Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

High Tea - a Christmas treat

Although it's only about an hour away the City isn't somewhere we tend to go to very often unless it's for something special.  Last week I was thinking about what would be a new outing and after a bit of searching on the internet I came across High Tea (or Bubblegum High Tea for under 12) at the beautiful landmark Hotel Vancouver.

  

 
Girlfriends make any outing that much more fun so Ruby and I picked up Shirley and Kaidence and we were off to Vancouver.  Here we are on the 15th floor of the Hotel Vancouver in 'The Roof' restaurant, indulging in High Tea.

Lively conversation between grandmas and granddaughters, tea with just the right amount  of sugar, and also sweet treats made for a wonderful afternoon.

(you got photo-bombed girls!)

Leaving there we headed out to do a bit of shopping, then we checked out the Festival of Trees at another big hotel, and then on to see the display of Gingerbread houses at yet another hotel.  The sun had set but it was a beautiful warm evening to be enjoying the big city holiday buzz.

And who knew that we'd see one of the reindeers in town??  The girls gave him a kiss and we were on our way!  Merry Christmas to all!

 

Three guys, Three cities, Three games

Philadelphia - Dec 6, 2014

Ted, Barry and Tyrel began this adventure with a flight to Philadelphia to see the Seahawks play the Eagles.  They got off to a delayed start with a diversion through Ottawa so they arrived four hours later than anticipated.  What's travel without a bit of adversity though?

Everybody loves a penguin

First thing in the morning they head for the Hop On - Hop Off bus tour to get a whirlwind tour of Philadelphia.  They made the rounds to the famous sites like the Liberty Bell and other landmarks, with lots of info from their tour guide.

They managed to find a great Philly cheese steak place and then made their way to the game.  Seahawks won so it was a great day all around.



New York

After two nights in Philadelphia it was time to move on and take the Bolt Bus to New York, approximately two hours away.  There they stayed in mid-town Manhattan so they were close to many of the famous landmarks.

 

Beautiful store fronts all lit up for the Christmas Season

In Madison Square Gardens they watched the Rangers and the Penguins, where the Rangers won in overtime, another action packed day.

Montreal

For the third city on their tour it was time to fly to Montreal, but once again they ran into a few snags.  After an early morning wake up call they had to scramble and get to the airport in time to head for an unexpected earlier flight as theirs had been cancelled.  No way they were going to miss the big game in Montreal!

'Nucks vs. Habs' game

Timing was perfect to be at this game as they held a tribute to Jean Beliveau's passing.

They passed right by the cathedral where the service was to be held as well.

Their whirlwind vacation was coming to a close and the next day they headed to the airport in Montreal on Wednesday the 10th.  Little did they know that instead of departing at 5:10 pm they would be sitting in the aircraft for seven hours on the tarmac, then be deplaning at midnight and then sleeping on benches in the airport.  They were told numerous reasons why they didn't depart that night, so who really knows the truth of what was going on.  

Finally Thursday at 11:00am they took to the air and were back in Vancouver later that afternoon.  All in all it was a great trip, lots of laughs, experiences and good times.