I drove up to Vancouver from Seattle early on 6th May in order to make the Richmond Olympic Parkrun. Richmond is a suburb just south of Vancouver. The course runs along the Fraser river.

I managed to knock a minute off my time from the previous week in San Francisco.

Thanks to Monica and Brandon for their encouragement.

After a long post run coffee session in Tim Hortons, I set off to Vancouver and checked into the Ambassador Hotel, a hostel in the entertainment area of downtown Vancouver.

I spent most of my first day in Stanley Park watching the Vancouver marathon. There are great views of the City from the park.

Also of Lions Gate Bridge from Prospect Point at the northern point of the park.

Granville Island, just south of downtown, is a very bright and vivid part of the City with lots of restaurants, a farmers market and several theatres.

I thought I had found a long lost relative when I saw this shop.

However, when I went into the shop I found that they just sold brooms.

The local wildlife obviously do well from the farmers market judging on the size of their families.

The oldest part of the City is known as Gastown. It is named after the owner of the first saloon (“Gassy” Jack Deighton). Its most famous landmark is the steam powered clock. It was built in 1977 to cover a steam grate and stop the homeless people sleeping over the spot in the cold weather!

Just west of Gastown is Coal Harbour, one of the newest parts of the city. It has been developed over the old ship yards and includes the new Cruise Ship Port. Over a million people a year now take cruises to Alaska from Vancouver.

When I was there they were going through the life boat drill with the passengers.

Like most of the City, the residential areas are mixed into the business areas.

The new harbour is also home to the busy sea plane centre.

Although Vancouver is a big City, the views of the mountains always remind you that it is in a quite remote part of the world.

Although I was staying in a hostel, I still had to check out the better hotels in town. The Fairmont Hotel, known as the Castle in the City, (www.fairmont.com/hotel-vancouver) is probably the City’s best known hotel.

My favourite was The Sylvia Hotel (www.sylviahotel.com) which opened in 1913. Errol Flynn was a regular here in the 1950s and he is rumoured to have died here in 1959.

The hotel looks out over English Bay.

Most of the theatres near my hostel were built around the same time. Many have now been converted to clubs and bars but they have retained their facias and have some great neon signage.

I spent my last day in Kitsilano. This is a pretty, beachside neighbourhood that was the City’s hippy hangout in the 1960s.

Today it is more hipster and the coffee shops are being replaced by some serious tea shops.

It has a great beach.

I enjoyed my short visit to Vancouver but only had time to see the City centre.  I hope to return sometime to explore further afield.