Day 33: Why am I walking on Carter Road when I could be running in Stanley Park?
Priya Ramani -
Friday, May 16, 2008 5:23 AM
It's 1000 acres in the heart of Vancouver.
It has the sea, beaches, a lost lagoon, glorious old cedar trees, wild and manicured picnic spots, forest paths, waterways, ducks, zillions of flowers, so many colours of rhodendrons, black squirrels, ducks, and oh yes, a heated outdoor swimming pool that has a capacity of 2,894 people (don't ask me how they calculated that one). And--are you ready for this--it's ringed by snow capped mountains. It may not be the world's best (although it's pretty close) or the world's biggest park, but it's now officially my favourite. Move over Melbourne's Royal Botanic Garden, NY's Central Park and London's Hyde Park.
At Stanley there are free tennis courts, a miniature golf for a reasonable fee, and lawn bowling where visitors are welcome. If you don't have a patch of green in your home, just write to the city and they'll give you your little spot to garden in Stanley Park (for free). There's a miniature rail museum and an aquarium too. The park's perimeter is an approximately 10km seawall.
It was a gloriously sunny day so we spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, lazing on a beach gazing at the mountains, eating sushi on a carpet of flowers and asking ourselves what we are doing living in India. I told the husband the Vancouver Sun or any other Canandian newspaper would be happy to sign him on as editor. He could work, I could roam the park. He liked the idea, except that he wanted the roles reversed. We're currently negotiating.
The only thing that bothered me was the dogs-as-accessories movement. It's big here. I'm a Lab/Golden Retriever/Alsatian type of person but I saw so many Paris Hilton's doggie lookalikes today. Apparently, there's even an annual Chihuahua walkathon in the park. Incidentally, in August last year the pint-sized dog rescued a disoriented beaver in the waters off Stanley Park.
I'm beginning to feel shortchanged by Bombay's Marine Drive and Carter Road.