Holiday reflections/ last blog entry

Ok, this is the last post I will ever write. I'm sure you must be feeling really sad reading that, but don't worry - there are all the pictures to look at when we put them in photo albums and there might be another big family holiday (if Daddy does a big deal).

It has been an amazing holiday, everyone has got on surprisingly well and we have had no major tragedies or losses or arguments! Everyone is sad it is over but will remember it forever (this could not get more cheesy).
Everyone is agreed that their favourite city is Vancouver and their favourite activity was White Water Rafting!!! Quatchi has been the holiday symbol and the song of the holiday goes like this: "heres a woolly mammoth, mammoth mammoth mammoth". Of course you cannot imagine the greatness of the song unless you hear us singing it to freak people out!

So...I guess its goodbye from the Shapiros and thanks for reading!

Day 22

Today was the day we were flying home, but not until 5.30. We had the longest lie-in of the holiday so far and had a leisurely breakfast with a weird waiter who kept forgetting things and cracking jokes! The parents had the "fun" idea to get the bus to the Museum of Anthropology (I dont even know what anthropology is).
So we had a long bus ride to the small museum. It was basically just totem poles so Wilsey, Katy and I mucked around with my camera. We got more squashed public transport back to downtown where we walked around the city. At 4pm we had a late lunch in a really nice restaurant where we saw some of the olympics.

We arrived back at our hotel to catch the limo to the airport!! By the way we dont normally ride in limos, but in this case it was cheaper than 2 taxis (I think). We got to the airport which Mummy loved as it had public art and water fountains and barely had to wait in any queues. This meant we had lots of time to look in the shops.
The flight and everything all went ridiculously smoothly even though it was a night flight with 4 kids. I watched Forrest Gump which was extremely good and we all went through baggage claim easily and got a taxi home!

Day 21

Today we left the inn, to go back to Vancouver for one more night before getting the plane. Daddy very kindly payed for Mummy and the kids to get the sea plane from Victoria to Vancouver. But since we needed to get our rental car and suitcases to Vancouver, Daddy had to drive and take the ferry.

Daddy left quite early to catch the ferry so the 5 of us walked around the stalls and shops by the waterfront. And then after a short wait we boarded the sea plane. In case you are wondering, a sea plane is a small plane that takes off and lands in the water. Our plane only held about 12 people and flew quite near to the sea, as opposed to up in the clouds.

It was an incredible experience, we saw amazing views and had a great time. The whole flight only lasted about 40 minutes! After a short walk we met Daddy at the Metropolitan Hotel (the first hotel we went to). We decided to go for lunch to the upstairs patio of the Vancouver Art Gallery where we had a lovely time.Then Mummy and Daddy went to Granville Island to do some shopping and the 4 kids had a very long last swim. Chubby gained the confidence to jump in without any floats or assistance! Mummy and Daddy came back with some more Quatchi stuff for the kids which was well received.


That night we had to unpack and then repack every single thing, which I am sure you can imagine was the greatest fun ever!

Day 20

After breakfast at the inn, we decided to go to the Butchart Gardens since the weather was so nice. The gardens were spectacular. We went to the sunken gardens where there was an amazing fountain.

We walked on the stepping stones and bridge in the lovely Japanese gardens and then went to the Italian gardens.

We spent longest in the rose gardens smelling each type of rose! After all this we had lunch at the cafe in the gardens (where we saw a peculiar dragonfly) and then looked in the fantastic gift shop. Mummy got 2 yoga figurines, the three smaller kids got Canada zip things with their names on and I bought a Quatchi badge!! Katy also randomly got some furry slipper socks!

After leaving the gardens we went back to the inn for a while and then Katy and I were dropped off to see "sisterhood of the travelling pants 2" which was very good! When we were watching the film, Mummy and Daddy were in Victoria and Daddy was picked on to perform in some street entertainment (e.g helping a guy onto a unicycle). It sounds jokes but I'm glad I was not there because it would have been cringey!!

