Well my friends, it is so good to see you back for the 3rd and final installment of my blog posts on the fantastic walk to the wonderful Granville Island Market. If you missed parts 1 and 2, you can catch up
here and
here.
When I left off, I was just about to continue the walk along the waterfront represented in the photo below.
I did that until I arrived just under the Granville Street Bridge.
That is the bridge above my head in this photo. I will continue the walk straight ahead. Immediately to the left of the bridge pillar is the famous chain of steak restaurants, The Keg.
Just a few short minutes and here I am right out side the public market, better known as Granville Island Market.
The market itself is housed in this big yellow and red building. It contains fresh produce of all kinds, fresh meats, delicatessens, honey and home made crafts and goods. There is also ready made food to eat. Just outside where the benches are, buskers will sing and you can sit or stand and be entertained.
Here is a young lady now singing "Heart of Gold" by well known Canadian musician, Neil Young. I love the song and she is singing very well.
Behind the young woman you will see shops. There are wonderful shops all over the island, many of them house the works of gifted artisans and uniquely west coast products.
Here is a photo of the wonderfully, fresh produce available for purchase. You can find all sorts of local produce and ingredients here but you can also find the more exotic. Many people love to shop here. Even though it is more expensive, it is fresh and it "moves" quickly.
By now it is getting to be after 3 p.m. and I haven't had lunch yet so I head straight to the food area. It is fairly busy at the food court. I guess everyone loves to eat at the market.
I always want fish and chips when I come to the market. A public market on the waterfront is about fish.
While I eat, I listen to more great tunes sung by the man close to the door. Can you see him? He is just under the exit sign.
I also people watch. I was fascinated by the women at the table in the photo below. They were primping and preening in public (putting on lipstick, etc.) right at the table after eating. You might have a hard time seeing them but they are to the far left of the photo. They were "Betty Boop" lookalikes. I'm thinking there is a Betty Boop club in town as there are a lot of young women about these days with "the look". (Oops, I meant Bettie Page. Betty Boop is a cartoon character with a totally different hairstyle).
Now that I have finished lunch I want to go out nearer to the water and watch the boats and the sea gulls. I want to get a photo of the sea ferry for you too.
I got lucky. There was a beautiful photo shoot going on. A young Asian couple who had just gotten married were having a photo shoot on the boardwalk right on the water.
I had to get in on the photo action too! lol. I think this couple will be very pleased with the photos in their album. Can you see the photographer's equipment bag in the forefront of the photo below?
These kayakers look like they are having fun as I wait for the ferry to pass by.
Here is one larger ferry (above). There is also a smaller fleet of ferrys. These ferrys are great as they take you just across to the city or back to the Island and a few other points for $2.00. These are very short rides but lots of fun.
Now I leave you with some flowers. Aren't they simply beautiful? There is every colour of the rainbow here.
I've had a fantastic day and a fantastic walk. It was especially nice to have you along. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Now I make my way home again. This time I make my way back to a bus by walking back under the Granville Bridge.
On my way, I pass by another marina. Here you can rent a boat for a few hours.
I take my last look at the seawall which continues toward Burrard Bridge (westward) just before I get to the bus stop.
Lovely.
Don't be a stranger.
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