Vancouver For One Day

On February 10th I will be in Vancouver for one day. I am looking forward to this as much as being in Costa Rica from February 11th to the 18th. I will be by myself so the trouble I will get in will be minimal but I do plan on treating myself, first class all the way.

I will arrive by car at the Vancouver airport (YVR) in the morning at about 8:00 am. I can not check in to the hotel until 3:00 pm, so what I plan to do is use the baggage storage serves at the airport to keep my bags until i check in. Then I will have the entire day in Vancouver. My plan so far is loose. I will take the Skytrain from the airport to downtown, have something to eat, do some shopping, and just look around town until its time to check in to the hotel.

I am staying at the four star Fairmont Hotel. I have not stayed there before, however it looks very nice and it is in the airport so I should have more time to sleep before the US customs and airport security ordeal at 5:30am. I was going to get some room serves or eat in the hotel restaurant but I just looked at their menu and it is not for me, so I think I will eat dinner somewhere else.

After dinner I think I will just take it easy at the hotel, maybe watch a movie or something. My plane leaves at 8:45 am and I need to check in at least three hours early at 5:45 am, and that will only be the start of a long day. I plan to go to sleep early, but I don't think I will get much sleep.

Vancouver Olympics and My Trip

My up coming trip makes it necessary for me to stay overnight for two nights in Vancouver in February. Normally a trip to Vancouver is a good thing, it is an opportunity to go to restaurants and shop because Vancouver is a big international city where you can get or do anything your heart desires. However this trip will be during the 2010 winter Olympics and hotels are charging way more than normal and most have no rooms available. I need to stay over the night before I leave for Costa Rica because I need to be at YVR(Vancouver Airport) three hours before my flight at 8:45am on February 11/2010. When I come back on February 18/2010 I land at the airport late at 7:20pm. Kelowna is about four or five hours away from Vancouver by car and this is how I will be traveling.

The two nights in the hotels are going to cost me a whopping $732.00. On the tenth I will be staying in The Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel. I have never stayed there before, it is a four star luxury hotel that is in the airport. On the way back I will stay at The Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel, it looks like a nice place also. I had to go with two different hotels because all hotels in and around Vancouver are full becouse of the Olympics.

I will have a few things to shop for when I get to Vancouver but nothing important, maybe some clothes for me and gifts for people in Costa Rica. I will probable go to a nice restaurant for dinner depending on how I feel, I am going to play it by ear.

Even with all the stress of traveling to a different country all I can think about is how much fun I am going to have in Cost Rica. I will be there in less than four weeks! I will post pictures of Vancouver and the hotels after I get there.

Costa Rica only 4 weeks away!

My trip is getting close and I am still not ready. We decided on renting a house in Playa Hermosa instead of a hotel. Elcy is arranging the transport from the airport in San Jose to the house. I still need to do some banking. Shopping for the trip is the worst part of getting ready because I am not sure what I need yet.

Renting the house is a big worry of my mind. On my last trip to Costa Rica we stayed in a house in Hurrandura. Hurradura is a few minutes north of Jaco in the central west coast region of Costa Rica. This time we are staying a few minutes south of Jaco in Hermosa. Playa Hermosa is a famous surfing beach. We liked staying in a house rather than a hotel or condo because of the privacy and the whole vacation seamed more relaxed. I think last time the most fun we had was the pool party and BBQ we hosted for all the people we met on the trip. This time the house is only fifty meters from the beach. I have great expectations.

The plan for getting from the airport in San Jose when I arrive to the house in Hermosa is to have Pedro the Taxi driver pick me up. I know that sounds shaky, but we met Pedro on the last trip and he was very reliable. He speaks English and has a certified taxi that is a large SUV. Pedro was also our tour guide, he took us to the zip line and Manuel Antonio National Park. Elcy my girlfriend lives in Jaco and wants to travel with Pedro to the airport and pick me up so I am leaving the arrangements up to her. Leaving things up to someone else makes me nervous so I sent Pedro an email and he said he would be there but the rest I will leave up to Elcy.

The banking is not so complicated but I keep going back and forth on how much money I need to bring. I would rather bring what I need for the whole trip in US cash and have my credit cards as a backup. I had no problems with bank machines last time other than the limit of three hundred dollars a day, but my friends cards did not work in some machines so I feel like I can not count on my cards.

Shopping for the trip is a pain in the butt because I will be In Costa Rica for Valentin's Day and I have to get something for Elcy. Elcy wants sexy lingerie but there is no way I am going into an underwear store and buying it. What would I say about the size? There is no way she is getting underwear. It has to be jewelry. I would also like to bring Pedro a gift from Canada, but what I don't know. All I need is a suitcase and some socks and maybe a nice shirt to wear out to dinner on Valentine's Day.

All I think about while getting ready is how much this vacation is costing me. This is usually the case before the trip but once there ye haw!