The city of Vancouver is relatively small, only about 600,000 people. On the other hand Greater Vancouver, more commonly known as the Lower Mainland, has a population of 2.5 million. It includes, among others, the contiguous cities of Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, New Westminster, and Coquitlam, and across the harbour North Vancouver and West Vancouver. Vancouver is consistently rated among the top five most livable cities in the world.
Those of us who live here call it Lotus Land, and Don and I are lucky enough to be able to call it our hometown even though neither of was born here. Actually not many people of our generation were born here. People immigrate to Vancouver from all over Canada and the world. Who wouldn’t want to live in Lotus Land?
There are beaches and big forested parks and mountains and every kind of outdoor activity right on your doorstep, from skiing to dragon-boat racing to wilderness hiking to urban cycling. And there are concerts and theatre and opera and great bars and restaurants. It’s an easy city to live in.
We’ve been back here for five months. Most of our story of these months can be found in the This Nomadic Life series. In this post, and the next couple of posts, I’ll share a little about Greater Vancouver.
We’ve been staying in Burnaby for a couple of months so we’ve been traipsing around Burnaby Lake Regional Park a lot.
It’s a big lake, and a big chunk of wilderness right in the city. The ducks kept pulling us back there again and again.
The first two photos are Don’s.
Two female wood ducks in a tree
Mostly mallards
Wood duck couple
Canada Goose
And this guy just sat in the blackberry bushes soaking up what little sun he could find, staring without moving, completely undisturbed by our photographic presence. A northwestern carpet snake moment.
Vancouver has many beaches. I’m Australian. I will simply say I’ve had many enjoyable times on Vancouver’s beaches and leave it at that. One of my sisters was not so polite. Many years ago, in Australia, she was giving a slide show for the family of her recent trip to Vancouver. There came on the screen a photo of her young daughter playing on one of Vancouver’s grey-sand beaches. She gave a snide chuckle and said, That’s what Canadians call a beach. Those of you who do not live in Australia or Hawaii or the South Pacific or the Caribbean, or any place that has gorgeous blue-water-white-sand beaches will probably think Vancouver’s beaches excellent. I know I love Spanish Banks during the full-moon times when the tide goes way way out and you can walk for miles. On sunny days it’s what most everyone does.
Kits beach is for the party crowd. Jericho is for family barbeque time. There’s also English Bay, plus First, Second and Third Beaches in the West End, and more beaches across the water in North Van and West Van. There’s no shortage of beaches, only a shortage of warm water and fine white sand.
English Bay on a sunny day
Canada Geese and a Blue Heron at English Bay
Queen Elizabeth Park,
a sunflower that grew . . . . .
as tall as a house
and a tunnel of trees.
Next post: One of Canada’s most visited tourist attractions- an island that’s not an island. Hummers and jays. Urban landscape.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
Haha I could imagine Auistralians making fun of the beaches in Canada. I am living by a few gorgeous Australian beaches now but I still think there is something special about the beaches in Vancouver. I think they are very beautiful, just different than the turquoise waters and white sand that people always think of as the perfect beach scene. I also love the wild beaches of the Gulf and Discovery Islands and Vancouver Island. I can’t wait to get back there next summer
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Oh I think there’s something special about Vancouver’s beaches too, and yes, they have their own blue-grey beauty. I think Spanish Banks especially is quite wonderful.
Still Australia is so hopelessly overloaded with gorgeous beaches, and stretching for miles and very few people on them. I bet you’re enjoying Oz style beaches 🙂
Alison
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I love it that you’re blogging about your home town. And I love the pictures of the people walking away – like the child with the saggy, sandy bottom. Is that Ricki with Don walking away across the sand?
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Thanks Kay. I’m going to do a couple more posts about Vancouver – just in time for us to leave for Hawaii, when I guess I’ll have to write about beaches again. Darn!
Yes, it’s Ricki, and the sandy-bottomed child is my great niece.
Alison
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Beautiful post on one of my favorite places in Canada ~ this warmed my heart and brought me back! I can almost smell the clean air from here – Just lovely!
Can’t say I love the snake, although beautiful and not doing anything freaky, it still makes me feel weird! 😀
~ Andrea ❤
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So glad you got a little whiff of home Andrea. It’s a beautiful and special city that’s for sure.
We were totally surprised by the snake. So unexpected. I just suddenly spotted it as we walked by. I’ve never seen a snake in and of Vancouver’s parks before.
Alison ❤
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Beautiful post Alison 🙂
Lovely narration and images, as always 🙂
I have been following your adventures around the world for some time now and it’s great to hear about your home place.
It’s so good to see a city with a lot of greenery around and so neat and clean.
In contrast, most of Indian cities are way too crowded and you feel like escaping from them.
Huge population could be a reason, though.
My cousin’s are settled in Canada and I’ll try to explore this beautiful and vast country, once 🙂
Have a beautiful day ahead 🙂
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Thanks Sreejith for your kind words. I don’t think you could get a greater contrast with Indian cities. But I still loved all the Indian cities I visited, just for different reasons. Do try to come and visit Canada – it’s will be quite exotic for you I think, as India was for me.
