Vancouver, Hidden Jewel Of The Pacific Northwest – Vacation-Rentals
Vancouver, Hidden Jewel Of The Pacific Northwest
Vancouver will receive a lot of attention as the 2010 Olympics approach, but why wait to visit during the most crowded, tourist deluged period since they hosted Expo 86?Skiing and winter sports will receive the lion's share of attention during the 2010 Olympics - it is the Winter Olympics, after all - but summer is Vancouver's best season.After a fall and winter of grey skies and rainy days, Vancouver emerges to a summer of endless blue skies, gorgeous ocean views and warm but fairly dry climate. This is when you want to come to Vancouver!There are 5 star hotels available on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver, but there are two great hostels, one just off the famous gay area of Davie Street - its maybe six blocks of the shopping area of Robson Street as well - or another across from Jericho beach, looking across at downtown Vancouver. Very well run, situated in spectacular spots, and cheap!Vancouver is famous for international cuisine. Sushi, Thai food, Greek, Italian, French, Indian, Chinese - but not just run of the mill varieties - some world class representatives of every type of cuisine. Hy's Steak House is a venerable, 50 year old steak house. Cioppinno's has the kind of Italian cooking where everyone at the table raved about having the best______ they'd ever had. C Restaurant on the water has the best seafood. Bishop's has been rated the best restaurant for years, but Rob Feenie at Lumiere has won the Iron Chef competition. There are probably 300 outstanding restaurants in Vancouver!What to do? Stanley Park is second only to Central Park in new York for size of an urban park - and it is simply spectacular, surrounded by the ocean. Over in North Vancouver, cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge, swinging side to side, 300 feet over the Capilano River. There are 3 ski hills poised overlooking Vancouver, so great sightseeing - take the gondola up to the top of Grouse Mountain. Storeum in Gastown is a new tourist attraction - find out about BC's history. See Vancouver Canucks hockey, BC Lions football, Whitecaps Soccer and catch a "nooner" at Nat bailey Stadium and watch Vancouver Canadians baseball.Granville Street is the entertainment district, with bars lined on both sides of the street, including the Yale, Vancouver's old time blues bar. There is a gay district with most gay bars on Davie Street. There is a Pride Parade in August, and four nights of the Symphony of Fire fireworks competition - just you and 400,000 of your closest friends watching fireworks timed to music!Though you'd never need to leave Vancouver, there are great side trips to Victoria (more English than England), Tofino, Vancouver Island and smaller Gulf Islands, Whistler, and the always scorching hot Okanagan Lake. Believe me, you WILL find lots to do!Andrew Larder
Whistler Accommodation and Lodging
Native American Indian Art Wood Carvings of the Pacific Northwest
Native American Indian Art Wood Carvings of the Pacific Northwest
Native American Indian art in the American southwest is dominated by the magnificent pottery and jewelry in the region. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest region which covers the states of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia (Canada) and the southern part of Alaska, the Native American art here is mostly wood carvings. This is not surprising since unlike the southwest desert, the Pacific Northwest is abundant with forests which have provided the wood as raw material for the region's Native American Indian art.The wood carvings of the Pacific Northwest Native American art come in many different forms. The huge totem poles which are carved on entire tree trunks are probably the most famous. Certainly the most common form of contemporary Pacific Northwest Native American art is the plaque wood carving. The entire range of Pacific Northwest Native American Indian art subjects including eagles, ravens, thunderbirds, bears, killer whales and salmons are carved as plaques to be hung on the wall. A more complex project and usually higher priced would be the masks which are also carved out of wood. The Pacific Northwest Native American artists make some of the most striking aboriginal masks in the world.Creative artists and carvers from this region have also used wood to carve out bowls, paddles, rattles and boxes which are all expertly decorated with Pacific Northwest Native American Indian designs. Some carvers have even carved more day to day objects such as letter openers out of wood again decorated with the region's Native motifs. Although not restricting themselves to just wood, the Pacific Northwest Native American artists also do art prints, paintings and precious metal jewelry but overall wood is still the most common material used in their artwork.The Pacific Northwest style of Native American Indian art is still unknown to many parts of North America and the rest of the world but this will definitely change as the 2010 winter Olympics in British Columbia approaches. The world will see British Columbia and as visitors to this Canadian province have already noticed, there are fine examples of Pacific Northwest Native American Indian art everywhere one goes in the west coast of Canada.Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca, an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.