Echoes...

Today as many times a week I passed by this set of Chairs...I desided will be my post of the day, hope you like them as I do.
Don't forget to visit the Sunset beach and see it with your own eyes if you come to the Weste end in Vancouver.
(The Burrard Bridge makes a perfect background)

Echoes , a series of stainless-steel chairs planted in the sand at Sunset Beach - another piece from the 2005 Biennale, incorporates ten of Goulet’s trademark stainless steel chair sculptures. The chair’s location in a public space invites interaction and conversation as a way of overcoming the typically urban alienation it alludes to. Meanwhile, the chairs are all set at different angles along the beach, suggesting the multitude of perspectives and possibilities open to people in our privileged socio-economic position.Currently there is a proposal to make this sculpture a permanent fixture in Vancouver.

Born in l944 in Asbestos, Canada, Artist-sculptor Michel Goulet lives and works in Montreal. His sculpture installations were part of many important museum exhibitions in Canada, the United States and Europe. Last year, the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montreal held a six month retrospective of his work on paper and sculpture installations. This year (2006), he is part of the first Le Havre Biennale in France with a new outdoor sculpture installation and will be the honored guest artist of the National Contemporary sculpture Biennale.

Good ...News??....

And here they are...these are the new boxes for the News Papers and other Magazines delivered around.
What do you think?...I like the paper reciclyng part.
But the old kind have a bit of more personality I will say.

No News

This is something that you find very often in Vancouver , yeap...all is going under construction...this signs are NO NEWS!!
What it is changing are the old News Paper Boxes, ...this are the old kind, colorful and each news paper or free magazines has their own. Now we find in some corners a grey big box...will show you soon.

Have good sunday...

JAPADOG!!!

Well... a Japadog is simply the best hotdog in town but with a japanese style. ( I think, so does my boyfriend) not only the food is tasty, also the whole Japadog experience is really tasty....yeahh is a tasty experience.

The staff, regurarly two cute japanese girls or a girl and a boy, work clockwiselly and thank you every 2 seconds...with such a strong accent!

Please if you visit Vancouver , this is a MUST, and if you don't eat hot dogs..watch out, you might start now...

The JAPA DOG comes in three perkily perfect versions:
The Terimayo is smothered in Japanese mayo, nori, teriyaki sauce, and fried onions.
The Oroshi ( my favorite!!) is a bratwurst laden with special soy sauce, green onions, and daikon.
The Misomayo is turkey smokie laden with special miso sauce, Kaiware, and japanese mayo.

Thank you so much japadog!!

WyLand 1994

Today walking along the grandville bridge on my way home had to snap this lovely mural with my phone camera ( I know, what was I thinking!!), painted by Robert Wayland on 1994. (I have been thinking to come and shot a decent photo for my own records, and well today I just couldnt resist!! be back thought)

Robert Wyland (born. 1956 in Detroit, Michigan), known simply as Wyland, is an artist best known for painting large, outdoor murals of whales and other ocean life.

As a child he started to have interest in painting and being an artist at the age of 3. One of the people that influenced Wyland was Captain Jacques Cousteau. Wyland as a child also wanted to be a scientist and study marine life just like Captain Cousteau, which he is also today. Captain Cousteau is still the main influence in Wyland’s belief in caring for the environment. Wyland first encountered the adoration of whales when he saw a TV show hosted by Captain Cousteau about whales. After watching the show he said he wanted to know how to dive and visit the whales in their environment. Wyland became known as an artist when he began painting large whale murals. In college Wyland majored in painting and sculpting. His teacher in college recommended that Wyland should move on and travel to California where he could develop his art. Wyland currently lives in Hawaii, which is where he spends much of his time. In Hawaii, he once swam with whales that were 40 ton giants.

