Yes, that’s a reflective self-portrait of me, with the mountains of the North Shore in the background and the trees of Stanley Park off to the right. So far, we’re extremely lucky that the enormous amount of rain Vancouver received lately has given way to this kind of weather.
More to come later, but as a teaser: I think the crosswalk signal icons are wonderful here.
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Yeh, I moved here (there?) (Vancouver) a couple months ago. Both of those things are still pretty amazing to me. The uber-bright LED crosswalk signs are even better, but aren’t installed everywhere. Most of the cross streets on Granville have them now. Same guy, just blindingly bright at night.
looks amazing! are the mountains great? i hear the weather is always mild year-round. it’s frigid here in toronto already.
do the walkers “birdy-chirp” to signal crossing time like they do in downtown toronto?
First time up there in BC? Living is Seattle I get up to Vancouver quite a few times during the year, usually on my way to Whistler. It’s an amazing city isn’t it.
If you ever get a chance take a drive up the Sea to Sky highway. It’s truly beautiful.
The LED crosswalk signals are coming into Ontario now, too. They’re great, especially because they don’t burn out as often.
If you think horizontal crosswalk signs are cool, you should see the horizontal stoplights in Montreal.
It’s -2 here, and it snowed today. It’s 12.1 degrees in Vancouver!
me, i’ve always been partial to the stocky ‘Ampelmann’, the DDR’s old crosswalk icon. harder to find in east berlin today, but certain neighborhoods insisted on keeping him around, thankfully.
here’s ‘walk’
I don’t have a photo but I love the traffic lights in Delhi, where the red light has the word “RELAX” across it. They should do that in London…
Vancouer also has the coolest “pick up your dog doo” signs:
I love Vancouver. Luckily I married a beautiful girl from that fine city and will hopefully end up living there, when we tire of the hectic bustle of London. You must go and have a breakfast at Naam Restaurant! And be sure to check out Commercial Drive.
Oh, and www.virtvan.com is cool.
The Naam is popular but overrated (I ought to know - I live two blocks away from it). It’s ok if you like pure vegetarian fare, but service is slow and it’s croweded and the food isn’t particularly amazing.
Better bets for interesting food include places like Cin Cin on Robson or Vij’s (warning this place is tough to get into!).
Continuing the local cuisine (off)topic…
The Naam is great, but the service is terrible. I don’t think I’ve ever had dinner there in less than an hour and a half. The sesame fries with miso gravy are a must.
Vij’s is good, but be sure to check out Velvet for excellent, slightly cheaper Indian fusion. It’s about half a block east of Granville and Broadway, north side. The pistachio-encrusted prawns are not to be missed, and the butter chicken is good as well.
Also, try Stepho’s on Davie. It’s a great greek place with huge portions, but beware the lines.
OT More on local cuisine
I really used to enjoy the Eggs Benedict at the Sunshine Diner at Broadway and Macdonald just across the street from Safeway. Try the marvelous … For more exotic fare there is the Pnom Penh on Brodaway ( near Granville)for Vietnamese/Cambodian food or Tropika (Malaysian) on Broadway (near Balaclava). For super expensive but super good Italian there is Il Giardino di Umberto on Pacific Boulevard near Granville Island.
Despite my comments, Vancouver is a beautiful city which has a lot more to offer than just food.
AAahh! I miss Vancouver. Feel free to post more great photos, and glad yer enjoying it.
“Sunshine Diner at Broadway and Macdonald”
Or a few blocks further west at Mascottes, near the blockbuster! Eggs benny galore!
I grew up in Vancouver and lived there until I got bored with it and moved to Asia.
I don’t get it. What’s so special about the walk signs?
Back in HCMC from Phnom Penh yesterday where I saw they now have some new, what I think are Japanese, signs where the guy appears to be sprinting across the street. Quite funny.
That dog sign is at Deep Cove? That’s great! When visiting Van a few months back, we spent a great afternoon there having a picnic. One of my favorite spots.
What’s it called? The something Chew on Main and Broadway. Chat and Chew? I forget. Funky diner, good breakfast. And say Hi to Joe from his old customer in Vietnam if you are on Commercial Drive and getting the best capaccino on the drive at, where elese?, Joe’s Cafe. He’ll know who.
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