Friday was our last full day in Vancouver but she saved the worst weather for the end of the week so we hunkered down in the hotel for a few hours before deciding that an indoor activity would be best. Nearby is a cinema so we checked what was on and went to watch Dr Sleep. It always feels naughty going to watch a film midday. Like you’re playing hooky from school or pulling a sickie from work. Also, obviously, this makes it even better. Really enjoyed the film, not as good as the book but then they never are. A good version though for sure and Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson were both great but I have to give a special shoutout to Alexandra Essoe playing Wendy Torrance. She looked close enough to Shelley Duvall but absolutely nailed her mannerisms (in The Shining), that it was an excellent choice and a brilliant bit of acting.
Later on we decided to eat in the hotel as we hadn’t eaten anything other than breakfast there (and a couple of small plates while having a drink). The Four Seasons in Vancouver is a relatively old building and apparently is shutting next year (I think it’s next year). The age shows in the rooms but the public areas are very nice. The bar and restaurant in particular are lovely. It turns out that the food is very nice too but you pay for it. The second most expensive meal of the holiday and we both left hungry…..we didn’t even have a bottle of wine. The service is excellent too, they certainly hire good people.
Guess what the weather was like on our last half day before flying home? Yep. Stair rods. We got up, went down for our last breakfast and then returned to our room to pack. Once that was done we had to decide what to do for the next 6 hours. From previous experience (i.e. the day before) we knew of a place around the corner where you could hide away in darkness in a comfy seat for a few hours. Off we went to the movies again. We saw Ford vs Ferrari and we both loved it. Matt Damon and Christian Bale were brilliant and Amanda was almost sobbing at the end, which is apparently a seal of approval. I sort of knew the story of how Ford took on Ferrari to win Le Mans in the 1960’s but obviously I only knew part of it. It’s a great tale and anyone who enjoys motor racing will love it I think.
By the time the movie had ended it was time to eat as as our meal the previous night was so expensive we went cheap. Off to the food court at the mall. Delicious wraps consumed, we headed back to the hotel. We had decided that we might as well go to the airport early, drop the hire car off and wait there rather than tramp around in the rain. The traffic was pretty busy but we found the car hire return place pretty easily and then settled in for a wait until we could drop our bags off. When we checked in online earlier I noticed that even though I had paid £160 in total to reserve our seats, we had been allocated different ones. This happened on the outward bound flight too but I didn’t make a fuss because they’d put us one row closer to the door which makes it easier for Amanda. The homeward flight however put us an extra row back which was a pain, not to mention instead of an aisle and window seat we had centre row seats. not a happy bunny I complained and was told basically, tough, sometimes this happens but you can have your money back. When we got to the airport bag drop off however we met a very nice lady who was actually waiting for us in order to help us with the wheelchair etc. We explained about the seat malarky and she said she’d try and sort something. We dropped off the bags and went to the BA lounge, which is very well hidden to keep out the riff riff like us obviously. As we went in, the lady behind the desk was also expecting us and took our boarding passes off us to get new ones with reallocated seats. At this point we had no idea where we would be seated but were promised it would be closer.
The lounge is excellent and a free beer (Crown Royal and ginger ale for her), some food, a coffee and cookie later and we got our new boarding passes. EXACTLY THE SAME SEATS AS WE HAD COMING TO CANADA. Result! This raises a question though. When I originally tried to reserve the seats these were not available either flying to or from Canada and yet we sat in them both legs. Am I stupid or is it just a huge con to reserve your seats? As it turns out, when I complained, I was told in future not to pay and to contact the special assistance group at BA and they will reserve our seats for free because we need to be near to the toilet and the entry/exit point.
British Airways’ Club World flight home was a bit sad. The plane was old. The screen was about 6 inch square and looked less than SD. Compare that to many airlines huge screens and other facilities as you can see why it has a less than stellar reputation. The reason we keep using them is the staff. They are, without fail, excellent. Every time we’ve flown. We love them dearly and will continue to book with BA because of it.
Home now. Jet lagged, Tired one minute, Wide awake the next.
Where shall we go next time?
We did get to see a bald eagle sitting in the tree. Amanda saw a second flying around but I missed it. I’m guessing they’re waiting for the visitors to leave before they fill their bellies, the bears also.
One thing I have to say about the park is how brilliantly accessible it is. Wide, well kept paths, and disabled parking and toilets available. We can learn something here. It’s all very well nimbys getting on their high horse saying changing something will alter it to the detriment of the place itself but if it’s a ‘national’ park, for instance, isn’t that something to be enjoyed by the nation? This includes disabled people. Give us paths and ramps and step free access to places. Let’s all enjoy these places. So many times we’ve been somewhere and the paths are deep gravel so unsuitable for wheelchairs or the path goes so far and there 2 steps or even 1 step making it out of bounds. Truly it makes you feel second class.
Off To Canada (Again) 