Since 2003, the Wyland Foundation has embarked on a five-year touring schedule to promote art, science, and conservation. The program has reached children along the East Coast, West Coast, and the Mississippi River regions. To date, the Wyland Foundation has conducted tour events in more than 35 states, Mexico, and Canada, reaching more than 50 million people.

Balancing Stones

The first time I saw the Balancing Stones was in a postcard somewhere. I didn't  know where in Vancouver was this Artistic manifestation happening and for how long.

Then right after moving here last summer, my very good friend Suzanne was ending her year long travel around this amazing Country to return back home, Germany. As a Welcome, she game me a nice book about my new City. "City of glass, Douglas Coupland's Vancouver" . There inside I saw for the second time this balancing Stones, now I knew it was happening on the Westend, my own neighborhood downtown!! ( Imagine my surprise)

She wrote on the first page : "For Inspiration and Enjoyment".  I really have been enjoying Vancouver very much, and the book has been  and still is fount of inspiration to see and discover this amazing city through my own eyes...

I hope you are enjoying Vancouver with me 

 

Downtown Skycrapers

At first sight this is just another Skycraper...but standing on the right spot we can discover many different angles and views to this massive buildings that cover the downtown area.

 Is just another way to look at things. Many times while taking this kind of photographs, passenders ask me, looking up high..."mmm, so what doo you see?"...a fun way to look the world don't you agree?...

Give it a try.

Vancouver Public Library

Over the years the Vancouver Central Library at 750 Burrard Street had become increasingly outdated and overcrowded, making it unable to meet the needs of its users. In November 1990, Vancouver voters endorsed capital funds for a new central library.
Next, the City bought the construction site at 350 West Georgia Street (Georgia and Homer) from the federal government.
The provincial government agreed to a long-term lease of two floors in the proposed new building.

Architects Moshe Safdie, Richard Archambault and Barry Downs won the design competition for the new library. PCL Constructors Pacific Ltd. were the general contractors for the project. The ground-breaking ceremony took place on February 1, 1993, and Library Square was officially opened on May 26, 1995.

A very interesting building and definetly a place to visit in Vancouver.

Reflection of the Hotel Vancouver.

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (generally known as the Hotel Vancouver) is located on West Georgia Street and Burrard Street, in the heart of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.

Constructed by Canadian National Hotels, it stands at 111 metres (17 storeys) high. It is often referred to by locals simply as "the Hotel Van". It became part of the Canadian Pacific Hotels chain after that company purchased CN Hotels in 1988. CP Hotels was later renamed to Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

This building is the third hotel to be named "Hotel Vancouver".This building's predecessor was built in 1916 a block away.
this building's predecessor a block away, was built in 1916, and became a troop barracks during the Second World War, and was finally torn down in 1949 to fulfill a commitment made by the city with the developers of the third Hotel Vancouver to demolish it - as the new hotel's design was not as lavish and impressive, and the older hotel was perceived to be too much of a potential rival. The second hotel was in a grand Italianate revival style, and was considered one of the great hotels of the British Empire. In the time of this building the names of the Spanish Grill, the Panorama Roof, and the Red Barrel became famous as part of the city's social whirl (names that are used by facilities in the third Hotel Vancouver). It had several ballrooms and lounges, as well as an adjacent opera house cum cinema (originally the Orpheum, later restyled the Lyric), and all the bathrooms were fitted with marble sinks and gold-plate faucetry.
The first two Hotel Vancouvers were between Howe and Granville Streets on the south side of West Georgia Street. The current building, a block away across the fountain plaza of the then-provincial courthouse and on the same side of Georgia.

The present Hotel Vancouver took 11 years to build because construction was halted for five years during the Great Depression. It was started by the Canadian National Railway but was finally completed under a joint operating agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway. It was opened in May of 1939, in time for the Royal visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at a final cost of $12 million.

A $70 million restoration in the mid 1990s has ensured that The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver remains at the very forefront of Vancouver's best hotels.