Namaste
Alison
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I think Vancouver’s beaches are lovely. I’ve never seen a not lovely beach — they’re jut lovely in different ways. Queen Elizabeth Park was on the list of places to see EVERY time we visited Vancouver in the days when I went often. Usually Queen Elizabeth in the morning with lunch in the restaurant up on the hill (seemed to change names and owners a lot…) and then Van Dusen Gardens for the afternoon. You’re bringing up great memories for me!
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Well, okay the beaches are kinda lovely. Some of them are more lovely than others 🙂
QE Park, lunch there, followed by Van Dusen sounds like a wonderful day. We used to live near QE Park so our almost daily exercise was to walk up the hill to the park and then right up to the top of the hill in the park, and around and back. I’ve walked through that park in every season, even when it was a foot deep in snow. Beautiful place.
Alison
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I think because the setting around Vancouver is so stunning, everything there seems lovely to me. But I recall a beach in or near Stanley park that seemed very pretty.– but again, I think Stanley Park is in such a gorgeous location, everything there seems beautiful. Getting to walk every day in QE park sounds great! We mostly drove through, lingered in the conservatory and had lunch…Such a view from that restaurant!
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Yes, the Vancouver setting is stunning – certainly one of the best city settings in the world. There are 3 or 4 beaches in Stanley Park but I’m not that familiar with them, but I am familiar with that view from the QE Park restaurant – just gorgeous!
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Thanks for this post — please send more! I plan to visit Vancouver in 2015.
Libbie
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You’re welcome Libbie, glad you enjoyed it. I’m planning on 2 more posts about Vancouver. It’s definitely a good city to visit. And to live in.
Alison
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I can’t imagine a beach that isn’t a beach – we’re so blessed in oz!!
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I take it you mean an Oz style beach 🙂
Yes Oz is totally blessed with spectacular beaches – can’t wait to get back – home for Christmas 🙂
Alison
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Yes i mean a beach as i know it. Growing up I had no clue all beaches werent like ours!
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I have only been to Vancouver once Alison, though amongst other things I was mightily impressed by the farmers markets in particular – all those wonderful fruits; the peaches and tomatoes I remember being spectacularly luscious! All best wishes to yourself and Don. Hariod.
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The farmers’ markets are fabulous here, and so many of them, and they’re still going even this late in the year.
Cheers, Alison
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So wonderful to see wide open space. And panties filled with sand. ❤
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Lots of wide open space here, in various places throughout the city, lots of nature to discover if you’re so inclined – several huge forested parks full of skunks and racoons and squirrels, and all kinds of birds. Easy to get out of the city while you’re still in the city. Panties fill with sand is my great-neice – she was hilarious, so totally without consciousness, as little ones are, playing so happily in the sand and water, unconcerned with sand in her pants. Love love love. Watched her while her mom sat next to me holding her nephew. Lots of family time this past summer.
Alison ❤
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yay Vancouver! It’s an amazing place to live and I’m grateful every time I look out our window. Mountains, ocean, greenery & parks, Gulf Islands in the distance, the sky always a variety of clouds, blue and/or multi-colored sunsets, summer sunshine, winter rains, autumn colors, spring flowers. Beaches… I love the tropical kind too, but Vancouver’s beaches are very special indeed with their variety of color, texture, sand & rocks, changing tides and winds. Thanks for featuring our home city!
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I think you said it all Kate – all the best about living here. I’ll be doing a couple more posts about Vancouver – It’s so fabulous it deserves at least 2 more 🙂
Alison
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My favorite picture this time around is the tunnel of trees. It is most beautiful. 🙂
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Thanks Felicity. There are a few streets like that – so beautiful you hardly notice the traffic.
Alison
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Yay, now we get to enjoy Vancouver. My favorite beach has always been one with towering rocks and crashing waves. I will note that the beaches of Hawaii can be quite beautiful. And the ducks— wood ducks are beautiful, and a bobbing mallard with his (or her) butt up in the air is always humorous. Looking forward to seeing the city though your eyes. –Curt
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Don’t know about towering rocks, but crashing waves a plenty – Long Beach on the west side of Vancouver Island – totally wild, and in a storm EPIC!
We’re definitely looking forward to the beaches of Hawaii 🙂
I love wood ducks. There are a few at the Reifl Bird Sanctuary (on the outskirts of Vancouver), but at Burnaby Lake there are dozens of them.
Alison
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I look forward to learning more about your “hometown.” Hope to get there someday. I love how the city’s name rolls off the tongue — Vancouver. Just sounds so darned cultured and elegant.
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Thanks Paul. It’s a beautiful city, both to live in and to visit, and there are certainly parts of it that are cultured and elegant 🙂
And parts that are very down home.
And parts that are very outdoorsy. It’s a good mix.
Alison
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oh. very nice 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
Alison
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We visited Vancouver last year and really enjoyed it! What a great place. I especially enjoyed the Museum of Anthropology at UBC
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Glad to hear you enjoyed Vancouver, but then how could you not? I forgot about the Museum of Anthropology – haven’t been there for ages. What an extraordinary and fascinating collection of artefacts. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back and have another look!
Alison
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What a great place! I never been in Canada…thanks for taking me there 🙂 Kamila
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Thanks Kamila. And you’re welcome! Vancouver’s such a wonderful city.
Alison
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