Tricia’s Travelogue

Friday morning we set off (uphill) in search of a few random items that Someone failed to pack. After several uphill blocks, I was ready for Charlie to leave me behind, sitting at a shady fountain, but managed to persevere "one more block."  Then we walked several more blocks to find a downtown shopping area where we enjoyed browsing in stores we don't see at home.   By then, it was time for lunch, so we headed back downhill toward our hotel. We had lunch in the Fairmont across the street from out hotel, where we'd enjoyed lunch back in October.  I had the ultimate comfort food, tomato soup and grilled cheese, but this version was truly the best one yet.  Charlie enjoyed his seafood chowder and one of my sandwiches. After lunch we rested for a while before heading out for our 3:00 p.m. food tour in the Gastown area of old Vancouver.  We met our guide, Bronson, who proved to be a delightful 30-something from five hours north of Vancouver, and we were the onl...

Yesterday morning we flew from Houston to Vancouver (a four-hour, 20-minute flight), where we will spend a few days before boarding Serenade of the Seas on Sunday.  The flight was smooth and uneventful, thank goodness.  We had the first row of first class, so plenty of legroom.  Our pre-ordered cheese plates were excellent!   The pilot told us that smoke from the Canadian forest fires would prevent us from seeing much, but as we approached Vancouver, I was able to take a couple of photos of the Cascades and Mount Adams. Mount Adams The Cascade Mountains Once we landed, we had a long walk to Passport Control, which was very efficient, thanks to dozens of kiosks. At baggage claim, though, we waited for over 45 minutes for our bags.  After those finally arrived, we exited to find our driver waiting for us. It was a 40-minute drive to the Pan-Pacific Hotel. Since we'd been to Vancouver last fall (before the transpacific cruise), things looked familiar as we dro...