Cycling around Vancouver and Scootering through Victoria

After my Cuba trip, I set my sights on Canada. I lived in Calgary, and I've made the 3-hour drive up to Edmonton. I've also visited family in Red Deer, Lacombe, and some other random places in Alberta. But it was time to check out more of this amazing country. I've been to Vancouver a few times, but honestly, I don't remember much from those visits. This time, I wanted it to be unforgettable. Plus, I had some extra motivation because a former roommate moved there and kept going on about all the cool stuff we could do in Vancouver. So, I decided I'd head out there at the end of summer 2018.

Vancouver's just a quick hour and a half flight from Calgary, so the trip was totally worth it, and crashing at a friend's place made it even better. Alright, British Columbia, show me what you've got!

I arrived in Vancouver first and here are the places I visited:

1. Gastown neighborhood - a neat and trendy area that is dubbed 'Vancouver's first downtown core'. With loads of room to walk, a great selection of restaurants and cocktail bars, and its unique whistling Steam Clock, it has a great vibe and it is the perfect place to socialize at night.

2. Stanley Park - this park is massive, and if you want to explore this park in its entirety, I highly recommend renting a bicycle. I biked along the south west edge of the park, and with some luck, it was a nice sunny day. Along the trail, there are so many picturesque spots to take photos of the surrounding waters. Breath-taking backdrops every couple of kilometers.

3. Granville Island - my friend and I also accessed this attraction via bike. We crossed the bridge, and headed straight to the market for some fresh fruit. We purchased peaches and nectarines, and headed to the bench just outside the market facing the ocean.

4. Tacofino - great place for a quick bite if you are craving tacos, chips and guacamole or if you are feeling hungry and want a jam-packed burrito or quesadilla.

   
   

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A few days later, my friend and I hopped on a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. These ferries are huge and sturdy, making for a pretty nice ride from the Tsawwassen terminal in Vancouver to the Swartz Bay terminal in Victoria. The trip took about an hour and a half, so I passed the time by reading my book in the cabin, taking walks to the front, sides, and back of the boat to stretch my legs. I also enjoyed checking out the views of the surrounding land from the top deck as the ferry cruised through the islands.

Victoria was such an awesome city. It had that small-town vibe but with tons of places to check out and enjoy. Before we got off the ferry, we did some quick research on what to see. My list included the coast (any part of it, really), the University of Victoria (I was dreaming of maybe studying at a university on an island back then), and Beacon Hill Park (one of the top parks in Victoria). Since we didn’t have a car when we arrived, we looked into renting something. Knowing that Victoria is a pretty small city (we found out it only takes about 30 minutes to get around), we decided to rent a scooter for the day. I've ridden scooters before in Calgary and when I was a teenager in Indonesia, so I was all set to take charge of this ride.

Here are the places and sites we checked out in Victoria:

1. Downtown Victoria, where we spotted old buildings, fancy hotels, statues, and stopped for some snacks and drinks.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
   
   

2. Beacon Hill Park (parked our scooter and wondered around admiring the flower gardens, and the beautiful natural features).

   

   
   
   

3. University of Victoria (we scooted around campus and checked out their sports fields).

   
   

Feels like forever since that trip. Ready to go back? Definitely! I'm so thankful for everything I saw and did. While traveling, I've noticed the difference between chilling out, focusing on a few things, and getting a good experience versus rushing around, ticking off boxes, and cramming in as much as possible. What do you think? Is it better to dive into your surroundings and not feel pressured to do a ton just because you're somewhere new? Or is it more rewarding to pack your days with activities just to say you've been there, done that? It's definitely a hot topic among travel enthusiasts.