As much as I love to travel, I realize it has been a little while since I last went somewhere just for the sake of going. Normally I travel for work or to visit a friend. Many times my trips are tied to a Capoeira Batizado (graduation ceremony) or I’m going to attend an event like the World Domination Summit in Portland earlier this year. But this past weekend’s trip was purely based on travel just for the chance to check out someplace new. If you read last Thursday’s post, it was clear that I had no agenda and very few plans for this trip.
Based on the reaction of the passport agents that I spoke to as I entered and exited Canada, I supposed this type of travel is not the norm. Both seemed a bit perplexed by the fact that I was going to a city where I didn’t know anyone and where I didn’t have any official work to do. Both of the agents asked multiple times, if I was sure I didn’t know anyone in the city. And when I confessed that I just came to Vancouver simply because I’d heard how beautiful their city was, they seemed to think there should have been a deeper reason than that. Not that they were asking in a “I think you might be a terrorist” sort of way, but more because most people come across the border with something specific in mind.
Overall, I was impressed with the city’s natural beauty. I happened to luck up with a sunny, rain-free weekend so I was able to wander around to my heart’s content. The main parts of the city are all very close and aside from the train ride to and from the airport and a ferry ride to Granville Island, I walked everywhere I needed to go. I didn’t get into a taxi or a bus once while I was there. And after living in LA for 9 years, that kind of freedom of mobility is a true treat.
Vancouver is surrounded by calm lapping water and green, tree-covered mountains and at times I felt like I was in Switzerland or the Italian Lake District. Gold was the official color of the city this weekend, as everything seemed to be reflecting the late fall sunshine. My only real complaint about the city was that there were way too many tall buildings blocking the gorgeous views. If I had my way, I’d knock down any building over 5 stories and make each roof a public viewing deck.
But I have to say, aside from the areas around the water’s edge and the majestic Stanley Park, Vancouver was not too different from other mid-sized cities I’ve visited. I found it to be quite a lot like Seattle, where I lived for a few months back in 2003. Obviously the weather is quite similar, but so is the general pace of life in these two cities. That’s not to say that all cities in the Pacific Northwest are carbon copies of each other.
Although geographically similar, I felt that Portland, OR spoke to me more than Vancouver. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great two days in Vancouver but the city did not leave as much as an impression on me as I had hoped. Its hard to put my finger on why. Perhaps my trip was too quick to get a true feel of things. On the other hand maybe I just have to accept that not all cities are going to speak to me like London or Brookly or Vang Viang did. And that’s one of the many things that I can only learn by actually taking the time to visit a city, and in Vancouver’s case, I’m still very glad I did. For my next post I’ll talk more about some of my specific experiences in the city, but for today, I just wanted to focus on my overall impressions.
