BY CLAY LARROY
It
doesn't matter if you take a trip across the state line or the border, being
far from home can be exciting and also a bit stressful. When considering
traveling, it is important to think of the best mode of travel. Traveling by car can offer many more
sights and opportunities for side trips. Traveling by train can offer a chance
to relax and get some work done if they wanted. Planes can cover ground fast
but don't allow much movement and one cannot get off the plane in flight. Each
mode of travel has its own advantages and disadvantages to be considered. When you want to
plan a vacation contact me!
About Vancouver
Shimmering skyscrapers and colorful heritage homes, culturally
diverse neighborhoods crammed with indie stores, cool eateries and
nanobreweries, kayaking on the ocean and skiing in the mountains: this is
Vancouver.
It's no wonder the
successful host of the 2010 Winter Olympics features near the top of the
world's most livable cities surveys, with its meld of stylish 21st-century
architecture, regenerated industrial districts and laid-back beachside neighborhoods.
Look down any street downtown and there's a strong chance you'll catch a
glimpse of the North Shore Mountains, the sea or both.
The West End is
chock-a-block full of juice bars and coffee shops, with colorful Davie Street
home to a large gay community. In revitalized Yaletown, designer boutiques and
trendy restaurants fill former warehouses, with diners spilling onto busy
patios in summer. Historic Gastown and the adjacent Downtown Eastside are
undergoing a stratospheric gentrification, with new condos, restaurants and
high-end shops taking over decrepit or demolished buildings, sometimes
controversially; hipsters and homeless rub shoulders in this rapidly evolving
district.
Wave after wave of new
immigrants have given Vancouver its cosmopolitan feel - a whopping 40% of its
population is foreign-born, meaning you can uncover an eclectic array of
cuisines and cultures. In particular, arrivals from mainland China mean one in
five of the city's residents is now of Chinese origin. Chinatown is jammed with
noodle houses, bakeries, medicine shops and a lively market. Meanwhile,
multicultural Commercial Drive is lined with Italian cafés and delis, and
vibrant Punjabi Market is a bustling South Asian hub.
Vancouverites live for the
outdoors. Year-round, hordes of joggers, in-line skaters and cyclists jostle
for space on the seawall while hard-core runners pound up the lung-bustingly
steep Grouse Grind trail. There are countless opportunities for rafting,
mountain biking, camping and skiing; sports junkies can ski one of three local
mountains and sail in English Bay on the same day.
Visitor attractions are
world class too, whether you choose to edge your way round the vertigo-inducing
Cliffwalk at Capilano Bridge Suspension Park, eye up ethereal jellyfish at the
Vancouver Aquarium or take to the skies in a simulated helicopter ride at
Flyover Canada.
Locals are known for being
environmentally conscious. Vancouver has the smallest per capita carbon
footprint of any North American city. Greenpeace was founded here, the public
transit system is excellent and well used, bike routes are being created and
improved, and the population embraces the culture of growing and buying
locally. Through its Greenest City plan, Vancouver aims to become the greenest city
in the world by 2020 with an ambitious vision for sustainability, zero waste
and zero carbon.
All this does come at a
cost to locals however: Vancouver is the most expensive place in Canada to buy
a house. In 2013, the penthouse unit at the Fairmont Pacific Rim sold for a
record C$25 million. Even the average detached house sells for over C$1
million. Fortunately, if you're here on holiday, you can forget about spending
your life savings on a pied-à-terre and instead check in to one of Vancouver's
many super-chic hotels.
REFERENCE SITES:
http://www.travelresearchonline.com
Canada is one of the most impressive countries in the world. -Barack Obama
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