The Van

Last night I returned from my trip to Vancouver, after a very Trains, Planes and Automobiles-esque travel day that involved a messed-up hotel alarm clock, a five-hour flight delay, a three-hour drive from Chicago, and a couple hundred iPod tunes. But the flight was safe and the trip was excellent. My last visit to the "city of glass" was at the age of 8 (my main memory of which was renting mountain bikes, then getting pooped on by birds in Stanley Park), so there was a lot for my narrowed, skeptical Torontonian eyes to take in. And I have to say, I loved what I saw. I read in my trusty Lonely Planet travel guide that one in eight Torontonians would gladly give up living in their city for a chance to start over in Vancouver. I'm not about to start talking that kind of crazy talk, but I would like to share some of the sights from my visit that struck me as quintessential Vancouver and contrast them with the more familiar sights of Hogtown:

The SkyTrain: The platform at Waterfront Station is so bright, airy and full of mountain-sweet air, it almost beats a weekend at the cottage. I saw a couple of teens get off the train carrying snowboards. So Vancouver! Toronto equivalent: Getting a brief glimpse of the sun at the Davisville or Old Mill TTC stations, riders bundling up for the winter sport that is waiting for your bus/streetcar transfer.

Coal Harbour/English Bay: I could not stop taking pictures of trees, mountains, boats, boats in front of mountains and trees, trees in front of mountains, etc. People were just walking their designer-clad terriers past this scenery as if it was nothing to gawk at--I guess it starts to seem normal after a while. Perhaps it even gets boring. Crazy! I was so struck by the seaside vistas that I sat on a log, watched the boats and hummed Gordon Lightfoot songs. Toronto equivalent: That's a tough one, as mountains and ocean are hard to compensate for. Kew Beach in August, with the sailboats barely visible on the hazy horizon of Lake Ontario, would have to be my pick. Just don't swim in the water. Or wade in it. Actually, just stay away from it altogether. That's what swimming pools and oceans are for.

Gastown: Cobblestone streets, quaint old brick buildings, Native art stores and western outfitters that got me hankering for my prospecting days. Toronto equivalent: Not being much of a Western outpost (except in the sense that it is west of Montreal), you can't really experience the same historical flavour in a Toronto neighbourhood. I guess your closest bet is the Distillery District. Alcohol played a strong part in the founding of both Toronto and Vancouver and residents continue to pay homage to this fact.

Other points of interest:

Yaletown: Snazzy retail, hipster restaurants, hot cars. Toronto equivalent: I think even an objective observer would say that Yaletown's offering of this particular combination of urban elements is modest in comparison to the ever-burgeoning King/Adelaide/Richmond entertainment district. Vancouver will get there, but well, we have more space to party. Sometimes a lack of mountains comes in handy.

Chinatown: Distinctly more old school than its Toronto counterpart. The neon signs are most excellent.

Robson Street: To a Torontonian, it's like Bloor Street and Yonge & Eg. all rolled into one, which is actually really convenient. Could we look into that?

Vancouver International Airport: It takes less than twenty minutes to get there from downtown and the drive takes you through gorgeous Kitsilano. No traffic jams on the 401, no endless maze of off-ramps to find your terminal. And inside, there's tranquil fountains and nature exhibits. The Toronto Zoo isn't near as relaxing.

So Vancouverites, all in all, you have a lovely city. I won't go into detail about the sights of Main and Hastings, which I also visited, except to note that even the most seemingly fortunate cities always have their own share of horrific social problems. That said, I've never seen anything like that area in any city I've been in Canada, the U.S. or the U.K. Hopefully it will only get better--I don't think it could possibly get worse.

Maybe it's true that one in eight Torontonians would be fickle enough to leave their home for snow-free winters and copious mountain views. I, however, I am going to have to side with the other seven crazy enough to choose heinous smog, DVP gridlock, cavernous subway stations, and having to commute to, rather than commune with, nature over West coast paradise. Why? It's just the best. That's it. It may not seem to add up, but...it does. Yes, I'm biased. But in Toronto, that's kind of par for the course.