Whistler during Winter

Our first order of the day this morning was to have breakfast at the Executive Lounge of Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel.

 

my breakfast. I find the mini ketchup bottle cute!

 

 

We had to leave the hotel early as our destination today was quite far from Vancouver. We took a taxi to Pacific Central Station (CAD15) and by 8AM, our Greyhound bus left the terminal bound for Vancouver. Our bus tickets were pre-booked a couple of weeks ago (CAD50 for adult and CAD25 for Seniors Companion). I expected the journey to be long, as it was stated in our ticket that we should expect to arrive by 10:30AM.

I've been to Whistler almost two years ago, and followed the same itinerary to go there from Vancouver (although I took an earlier bus that time). Similarly there were stops along the way and the whole trip passing the countryside was very relaxing because of the beautiful views along the way.

 

As we approach Whistler, I started to see skiers left and ride enjoying the snow with their gears.

inukshuk

The bus dropped us off at Whistler Visitor Centre, most of the shops nearby were still closed so we entertained ourselves by exploring the area. Whistler is a resort town in British Columbia located 120+kms from Vancouver.

 

me

The place is like a winter wonderland for us who have never experienced a single drop of snow back in our country.

 

Vancouver and nearby towns like Richmond and Whistler in British Columbia hosted the Winter Olympics 2010. Same played as host to 2010 Winter Paralympics as well. There are still some remnants of the event placed all over Whistler.

Olympics logo

 

Time passed by quickly when you are occupied and was surprised it was already passed the lunch hour. We had our lunch at The Chinese Bistro.

 

wonton noodle soup

chicken and pork over rice

braised beef rice topping

 

As I have been out of country for more than 2 weeks already, it was a welcomed experience for me to eat tasty dish with rice again. In the end we were full and satisfied with the lunch items we ordered, although the place was a bit pricy (our bill was about CAD40 for the items above). We then had our winter shopping, specifically for winter clothes. I think I was underdressed earlier today as I felt too cold at that time.

Then we went near the platforms where they board gondolas going up either to Whistler or Blackcomb mountains. We decided not to go up there as down where we were was already cold and we may have a hard time up at the mountain.

We instead just went people watching and sightseeing from this point. It was a good vantage point to watch the scenes going around.

 

 me

boards

 

We continued to explore the place, entering a few shops thereafter, or mesmerizing at the buildings and structures in the village.

Before boarding our bus going back to the Vancouver (scheduled at 4:30PM), we had our early dinner first at KFC.

 

buddha

Then we started to walk towards Whistler Visitor Centre again as we waited for the arrival of our bus that will take us back to the city.

 

We arrived a little before 7PM back at Pacific Central Station and headed back to our hotel and decided to sleep early for we are leaving Vancouver tomorrow.