Here I am in the Vancouver Public Library. I have a power outlet that my increasingly fussy laptop doesn't give up on. I have a reliable internet connection. I have a comfy chair and nothing but time.
At present, I am staying at the Cambie Hostel, in the middle of Vancouver's Gastown District. I would identify the whole place as a having a kind of touristy skeazyness to it. It reminds me a bit of Camden Town in London. There is a huge variety of people, from foreign tourists of all descriptions, eccentric locals, and a complete set of vagrants and panhandlers. These are the most conversational panhandlers I've ever met, they walk with you a way, give unsolicited directions and advice, then ask for a dollar. Were I not broke, I'd even consider it.
Vancouver has a lot to do, it seems. Museums, ferries, shopping, and restaurants. However, the nature of my visit here requires frugality, so I'm gonna do the research before I start making choices.
Speaking of money, the dollar coins all have ducks on them. Or Loons, I suppose. People here really do refer to them as "Loonies" without a trace of irony. It's a little difficult to not snicker when having to seriously refer to money matters and "counting our loonies."
I'm going to do a bunch of separate posts now, break this down into manageable chunks.
First: The Germans
No comments:
Post a Comment