While "Discovering Emma in
Vancouver"
in October, 2007, Janeites will have a golden opportunity to view the
city's geographic and cultural highlights and experience the scenic
beauty of British Columbia through a series of customized,
professionally guided coach trips. The return time is approximate.
Please note no meals are included in the tour fees. Tour price includes taxes, admission fees, and gratuities to the
guide and driver. Tour registration
must reach Dianne Globe (address below) by August 15, 2007.
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Sunken Garden, Butchart Gardens near Victoria
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Vancouver
Convention Centre, the West End,
and Stanley Park
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A. The
Best of
Vancouver
Thursday, October 4, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
This tour
highlights the heritage and sights of the city's downtown core from Gastown,
Chinatown and
Yaletown, to the West End, and the world famous
Stanley
Park. Inside the park we will stop to admire the Totem Poles
and other landmarks best viewed from this spot. A midday break (with
lunch on your own) at Granville Island will introduce you to markets,
artisans' studios, unique shops, and the lively ambiance of the
favourite meeting place for locals. The tour continues with a scenic
drive through the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano and West Point Grey.
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| Beautiful views of the sandy beaches
of English Bay, with names like
Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks, lead to Pacific Spirit Park and the
University of British
Columbia. We will visit the Museum of
Anthropology, designed by renowned
local architect Arthur Erickson. It houses one of the world's finest
collections of West Coast First Nations Art such as totem poles and
canoes. En route back, we will visit the VanDusen Botanical
Garden, one
of the many wonderful garden complexes in the Vancouver area. This
oasis of nature underscores the rich role played by horticulture in the
lives of Vancouverites. |
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B.
Highlights
of the North Shore
Thursday, October 4, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Saturday, October 6, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Saturday is a Companion tour.)
This tour begins
with a scenic drive across Burrard Inlet via the famous Lions Gate
Bridge and proceeds to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, voted
Vancouver's top attraction. This park boasts the world's longest
suspension bridge, and is one of the best examples of a rain forest on
the west coast. The day continues with a visit to the Capilano Fish Hatchery
where you will learn about the life cycle of the Pacific
Salmon.
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Grouse
Mountain Super SkyRide, North Vancouver
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After the Capilano Reservoir, source
of Vancouver's drinking
water, the Grouse Mountain
Super SkyRide whisks you up high above the
city so that Vancouver seems truly to be at your feet! Once up there,
enjoy the views, the wooden sculptures that line the walking paths, the
grizzly bears at the Refuge for Endangered Wildlife, and the theatre
presentations. When 'down to earth' again, we will cross the harbour
from the Lonsdale Quay Market on the 300-passenger Seabus, and be
collected by the tour bus. (Your guide will offer suggestions for
breaks/lunch during the day.)
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Drive
along Howe Sound on Sea to Sky Highway
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C.
Coasts,
Mountains, Forests, and . . . Whistler!
Wednesday, October 3, 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
This tour offers a
day of amazing sights and experiences. The scenic drive along Howe
Sound, the first fiord north of Vancouver on the Sea to Sky Highway, is
truly awesome. Coastal views of islands and marine activity are matched
by retired towns like Britannia Beach, once the home of a mine whose
ore output was one of the largest in the world. And then there is
beautiful Shannon Falls, the third highest waterfall in Canada. The
town of Squamish at the head of Howe Sound is home to the lumber
industry. Climbing further into the rugged Coast Mountains and Mt. Garibaldi Provincial
Park, we find many old growth forests. Eagles are
drawn here in the winter months because nearby rivers are full of late
running salmon. A paradise, surely! Eventually we will arrive in the
famous ski village of Whistler, busy preparing for the Winter Olympics
in 2010. There will be time to explore and have lunch on your own.
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D. A
Taste of
Vancouver Island (Victoria)
Monday, October 8, 7:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
This tour is a
must on any visitor's list. You will see another part of the Province
of British Columbia and its capital city, Victoria. The largest island
on the west coast of North and South America, Vancouver Island holds
the key to BC's history from the fur trade and gold rush to mining and
forestry, which paved the way for the province of today. This full day
excursion features a 1 1/2 hour cruise each way between the Mainland
and the Island on a large ferry. Once on the Island, we will first
visit the world famous
Butchart
Gardens (see photo above), now in its 104th year of
operation. We will next follow scenic coastal routes, and visit the
beautiful city of Victoria.
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Provincial
Legislative Buildings and the Inner Harbour, Victoria
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| The ivy-covered Empress Hotel
of
Canadian
Pacific Railway fame, and the elaborate Provincial Legislative
Buildings seem to oversee the activities in the Inner Harbour. Included
in the tour is a visit to the Royal BC
Museum, a rich repository of BC
history. Several other tourist sites are located nearby, so that you
may choose your own from among the Royal London Wax Museum, the Miniature World,
the Undersea Gardens, etc. (You may have breakfast and dinner on your
own on board the ferry. Your guide will offer other suggestions for
breaks and meals throughout the day.) |
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Vancouver
Maritime Museum
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E.
Reviewing
Maritime British Columbia
Friday, October 5, 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
The visit to the Vancouver Maritime Museum
will offer Janeites the opportunity to learn
about BC's coastal history, from the days of Captain George Vancouver's
explorations to the present. The exhibits and paintings here and a
local expert should be of great interest in "Discovering Emma in
Vancouver." You will learn that it all happened here during Jane
Austen's lifetime! There will be time to explore the museum on your
own, but not to be missed is a visit to the St. Roch. This wonderfully
restored Royal Canadian Mounted Police Schooner was built in 1928 to
serve as a supply ship for isolated detachments in the high Arctic. She
became the first ship to navigate the Northwest Passage from west to
east, and later the first to circumnavigate North America via the
Panama Canal. Today she is preserved as a museum ship, and remains the
crown jewel in the treasures of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
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F.
Vancouver Highlights
Wednesday, October 3, 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 7, 2:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
An abbreviated version of Tour A, this afternoon tour will begin with selected sights in Vancouver's downtown—a drive along Robsonstrasse and the West End, one of the most densely populated areas in Vancouver.
It
was home to the first residents of the new town in the late 1880s, but
now it boasts many high-end fashion shops and trendy restaurants. Many
of the Heritage Homes have been transformed into art galleries and
public meeting places. Continuing
on to famous Stanley Park, we will
stop to admire the Totem Poles.
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Museum of
Anthropology
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| After a drive through the Park, we
come
to English Bay. We continue our scenic drive through the neighbourhoods
of Kitsilano and West Point Grey. Beautiful views of sandy beaches,
with names like Jericho Beach and Spanish Banks, are below. Arriving at
the University of British Columbia, we will visit the Museum of
Anthropology, designed by renowned
local architect Arthur Erickson. It houses one of the world's finest
collections of West Coast Native Art, such as totem poles and canoes. |
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For further information
on any aspect of the above tours, please contact Dianne Globe, Tour
Coordinator at 604-434-0857 (phone/fax) or at nldglobe@allstream.net.
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