The challenge: two friends visiting Vancouver, one in June, one in August. One staying two nights with me in Yaletown. One here for a conference and staying at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle downtown hotel on West Hastings Street.
Both wanted to get a feel for what downtown living is like in Vancouver. Both had two days to experience the city. And I wanted to show them that Vancouver has some of the best dining, anywhere. What to do?
The possibilities were so many I had to set some parameters for myself, taking into account their special interests. Both were into fitness and yoga; one into the fine arts, one more of a foodie. The focus was to be on places that we could walk to, but I also wanted to to show them the new Canada Line underground, and take a ride across to Granville Island on one of the two ferry services, the rainbow coloured Aquabus ferries, and the dark blue False Creek Ferries, that ply the waters of False Creek.
Well I have heard of terms like anti-matter and anti-gravity but I confess that I had not heard of anti-shoes until I walked into a store looking for sandals to replace the ones that kept giving me blisters. Ballroom dancing is really hard on my feet, especially since I mostly wear quite high heels, so I am always interested in finding out more about different brands. Julie, my massage therapist - who looks like an angel but finds every pain spot like a devil - suggested that my biomechanical problems - tight IT bands and tight every other muscle, would be better served if I got good flat shoes for walking. I was on a search for SAS sandals and thanks to my computer, found a store on Granville Stret, downtown, that carries them.
One of my "to-dos" on retirement was to learn a new language. I have managed to acquire a smattering of Italian and a little more Spanish - though it will take a lot more than a beginner course at UBC Robson Square, visits to Mexico and my "Spanish in Ten Minutes A Day" to get me over my reluctance to try out my new vocabulary. But even more than being able to count to hundred in Spanish, new words that have entered the vocabulary of my mother tongue - computer-speak - have begun to assume a major importance in my life.
In the last three years I have retired from one professional career, moved from a family home into a downtown condo, taken up ballroom dancing as a seriously fulltime hobby and embarked on a seriously fulltime new career; namely writing for ReviewFromTheHouse and trying to develop a career in entertainment journalism. In the "old days" when you moved into a new community and took a new job, you just made new friends. Now to build a new life and a new career, it appears that you must develop Social Networks, Business Networks, Facebook communities, Twitter followers, join Xing and Zoom and LinkedIN.
So as an adventuresome individual with a curious mind, I am exploring these various networking options, and will be reporting shortly on my progress. You can find me on Facebook and Twitter but I am not very good at keeping up to the minute with either. It is really difficult to write when you have to tweet all day.
In the mean time I encourage you to check out the interview with Canadian playwright, Emil Sher, author among many things, of the thought provoking and heart rending play, Mourning Dove, that was produced by Pacific Theatre last year.
This is the index of postings to my Travelblogue that documents my ballroom dancing-focused West Coast cruise in the Sapphire Princess from Los Angeles, California to Vancouver, British Columbia. I traveled with a group of ballroom dance enthusiasts led by Wendy from Dancers at Sea. With three hours of dancing every night,a dance workshop, excellent food on board and excursions to wine country en route, it was the perfect trip for a gourmet food and wine-loving , ballroom dance addicted, travel writer.
The nature of blogs results in the latest posting appearing first on screen, so that later events appear first. This Travelblogue index lists the postings in chronological order from pre-embarkation to the termination of the trip, as a guide to your reading.
Sadly it's time to call it a day and go back to the reality of every day life on land where I can't dance for three hours every night. At least not unless I find an equally enthusiastic dance partner!
I was up very early to watch as the Sapphire Princess passed under the Lion's Gate bridge to enter the Cruise ship treminal at the port of Vancouver. I had elected the disembarkation option of walking off the ship carrying my luggage as that was listed as the first group of passengers to disembark. I was a little bt concerned that it would be awkward to drag my heavy suitcase off the ship and through the terminal but I figured if I could travel to Europe, Asia and South Africa with it I should be able to handle a gangway.
So we had to assemble in the Santa Fe dining room with our luggage by 7:20.
Attracted by the music, on the way home from lunch at Oru, we wandered up Granville Street towards West Georgia. 
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