Our last adventures...

Playland, Robson St., Gastown and Burnaby Village Museum

Yesterday we had a full day with our group of the camp. We went to Playland, an amusement park, in the morning and part of the afternoon, chilled out a bit at Stanley Park, had some yummy burgers at a nearby restaurant and then headed to shopping at Robson Street (somewhat like our Oscar Freire and Jardins). The park was good fun and the kids enjoyed quite a few rides and stayed with another friend they ran into from Clube Paineiras.At Stanley they played "truco" while I lay on the grass just dozing off a bit. It was another beautiful day in Vancouver and some very hot sun. Our dinner was delicious! The original burger with French fries and juice. At Robson Street, kids were given some boundaries but they could go out on their own with their buddies, and so they went. More shopping and more gifts... I'm impressed with how much they worry about getting things for those they love and cherish; I hope you all appreciate this hard work they've put into finding you the right present.
Today was a day for sightseeing and some great spots! We first headed downtown to Gastown, which is a tall building from which you can have a great view of the city. It turns out it's the coolest street ever! Designer stores of clothes, furniture, lighting, you name it. Besides, there are all these bistro-type restaurants with their tables out on the sidewalk, and many trendy people. It was quite a surprise, as the boys were not all that excited about visiting this place. In the end, everyone loved it!
In the afternoon, we rushed to Burnaby Village Museum, which is like a live museum with a small village preserved from the beginning of the 1900s. It's amazing! It looks like the studio of a movie set in that time. The houses are perfect with all the furniture and everything inside. There is a commercial area as well, with a general store, pharmacy, bakery and so on. The interesting part is that the people who take care of each space are dressed accordingly and will tell you about the history of that part of the village. I wish we'd had more time to spend there, because we arrived 30 minutes before their closing time, so we had to make our visit really fast.
Tomorrow is our last day and we'll be going to Granville Island and Science World. Who knows what's in store for us? We'll do our best to take in all we can in these last moments of such a wonderful trip. Get ready because we're coming home!!

Shopping and Capilano

Shopping spree and Capilano Bridge

Yesterday was the so awaited day of shopping and we started out at a very far outlet mall called Queensborough Landing. Guess where we got started? The king of bargains from electronics to food: Wal-Mart! I don't need to mention we spent a good time in there and were a bit late in our program for the day - another huge mall and bowling at night. As we explored the other great shops around, we got more and more into the spirit of buying and making great deals! End of story, we stayed there until about 4:00 pm. In sequence, we headed to Metrotown, one of the biggest malls in Canada. By this time, our arms were practically dropping with so many shopping bags, so Dani and I found a fantastic offer for suitcases and bought one each. We put everybody's purchases in the huge bags and off we went to enjoy the big shopping center. On the way back, we were so tired and excited we missed our stop and got off before our destination. That delayed our already late return and we were back after 10:00 pm. Nevertheless, everyone happy with their new things.
Today we did some more sightseeing and this time it was Capilano Bridge. It is a suspension bridge that was built some time at the end of the 19th century and it's quite long, and very impressive if you consider the time when it was constructed. It's today part of a beautiful park which has tried to preserve both the incredible nature that already existed in the area, and also spread the history of these explorers who developed this land (Scottish, natives and Italians). Besides the bridge, there are some smaller versions of bridges on the tree tops that go all around, and some other paths circling the park.
After Capilano, we had to go back downtown anyway, so we stopped at a mall, had lunch and why not, shopped a bit more. Can you believe they still want more time for spending?
Tomorrow we'll join the big group for Playland, an amusement park, and Robson Street (shopping area, somewhat like the Oscar Freire region) for shopping.
Our trip is coming to an end soon, so we need to get as much as possible from these last precious moments. Weather has been heavenly with sunny days and blue skies! Hope it continues like that until Sunday...

Last day in Whistler and arrival at SFU

Here are pictures of our last day in Whistler, including a Hip Hop Dance show at the Village and our glamorous Hollywood Disco. Check it out!
Also, you'll find the first pictures of our arrival at SFU and our pleasant ride through Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. Enjoy!