Having spent a year in Vancouver, a long time ago, I have had a yearning to walk along Robson Street again, ride the Seabus to North Vancouver, watch the squirrels in Stanley Park and take the Skyride to Grouse Mountain. Since the cruise I took recently from the UK was ending in Florida, I couldn’t resist the urge to extend my stay and fly to San Francisco and then up to Vancouver, even if only for a few days in each place.

After the flight from San Francisco, I couldn’t wait to see Robson Street. My decision to book into the Listel Hotel, so close to my old apartment, was definitely a good choice. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was really surprised at the quality of the hotel, the friendliness of the staff and the spaciousness and decor of the room. Add to that, Happy Hour each evening and you have a recipe for the perfect holiday, although Happy Hour was wasted on me because they didn’t have milkshakes. And the location? It just doesn’t get any better than this, which was the basis for booking The Listel in the first place. Right on Robson Street, with my old Starbucks across the street, and an easy walk to everywhere, including Stanley Park at the bottom of the hill.

Day 1 – an early morning walk to Hornby Street and back, and then down the hill to Denman St, and a bus ride from half way up the hill to the Robson Gardens stop.  A coffee and wonderful chat (lots of reminiscing) with Dennis, my Landlord from all those years ago, some shopping, then ending with a very quiet day. Just being on that beautiful street again was all I needed to take me back to another time, another life. This is what travelling does to us – it creates the memories that are so powerful when revisited.

Day 2 – a bus down to the Sea Wall, a walk along the wall and then through Stanley Park. I was surprised that I had forgotten the basic direction of where we used to walk in the park,

but in the process of being a bit lost, the most amazing thing happened – I asked a lady for directions and she suggested we walk together, since she was going that way anyway. As we walked and talked, I found out she had lived in Cairns from when she was 5 until she was 16.  As an adult, her working life had included performing at schools to bring history to life for the children of Canada.  Over a coffee break on Denman Street, we swapped email addresses and websites and intend to keep in touch. You can meet Christine at christinepilgrim.com and I’m sure you’ll be as fascinated by her story as I was.

From Denman Street, I walked down to the Waterfront Center on W. Cordova and boarded the Seabus to North Vancouver. From there I took the bus to the Skyride Station and then up to Grouse Mountain where it was snowing – not a lot, but enough to be really beautiful.

And you’ll never guess who I met up there (Hint: Cute, Cuddly and very Christmassy).