This little piggy went to market - Vancouver II

Granville Island Public Market, that is. Oh how I would love this on my doorstep!! Probably the best produce market I've ever been to, including all the big ones in France and Spain. These pictures don't really do it justice, but we ate a great lunch, trawled for tasty treats and took fresh pasta home for dinner from the Italian deli. Stripy ravioli!! Also, just a 10 minute walk downhill from our hotel was the ferry to get over to the island - really a bathtub with an engine - http://www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca/home.htm - so small that Phoebe's pram had to hang out the side door (NB we removed her first...) but great fun.



As you can see from these pictures, James also went slightly mad.... either the discovery of the Kids Market with soft play and toy shops, or the entire stall of Pez and Pez dispensers...






Went back to (you guessed it) Stanley Park the next day as the children desperately wanted to go swimming at Second Beach pool. Now it wasn't really warm, but at least the sun was shining and the pool was heated - how bad could it be???. Let me put it this way, James' lips were actually blue when he came out, Will couldn't speak and Ella curled straight up under Nick's jacket and went to sleep - all that was visible were her toes!

Still trying to figure out if we are good parents for indulging them inspite of our misgivings, or bad parents for inducing hypothermia. Just another one for the guilt list...









Anyway, once dressed we were all really warm and headed off to see some totem poles. I don't really know why - they were there, and you just do...









Nice cheesy tourist shop at the totem poles, a mere $5000 for three apple juices, but had a real laugh when our children turned into the main attraction for a group of Chinese tourists who were cooing over James and Will and then went into raptures when I appeared with Ella and Phoebe. Lots of sign language for ages greeted with more ooh-ing. Just like the aliens in Toy Story. Then we left via 'our tree' as the children had started calling it, and walked home past a cupcake shop... or rather, not past, but into - who could walk past? This is Ella eating her 'Diva' cupcake. So appropriate...