Came across this lone girl while bicycle riding around Stanley Park. It was low tide, so you could…read moresee the entire boulder that she is on. And you could also walk/jump amongst the rocks to get a closer look. I find her gaze to be quiet and contemplative. I find the setting serene and peaceful. Nice :)

This was one of those landmarks in Stanley park that either you completely understand and love or…read more... like me, admire for the given moment and then look for the next. I'm not saying it's not worth your time but this is a 'your mileage may vary' situation. I've seen the Little Mermaid in the Copenhagen harbour. It's crowded as it's surrounded by a never ending mountain of tourists. Girl in a Wetsuit is MUCH further out from the shoreline and you could miss it if you're not paying attention. When I was here.. she was alone and if anything, I would say the sombre weather was mimicked in her too. I could have approached her since it was low tide and she perched on top of her rock. For me, the only interesting tidbit I found about her was a simple plaque on the side of the path. It mentioned she was placed in 1972 and her meaning is Vancouver's dependence on the water. A simple sculpture with a simple meaning. Perhaps it'll resonate with you but to me, her solitude was one of longing and poise. Perhaps that's Vancouver but I dont see it quite represent the current Vancouver.

I always thought Lafarge Lake lights would be the same every year! But I was wrong there's some new…read morestuff they add each time ^^ so it was refreshing to see, it's a cute date idea for free to do with friends or luved ones

My last review had me proclaiming that this was goodbye to Yelp ... as far as 2023 was concerned…read more But I lied - here I am with one final review for this year. Hee! I was very impressed with the holiday display yesterday at the annual - Lights at Lafarge. The display surrounds the entire Lafarge Lake here in Coquitlam, not far from Coquitlam Centre Mall. Kudos to the team that put it all together! The light show was a step up from previous years & this is why I waited to do this review. An easy gentle walk around the lake, budget your time for 1 hour. Dress warm but mind you last night was a Global Warming climate comfortable experience at 10°C/50F with light rain & no breeze. I've experienced this same walk before & it had been quite chilly & heavy with rain. Lucked out too last night cause it was not crowded at all. I've tagged this event for Christmas next year. Rather than ohhhhhhhh & ahhhhhhh you with words, have a look at my pix! Cheers! Oh & did I mention that this was a completely free event? Free as in absolutely free! Come on down! Yahoooooo! Happy new year to all you Yelpies! Bear with me while I catch up with LIKES on your pages. I need to hire a Yelp assistant. Ha! SYOY-24!

My city's Public Arts Commission has started doing this and love seeing while I'm driving. I've…read moreseen a couple, but I find it hard to snap a photo unless I'm the passenger or at a stop light for a quick photo. I was able to get one recently of the one about a mile from my house. Love they are doing the Arizona desert theme, and hope to see more around town as they add a pop of color to brighten your day. The world can use more art in public spaces, and love this page to see what other areas have done.

These straight up make life a little happier. Turing an eye…read moresore into a piece of art. Pure genius. I wish they were all painted haha

Installed in 2009, The Drop is a 65 foot tall bright blue sculpture resembling a raindrop, which is…read morevery appropriate for Vancouver, a city known for its rainy weather. It's by the German group Inges Idee, which is composed of four artists, Hans Hemmert, Axel Lieber, Thomas Schmidt, and George Zey. It's located in Coal Harbour beside the Convention Centre at the Bon Voyage Plaza (I had no idea that there was a specific name for the plaza!), where one can watch the cruise ships arrive and depart. [Yelp collections: Public Art]

Oh, how I love this sculpture!…read more It is both whimsical and serious, literal and abstracted, colorful yet depicting water which is known to be clear.... in other words, it presents a dichotomy or two, spanning categories and allegories, and to me, this is what makes this piece successful. It caters to the sensibilities of people who have vastly differing tastes in art: it appeals to people who prefer more literal depictions of subject matters and to those who prefer more modern, contemporary and even more minimalist abstractions. Furthermore, it is well-suited and grounded in its element, paying homage to Vancouver's rainy season(s), its reliance and location by the ocean, and the city's historical dependence on marine industries and water-dependent agricultural industries (not to mention, the human need for water). The site chosen for this piece's installation could not be more perfect: right along the waterfront, across from the "sails" of Canada Place, with the inlet beside it and the glorious Stanley Park forests just east and the mountains just north providing picturesque backdrops. As a humorous aside, whenever I see this tall, slender, blue raindrop, I personally also see a teardrop, as I tend to be sad when the rains come, and the skies are grey and it's so...dreary. So this raindrop can also be interpreted as a teardrop for those of us who have SAD (seasonal affective disorder) lol.