(Im trying to find some info about the beautiful steepled copper roof...hope I will add some during the morning)

The highest Pink Oak around here

The Eugenia Place, I think is one of the most unusual high rise I have ever seen. 

This Vancouver's well-heeled West End is more than and attractive landmark that sits on English Bay. The building is surrounded by manicured grounds and a sweeping 360-degree view. The most eye-catching feature of the landscape, however, isn't actually on the "land" at all - it is a 37-foot-high pin oak sprouting from the building's roof, more than 200 feet from the ground.

Thought it appears very lonely at the top, at least from the perspective of its peers along Beach Avenue, the pink oak is well known and liked in the neighborhood.

I love it , don't you?...

Khenko, The Great Blue Heron

Khenko, the fisher, is the Coast Salish mythical name for the Great Blue Heron. Khenko was Installed during the summer of 2006 on  the north shore of False Creek directly across from Granville Island and just east of the Granville Steet Bridge off the tip of George Wainborn Park. Khenko's wings flap upp and down, powered by wind catching sails. There were even a couple of small fish in khenko's tummy...I guess they were slowly digested with the time.

This is another wonderfull piece of Art of Doug Taylor.

All weather swimmer...

Doug Taylor's Giant Whirligig Wind Swimmer gently paddles into the ending summer breeze wafting high above Vancouver's beautiful Kitsilano Pool. (this is Canada longest pool, with 137mt...)

The first version of the Swimmer was created in 1993 for an Artropolis installation in the waters of English Bay near Stanley Park's Second Beach but was destroyed by high seas after only one week in the chuk. The current Wind Swimmer, erected in 1996, is vastly sturdier, bigger, higher and in fact she is wearing a solid lead bathing suit. For extra safety in stormy weather the whirligig propeller folds flat like a prairie windmill.

THE FAMOUS BABY BELUGA

This is for sure one of the most amazing aquarium I have ever seen.

I must thank my new friend Nadine, who posed for me yesterday on this, one of her favorite spots in vancouver.

We had such a great time...I have to go back and fully enjoy this place soon.

If you have only one day in Vancouver, you better start early morning with a visit to Stanley Park and the aquarium!!

There is so much to see and delight every single one...over 70,000 animals...hard to imagine, but easy to believe once you step in there...

Here you can see the famous baby beluga whale

This newborn beluga is:

1.35 metres long and weighs about 50 kilograms
slate grey – she will gradually lighten as she matures
wrinkled for the first few weeks
adorable
making history – she’s the first calf in Canada to be born to an aquarium-born beluga.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXBzGf54-Ik

Downtown on time!

The Clock tower of the Vancouver Block on Granville Street, was constructed by Dominic Burns of the Burns Meat family

In 1910 Dominic had the Vancouver Block built on Granville Street. Then he moved into the penthouse upon completion of the building in 1912 and lived there until his death in 1933. The building is recognized by its large clock tower and has incredible historic value with its prominent location (highest point of land in Downtown Vancouver) and being an early example of Edwardian commercial buildings that typified the building boom at the turn of the last century.

The Dials of the clock are 22 feet in diameter, on what was the largest clock in Canada when the building was completed.

A minor earthquake on December 7th, 1918 stopped the clock. Now works in perfect conditions and is one of my favorites buildings Downtown...hope you like it too.

The Star

So here is the Star from yesterdays post...
A young bald eagle...forgot his name :O( sorry folks...Im getting old.

I went back to the Grouse mountain yesterday did the grind trail, yes 2 days in a row...uufff going back on Sunday with my camera !!!

I should actually show you guys what the Grouse grind is...mm guess what tomorrows post could to be then?... ah ah

Nothing like the mountain views eh...and the wildlife and my blog...love it...need to learn more and more and show you more interesting photos pf whats going around here in Vancouver.

Please visit my friend Wayne he has a great Vancouver daily photo blog !!
thanks for visiting
B

Kodak Moment!

