Apart from a small incident in security, (read all about it in Poppy’s blog - www.poppy.shingler.co.uk ) and an hour delay, the journey went well. The pilot put his foot down so after a flight of nine hours we started our descent into Vancouver. The approach to the city was quite breathtaking with the snow capped mountains towering over the city below. I’m afraid that the photo probably doesn’t do it justice.
Canadian immigration went much smoother than our experience in Miami last year and we were all safely in the minibus and on our way to the hotel.
The Pan Pacific hotel is located on the waterfront of Vancouver with fantastic views across to the mountains, in fact probably the best views of any hotel that we have ever stayed in.
We decided that the first excursion of the holiday should be a visit to Vancouver Aquarium and despite it being a cloudy morning we risked the 2km walk from the hotel to Stanley Park. The rain held off and I got a lovely photograph of all my girls.
The walk took us along the sea wall before entering Stanley Park, a large rural oasis in the middle of the city. The Vancouver aquarium is one of the best in the World and in addition to dolphins, sea lions and of course many different fish, there is a facility for petting sting rays. All the children loved this …..
….although Nahla seemed to prefer this frog and car.
All the walking began to make everybody hungry so lunch was next on the agenda. I was disappointed that fish and chips were not on the menu but the children tucked into chicken goujons, mac ’n’ cheese and toasted sandwiches. The fresh air obviously giving them a good appetite.
This afternnoon the youngsters decided to try out the hotel’s swimming pool, although it is outdoors it is heated. After a short dip they all decamped to the jacuzzi for even warmer experience.