If you haven't been to Barnston Island, you're missing out on an adventure. First, there's the…read morewacky ferry to get over there. It's basically a tugboat with a barge attached that chugs back and forth across the river every ten minutes or so. You can drive, but the ferry has limited capacity for cars (maybe six?), no public parking on the island, and you have to back up off the ferry when you get to Barnston Island. It's better to leave the car in the free lot at the end of 104 Ave in Surrey and walk or take your bike. (The ferry is also free.) Most of the island is private property (lots of "no trespassing" signs), although there is one park at the northwest corner with picnic tables and some marshy beach. A narrow paved road encircles the island, a 10 km route with very little traffic and plenty of scenery. On our summer bike ride, we saw everything from goats to eagles to skydivers, with views of Golden Ears Bridge, the North Shore Mountains and Mt. Baker in the distance. An abandoned home with brambles taking over the doorway was also strangely cool. Barnston Island has a peaceful feeling, inhabited yet abandoned at the same time. One car passed us on the entire ride, and the only other people we saw were fellow cyclists and walkers. There are also no stores on the island, so be sure to bring your own water and provisions. You can say you've been somewhere without really leaving.

The coolest (and still free!) ferry! It's a fun little ride over to the island and only 10 km…read morearound... Very idyllic and restful... Nice for a little bike ride, a walk in the country or just a peaceful drive... I wish there was a legal place to enjoy a picnic beside the river, though.., And it is a smart thing to bring some mosquito repellant because they like to attack fresh blood... Lol

Driving in Vancouver, not Washington [BC Canada]…read more First... Canada uses the metric system (distances, speeds, weights, volumes). Parking garages are called "parkades." There are no freeways in Vancouver!! Gaaaaahh!! Vancouver is a nice city but oh, the traffic! Twice we had to drive through this city. The first time to pick up the rental car before heading up to Whistler (and, of course, to return the car). Read somewhere that winter tires or chains are required to travel the Sea to Sky Highway (aka Highway 99) from October 1 to March 31 so we rented a car for one day and the rental company was located in Downtown Vancouver inside the Pan Pacific Hotel. GPS led us to a bridge which they have closed to through traffic and we had to find another route to get there. Road signage is not the best in Vancouver and plenty of construction going on. Didn't look like we needed the rental when we reached Whistler though. The views on Hwy 99 in West Vancouver was so pretty! The next day we visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge in -- you guessed it -- Vancouver. Once again we encountered so much traffic. It didn't matter what time of day it was because we didn't have to be at the park until 11:00a ¯\_('~')_/¯ We had a nice time at the park though and we recommend visiting that famous suspension bridge. Since you're already in Vancouver I recommend this European bakery if you like chimney cakes, Transylvanian Traditions Bakery on Davie Street. We had bangers and Canadian bacon at OEB Breakfast Co - Ambleside in West Vancouver. It was also pretty cool to see the Vancouver Police Mounted Unit on patrol in the West End side. "Vancouver's traffic was ranked the worst in Canada, again.." Again? That was in 2020. I wonder what it is now. Well, at least now we know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Review #3625

