Angus and I decided to leave the girls to have a lie-in and doubled our consequent dose of peace and tranquility by taking ourselves off to the traditional Chinese garden nearby. Like something off a willow-pattern plate, it formed an oasis of calm against the backdrop of city skyscrapers.
With well-rested, muffin-fed children in tow, we headed into the heart of downtown to the Bill Reid gallery. Bill – a half Haida-half European native of Victoria, was a broadcaster on CBC with little knowledge of his First Nations roots until his early 30s when he started training as a goldsmith. From here he moved to produce works drawing on traditional Haida abstractions of animal figures working both on the delicate and intricate scale of jewelry and also making large wooden sculptures, traditionally designed canoes and paddles and huge totem poles. Angus and I had seen and loved his work on our previous trip both in Vancouver and on Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte islands), but this new gallery provided a fascinating background to his work which all 4 of us enjoyed.
After all that culture, we’d earned some more calories, so we caught the bus to Granville Island and the much recommended Go Fish, an unimpressive-looking shack on the waterfront which manages to serve up the best fish and chips I’ve ever eaten. We took a stroll round Granville Island market, the nearby Kids’ Market and then headed to a nearby water park. This brilliant invention consists of huge showers, water jets, manoeverable hydrants and a water chute, all for free in the middle of a city park. The weather in Canada 10 days before our trip led us to pack for 15ºC and cloudy. Since our arrival it’s been in the late 20s and we’ve been in shorts daily (no complaints) so the girls were both quick to get drenched.
Our evening’s entertainment took us downtown to the Cineplex for the latest Harry Potter.
