Vancouver - part Un

Well, we made it safely out of America. It took a while though, security in was very tight in San Francisco airport.
Because we were nice and early it was merely an inconvenience to us but some people weren't so lucky; They had 30 minutes to get on their plane and the line to go through security snaked along all the check-in counters. A funny guy with a megaphone was directing people, pulling out all the 7:40's, and anybody boarding after 7:40 was told to "stay where you are!"

Once into the security area, we were set into the maze of barriers, and were told that we'd been 'randomly selected' by a computer for Super Special Security Screening (SSSS). There we had to remove our shoes, then step into a bomb sniffing machine which blew air at us to see if we'd been in contact with bomb making materials.
Our checked luggage was then searched for anything suspicious, although a least the security guard was chatty and friendly.

We purchased a bit of duty free, then went to the gate to wait. After our boarding time had passed and there was no boarding call, we got a bit worried, when word came over the speaker that our flight had been delayed by 20 minutes due to some 'technical difficulties'.
So after finally getting on a the nice new plane (2005), we listened to the cabin crew give their messages in both french and english. This was a weird concept for Aimee,
as each message was repeated in a seemingly speeded-up, incomprehensible language.


The trip was short and un-eventful and we made a smooth landing at Vancouver airport, unfortunately so did about 10 other planes so there must have been about 2000 people clearing customs! The customs hall was at least the size of a rugby field, and was full. And still they kept coming!

We worked out that we walked approx 500 metres through the barrier maze to get to the front, where we formally entered Canada. We then collected our bags, left them in a corner (!) and went into immigration. A nice immigration lady gave us our work permits, valid for 365 days, and invited us to work in Vancouver, telling us it's much better than Toronto...

Customs then presented no problems, we simply walked out into the airport! all the signs about food and illegal imports were never checked up on, and we just walked out.
We were surprised again by the row of taxis. No falcons, no giant yellow cabs, just a long line of compact Toyota Prius's, the hybrid cars. The driver had a bit of a squeeze getting all our luggage in, but he did it.

Vancouver didn't have quite the same motorway leading into the city that I was expecting, it was just a main road with lots of traffic lights.
Then once in the main downtown area (which is actually a peninsular) it was a maze of one way streets.
The driver dropped us off to the front of the hotel, and I was surprised to have a porter take care of our bags for us.
It was a very grand hotel, but with us checking in at 2pm, they weren't quite ready for us. Our original room was supposed to be 1208, but it was still in cleaning, so they gave us one on the 8th floor. But when Aimee, the porter and I got up there it too was still in cleaning! So we went back down to the ground and they told us 1208 was ready. When we got up there, the cleaning lady said '5 more minutes...'

Eventually we were allowed in, and it was worth the wait. It was a really nice room, with a good view of the construction sites across the road. Mum tells me that 2 years ago you could see the sea, but now there is a hotel in the way.

So we settled in, unpacked a few things and lay down for a rest - Travelling makes you tired!