We bought some food from the supermarket for supper, so as not to have too much restaurant food. Bexy (very kindly) showered, teethed and read to Chubby whilst Mummy and Daddy went out with a friend.

Nearly the end of the holiday :(

Day 19

We all reluctantly left the gorgeous Fairmont where the staff were so nice and the hot chocolate was so cute. That morning I bought a grey hoodie (what I had been looking for the whole holiday) that said "Seattle" on it.We drove and hour and a half to Anacortes where, after a "tiny" wait, we boarded the ferry that would take to the small city of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

The ferry was smooth and surprisingly relaxing, it moved slowly, stopping twice at the San Juan islands. The ferry shown in the picture is the same as the one we went on. The ride was 3 hours long and for one of those hours Katy and I decided to burn off our ice-creams so we marched (swaying arms and all) around the ferry. We got over the initial embarrassment of EVERYONE staring at us and had the biggest jokes of all time!

We then got off the ferry where we had an hour long drive to the Beaconsfield Inn in Victoria. The inn was old-fashioned and cosy, and the people running it were very friendly. All the kids shared one room, which brought with it heaps of fun! We were shown around and then walked through Victoria.
We decided on a Thai restaurant for supper where we tried lots of new spicy food and Chubby decided that when he is older he wants to be Thai! We walked some more and saw the amazing view of the Victoria government buildings all lit up.

We then went back to the inn where we sat in the lovely library and read before going tiredly to bed.

Day 18

We had a late start to the day, enjoying the lovely hotel and our breakfast. The kids ordered hot chocolate which came with 2 little containers full of mini marshmallows and cream, which I found adorable! We walked to Pikes Place Market - the oldest continuous farmers market.

It was really great with a huge assortment of food and lots of bits and bobs. Katy and I both got our names drawn in beautiful Korean symbols on a poster. Chubby got a lizard beanie baby that he named Frankie and Katy bought a funky hair thing.

We also briefly visited the first ever starbucks in the world! It was old-fashioned and its logo had a very different mermaid to the one it has today. Then we walked along the waterfront and stopped for a refreshing drink, the weather was incredibly hot and sunny (hows the weather in England by the way?!).

After this we walked throught Seattle, stopping in various shops. In Old Navy Wilsey got 2 t-shirts, Mummy got some pyjamas and a top, Chubby got a jacket with a skull on it and I got a dress. Back at the hotel, the 3 youngest kids went swimming and then Mummy, Daddy and the boys got the water taxi to a Lebanese restaurant.

Also - it will be a few days before I can update the blog, because tomorrow we are going to Canada and we are staying in an inn, so i doubt there will be wireless.

Day 17

Today we had a great day sightseeing in Seattle, the city which we now all love. The sun was shining all day so we were very happy! We had the best hotel breakfast so far and spent so long eating that we had to run to the meeting place for the "duck tour"! We had been on 3 other duck tours so far on other holidays so were accustomed to how they were. We rode in World War trucks that were refurbished and turn into boats in the water.

We had a fantastic tour where we learnt a lot about Seattle. Our driver was a massive joker who wore an assortment or weird hats and made everyone laugh. When in the water we had brilliant views of the Seattle skyline and the driver even let Chubby drive the boat for a minute!! When the tour finished we decided to go up the famous space needle as it was such a clear, glorious day.

We did not have to wait in queues for too long and then we got into the windowed lifts that took us up 520ft to the observation deck. The views were breathtaking and we even saw Mount Rainier that only appears 90 days a year. After taking in the views we got the lift back down and spent a long time in the gift shop. Wilsey got a fantastic poster of the tallest buildings in the world which will be great for when his room is redone.

We went to a crepe place for lunch where I had a tomato and mozzarella crepe followed by an incredible nutella crepe! We then walked around the shops and had the fairly long walk back to the hotel. Back at the hotel the whole family went swimming and into the lovely jacuzzi. In the evening Katy and I watched a film in the hotel room whilst Mummy and Daddy met up with some old friends.