D is for DOWNTOWN

This week ABC Wednesday is brought to you by the letter D.  I thought I'd give you a bit of an idea what Vancouver's DOWNTOWN looks like.  It's broken up into several districts like Chinatown, the financial district, English Bay and the West End, Gastown, the Granville entertainment center, and Robson Street. There are a few other districts, but smaller in comparison.

This is English Bay, one of the first views visitors have of Vancouver before cruising in under the Lions' Gate Bridge:

I can attest to it truly being a magnificent sight since I've cruised past here twice!  Stanley Park is also near here, but I'm saving that for our S week!  Here's a good shot of the skyscrapers that abound in downtown Vancouver.

Visitors from the cruise ships can walk up from the terminal into this area to find shopping, restaurants, the Art Gallery and museums, etc.  Also, you can meander down Robson Street (aka Robsonstrasse) to see all the high-end boutiques there.  This is Vancouver's version of "Rodeo Drive." Apparently, Nordstrom is opening up soon, too.

 
At Robson and Granville Streets, you'll find Vancouver's main entertainment district.  Here are movie theaters, the famous Orpheum Theater (saving for O week) more restaurants, bars, dance clubs, and nightclubs, along with the famous Rogers Arena (saving for R week). 

This last shot is of the dining room at the famous Vancouver Hotel.

In the Davie Street Village of Vancouver's downtown area, you will find the first rainbow sidewalks that were put in last summer to kick off Pride Week celebrations.  "Over its 35-year history, the Vancouver Pride Parade has grown to be the fifth largest in the world with over 650,000 people involved last year. More than 150 floats from every part of the community will cover three kilometres over three hours."  from the Vancouver Sun

At the other end of downtown Vancouver, you will find Gastown and Yaletown (which I'll save for Y week).  Gastown is a national historic site because it was Vancouver's original downtown core and is named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton, a Yorkshire seaman, steamboat captain and barkeep who arrived in 1867 to open the area's first saloon.  This area is a definite "must see!"

Finally, I'll show you a bit of Canada's largest Chinatown - another popular tourist attraction. 
When I was a little girl, my parents used to take us out for Chinese food here and we also went to the annual Chinese New Year's Parade to see the dragon.  This is a photo of the gates into Chinatown. 

These were our two favourite restaurants downtown when I was a kid:

That's all I'm going to show you about Vancouver's Downtown but there is so much more than this.  I hope some of you are beginning to think Vancouver is a great place to visit!  Bring lots of film because you won't want to forget anything!

I hope if you're a newbie here, you're enjoying taking part in ABC Wednesday.  Be sure to remember the darling Mrs. Nesbitt, the creator and founder of ABCW, and the debonair Roger, our administrator.  Also, remember that "many hands make light work," so if you're interested in becoming part of the dastardly team by visiting a few posters each week, do let Roger know.