I have nothing but respect and admiration for the City of Vancouver's Parks & Recreation…read moredepartment. As a relatively new resident of this fine city (2 years now), I have to say, the city's green spaces are probably the #1 reason why I moved to this city in the first place. Especially Stanley Park, and the seawall. The parks and seawall are magnificent features of the city and they not only attract tourists but people like myself who are so impressed with the beauty and upkeep of these city features, we choose to move here and make Van our home! I walk the seawall nearly every day (yes, over 10 miles). I am now on a first-name basis with some of the regular park maintenance people. They are the hardest working people around, and the nicest, too. They are fastidious with maintaining the grounds and natural features of miles and miles of grounds. The day after huge events (like the Celebration of Lights, or various 10k/marathons, or major festivals), you'd never know a big event took place, with thousands of people the night before, as the grounds will be immaculate, fences and bleachers taken down, all the trash picked up. It amazes me how fast the city workers clean up and fix grounds immediately after huge events. I see them fixing cracks in the pathways all the time, and retaining the integrity of the stone walls, and painting those lined dividers for the pedestrian-bicycle lanes, and putting up wasp traps and taking them down months later, and spraying for Japanese beetles, and pruning the trees, and mowing the grass in various parks, and cleaning graffiti off structures, and more. They are always busy, beautifying this beautiful city, and I always thank them when I see them in my travels. These people are what make this city so special. Many of these Parks workers and I feel that it's unfortunate that the parks and seawall aren't better monitored by officers who have the authority to enforce the posted by-laws (i.e., no smoking, keeping dogs on leashes, and, especially, bikers staying in their designated lanes). The Parks folks really commiserate with me about these issues. (I chat with them often about this very issue. They feel our pain!). Here are some interesting facts I've learned about Van's P&R dept (taken from the City's website): -the VanPark Board is the only elected body of its kind in Canada. Formed in 1888 as a committee to manage the new Stanley Park, its history is as old as the city's itself -it has exclusive possession, jurisdiction, and control over more than 230 public parks in Vancouver and a large public recreation system of community centres, pools, rinks, fitness centres, golf courses, street trees, marinas, playing fields, and more I want to also send a shout-out to the Park Dept's dispatch center. Did you know you can call 311 if you have a question or concern or problem related to the parks in the City? I've called 311 when I saw someone vandalizing a park bench, and also when I had a question about a promo I heard about for a city recreation pass (there are occasional deals where you can purchase a pass for 10 pool visits but they load your card with 2 or 3 extra visits. Great deal!). The 311 dispatchers have always been helpful and knowledgeable and they're a great resource when needed.

Finn slough is a hidden gem of local flavour. It is a little heritage site that no one seems to…read moreknow about, a tiny fishing village that stands on stilts/ floats over the south arm of the Fraser village, not far from Steveston Village. When I stand on the bridge and look at it, I feel like I'm in a place where time stands still. Once there were dozens of such villages on the banks of the Fraser. Now we're down to this last one. The people who live in Finn Slough live a way of life that is all but forgotten in modern times. Whenever I tour around south Richmond on my scooter, I usually make a stop at Finn Slough to take a quiet moment to ponder. If you go there though, be sure to respect the privacy of those who live there. Stay in the designated public areas.

It's a piece of history in Steveston. It's a memory of what…read moreit used to be like in this town when everyone was a fisherman or you worked in the canneries or related job in the industry. It's character, but not many will venture here. Kinda scary, yes for some, others and adventure. Lori pretty much sums it up pretty good in her review.

Richmond has been my home for awhile now…read more Born in Vancouver, I've lived in both of these cities that are part of Metro Vancouver. Richmond has great restaurants & the food is fresh, tasty & fantastic! "The best Asian food in North America" - according to the New York Times! https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/food-and-drink/best-places-to-eat-2020-richmond-bc-2008070 https://www.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-richmond-bc-canada https://seattle.eater.com/maps/best-chinese-restaurants-richmond-bc-canada-chinatown-dim-sum https://www.visitrichmondbc.com/discover-richmond/golden-village/ A paradise for food lovers is how Richmond has been described when it comes to all things foodie related! Close to downtown Vancouver a 30min drive, 45mins to the border, an hour to the mountains, 40mins to the beaches in Vancouver ... what more could one want!? Easy to drive around town but avoid #3 Road during peak times! Best spot to visit when in Richmond - Steveston Village & Garry Point Park! See my reviews on both! If you love walking or biking, there's the dyke trail that runs the outer perimeter of Richmond which is technically an island. Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is located out here - why isn't it named ... Richmond International Airport!?! That's because Richmond only achieved city status in 1990 & prior to that was mostly considered to be a 'suburb' of Vancouver. In 2010 Richmond Oval hosted speed skating for the Olympics. A very successful Games it was & I was part of it via volunteering. Had a grand time & got some cool swag out of it! The surrounding area has grown tremendously with several residential buildings having sprung up. Fun fact - Canada's first McDonald's opened up here in Richmond on #3 Rd in 1967 - it was just recently totally rebuilt & updated. Way back in the day when I was growing up in Vancouver, we would come to Richmond to rollarskate at the local rink. Sadly it went the way of the Dodo bird. Richmond hosts many events that draw thousands but due to Covid-19 many of those crowd pleaser draws are sadly on hold. Consider a visit to this beautiful city!