It might be hard to see, but what everyone is trying to photograph is a young bald eagle...yes a bald eagle.

Grouse Mountain and another great Wildlife Show.

The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless. Bald eagles are found over most of North America, from Alaska and Canada to northern Mexico. About half of the world's 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. Combined with British Columbia's population of about 20,000, the northwest coast of North America is by far their greatest stronghold for bald eagles. They flourish here in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles. Juvenile bald eagles are a mixture of brown and white; with a black bill in young birds. The adult plumage develops when they're sexually mature. It takes about 5 years for their head and tail feathers to gradually turn white.
The bald eagle is the only eagle confined to North America, and there are no other large black birds in North America with white heads and tails.
Their Longevity (bald eagle's life expectancy) - Wild bald eagles may live as long as thirty years, but the average lifespan is probably about fifteen to twenty years. A captive eagle at West Stephentown, NY lived to be at least 48 years old.

No Skinny Dipping!!!

oh well...I am going to get in troubles for this one.

That is my boyfriend holding up the sign, we though it was hilarious and decided to take a photo.

It turns out even better when this two ladies got surprise and one pointed the sign to the other while burst into laughs!

OH PRECIOUS! No the summer is not over!!

...SORRY BABE...  BUA  HA HA AH AH

Who needs Big Wheels...?? eh?

If you have the power to go and go like this guy on your Skateboard. Im sure you don't need bigger wheels...

I was waiting to cross on main street, and suddenly brroommm this big green Punky hair guy just Zooooom passed by me by. I had to as quick as I could dig my little camera out hoping he wasn't going to fast or that I wasn't going to be clumsy as I normally am and miss the shot.

I didn't yyeeahhh

So here it is...hope you guys like it as much as I do, not for Pulitzer price but...

The Painter & the Paddler

The Summer its coming to its end...and this man is capturing the last few adventurers out there at the west end...

Refuge for Endangered Wildlife at Grouse Mountain

Imagine a wilderness sanctuary where endangered animals can play, protected, and secure. You will find all this and more at The Refuge for Endangered Wildlife, a research, education, and conservation centre at the top of Grouse Mountain. Dedicated to becoming a world leader in preserving both flora and fauna at risk. The Refuge offers leading-edge interpretative programs that make learning about nature fun and fascinating. The Refuge for Endangered Wildlife is principally comprised of a five-acre mountaintop habitat that is home to two orphaned Grizzly Bears, and a Grey Wolf habitat located at the base of the mountain. The Wildlife Refuge is included with your Grouse Mountain Admission. Be sure to come up early in the day so you can fit them all in.

Visit the Discovery Channel website at discoverychannel.ca for additional articles about the bears.

Broke

This is sad and its an image we all know it often repeat, not only on Vancouver streets.

YES or NOT?

Yesterday was hopefully a romantic day for many here in Vancouver, after looking at this guy proposing to his girlfriend through the 24hr news paper. They have been together for 2 years and now he just need it to explain how special she was and found this VERY SPECIAL way to propose.
CHEERS, IM HOPING HE HEARD BELLS LAST NIGHT!!! CONGRATS!!!!

The Walden Building on the back was build on 1910. Main Streets treasures.

Cambie Street

Cambie Street equals chaos,  constructions everywhere!  New Sky train line and stations involved...awful. 

The Human Race

Last Night the Nike Human Race was held around the world...I'm sure many have been wondering what was all about...?
10K run, different cities around the world united. 50 dollars fee were donated to charity of the runners choice...that is a pretty good way of helping out the world and wildlife.
Hope to run it next year, my knee wouldnt let me this year.
Have some good friends running it Suzanne Rushton, she mark 49 min and some seconds great timing! just 10 min behind the female best time...wooohoooo
Winners of the 2008 HR in Vancouver :
Female Winner: Karen Warrendorf in only 39:39. WOW!
Male Winner: Simon Bairu in an incredible 29:30