down town Vancouver. Where to start? Well I did think a little ahead and managed to order online the Entertainment Guide Book forVancouver. Bonus: Order online now (valid for only 4 more months this year) I was able to pick up the $40 book for only $5 – delivery included! It has a wealth of ideas not to mention kajillion coupons. Some are 2 for 1 which can be a problem if you’re travelling solo – but if you ask many places will give you a 50% discount instead – if not just grab someone else in line and offer them a 2/1 discount where they only have to pay half! I did that at the Stanley Park Aquarium and managed to save not only myself but my new BFF $12 on her admission fee!
So where was I? Oh yes, standing out front of the Waterfront Station:
The main station building is kind of cool – it was designed in a neoclassical style (I know that from the Art History Course I took this Spring 
with a row of white ionic columns both out front and inside interior hall with paintings depicting various Canadian landscape scenes.
Stepping outside and heading East (to your left its about a 5 minute walk to Vancouver’s historic Gastown. The area looks much sweeter than it did a while back when it was starting to look a little neglected. Based on the amount of tourists strolling on those lovely red cobblestones – it certainly seems to be a popular destination with the Gastown Steam Clock probably the highlight. Every twenty minutes or so – there’s a street person (I hope that’s a political correct term to use?) that starts a countdown calling ye ol’ tourists to come on down and watch the clock blow it’s top. I know this because one of my favourite coffee spots is the Gastown Starbucks which is located just across the street from it. Basically the clock is made to look like 19 th Century antique – and it’s powered by a steam engine. Click on the link to see in detail how it operates!
The rest of the street is filled with touristy stores, a couple of nice restaurants, the original and inexpensive Spaghetti Factory and Al Forno’s pizzeria are both good choices – and if you’re craving East Indian – Sitar is one of my favs!
A short walk away is the famous Gassy Jack’s Statue. John “Gassy Jack” Deighton sits in a shaded area shadowed by a large maple tree. It is here, under the ancestor of the Maple tree that stands there today where the City of Vancouver was conceived, on a barrel of Whiskey and a brave man who knew how to be enterprising. This curious yet interesting tale definitely draws a crowd to the very site that began the city that surrounds them.
Next stop Chinatown!
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The Vancouver Seven Day Express The Vancouver Seven Day Express - Vancouver's Terracotta Warriors Vancouver Seven Day Express - Chinatown Speechless Sunday - Do You See What I See?
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