Today was the first day of a trip to Canada via train for Dave and I. We met at the Seattle Amtrak station at about 7 a.m. for our 8:30 train to Vancouver. It was the maiden run of a brand new train set called the Airo, and we had reserved seats in business class for the four-hour trip. It was a sunny day and a pretty ride north. There weren’t any delays until we got into the city of Vancouver, where we waited about 10 minutes to go over a one-way bridge. Once at the Pacific Central Station, we went through a short line for immigration and customs, and walked out into Vancouver sunshine.
After a cross-town taxi ride, we arrived at our hotel for the next two nights, the historic Sylvia Hotel in the West End neighborhood of Vancouver, across the street from English Bay and very close to Stanley Park.
After dropping off our luggage, we walked a block to a seafood restaurant called Papi’s and enjoyed salmon burgers as a late lunch, outside on the patio next to the street with a view of the bay. We also walked along the Stanley Park Seawall Path and beachfront park that some fun metal sculptures of laughing men.
We relaxed after our afternoon walk in the park and discussed our sightseeing plans for tomorrow. It was a good start to the trip!
