Merry Christmas from the Sylvia

 

Welcome to the Sylvia, our home away from home

Vernon is located about half way between Calgary and Vancouver.  It is about a 6 1/2 hour drive from Calgary to Vernon and about a 6 hour drive from Vernon to Vancouver.  This works well for us, as we can go to  either urban center easily in one day.  And its good news for our family and friends who may be commuting from Calgary to Vancouver or vice versa.  We are situated ideally for an overnight stop.  But most of the time we convince our visitors to stay for an extra day or more. 

This year we are celebrating Christmas in Vancouver with our two daughters, one who lives there and one who lives in the Eastern States and her partner has extended family in Vancouver.  We are staying at the same hotel, the Sylvia, where we stay every time we visit Vancouver.  We have dubbed it our "home away from home"

 

My sister-in-law first told me about the place about 11 years ago when our girls were attending UBC and we lived in Alberta.  She described it as an older hotel located overlooking English Bay, "a bit run-down but under going renovations and the price was right".  My first stay was with my mother, who is quite discerning about most things but also appreciates a good deal.  It passed the test and has been our go-to hotel ever since.

Remnants of the Medieval Theme of the 50's

Built in 1913 as an apartment building by a West End resident, Mr Goldstein, and named after his daughter Sylvia, it has witnessed many changes throughout its century.  It was the tallest hotel in Vancouver when built and continued to be the tallest building in the West End until 1958. It suffered bankruptcy and abandonment through the Depression, becoming an apartment-hotel during WWII to house crews of the merchant marine.  In 1954 it opened the first cocktail bar in Vancouver and, at that time, the lounge was called the "Tilting Room', as in medieval jousting.  Remnants of this theme can still be found today.

Names such as novelist Malcolm Lowry, poet Robert Service and actor Errol Flynn can be found in old registries, but possibly the most celebrated resident was a cat called 'Mr. Got To Go' who wondered in one day and stayed long enough to become the character in a couple popular children's books.

View of English Bay from our 6th story window

Sylvia herself was quite the character.  As a girl living in the West End she was known as an excellent swimmer under the tutelage of  Barbados-born Joe Fortes, Vancouver's first lifeguard.  A well-known business woman and socialite in later life she was active in several Jewish organizations and was still volunteering well into her 90's. She lived until age 102.  On the day she passed away the Sylvia flew its flag at half mast.

The lounge at the Sylvia with its view of English Bay

Now the hotel has been somewhat modernized, with renovated rooms but some of the older charm remains, including its older clunky elevators.  The lobby and the stair foyers on each floor are adorned with pictures of bathers at English Bay, the old Alexandria Pier,  and the grand old dame on Beach Avenue, The Sylvia.

English Bay view from Second Beach

This year we booked a one-room suite.  It is about 600 square feet, has a good sized bedroom with a king sized bed and windows that look out to English Bay and Point Grey.  There is a full kitchen, sans dish washer, a good sized living room with a hide-a-bed, three closets, and bathroom with a tub/shower.  All we need!  The price is $165 per night. (without tax) with an $18/day fee for parking.

 

Our one bedroom suite with our decorated tree

The first night we had family and friends up for drinks and snacks. We put up a Christmas tree and settled right in! The place is built like a bunker so no worry that things got a bit noisy.

You are as likely to meet a four legged guest in the elevator or lobby as a two legged one, The Sylvia takes pride in having being the first pet-friendly hotel in Vancouver, a reputation that guarantees a full house much of the year. 

 

Oscar waiting for his master in the lobby

All those guests simply cross Beach Avenue and are on the sea wall.  Directly in front is English Bay Beach. To the left are dozens of kilometers of walking/biking trails that take you around False Creek and to the ferry terminals for the False Creek Ferries. Little tubby boats scoot passengers tot he Science Centre, the Maritime and City Museums, Granville Island Markets and Kitsilano Beach.

Ferry terminal across from Granville Island

 

Every day we have taken a walk.  Our first day we walked to the ferry terminal and took the ferry over to Vancouver City Museum.  The next day we walked down Denman Street to Robson, the epi-centre of downtown Vancouver shopping, and eventually walked ourselves between the trendy new condos of Yaletown to False Creek.  Somewhere along the way we found a little Italian coffee shop for a cuppa.  Today we walked on the Sea Wall around Stanely Park.  It was a bit misty and cool so we stopped at the Stanely Park Pavilion, a grand old building where we had a bowl of hot turkey soup beside a roaring fireplace.
 

Walking on the sea walk around Stanley Park on a misty day

 Christmas morning we went down to the restaurant.  I had the 'English Bay' breakfast, of eggs, bacon and blueberry pancakes while looking over English Bay, quiet except for the gulls and cormorants.  It was a sunny morning, a reprieve from the cloud and rain. A dozen large bulk carriers languished in the outer bay, waiting for a dock space in Burrard Inlet. Guests joined us mid-afternoon for a glass of Prosecco before heading down to a small little banquet room for dinner.  I met the manager in the lobby.  He had been working all day, bussing tables in the restaurant,  answering phones, etc.  "If I expect my staff to work on Christmas Day then I will be here too"  he told me still looking bright and energetic even though he had been here since 7 am.  His attitude very much typifies the feel of this unique little hotel! Its a great place to call home when we visit Vancouver!

 

Mistletoe station just outside the Sylvia

 

 

 



Silver Star is My Mountain

 

 

 

When I look out my window, its hard to imagine skiing season has started a mere 30 minutes away.  The hills have been washed for days with winter rains.  Occasionally there has been some snow but that melts with the rain and unseasonably warm December weather.  I know all our friends in Alberta are almost delirious with happiness to have such a warm early winter.  Although we don't enjoy shovelling snow or walking through slush, we have a vested interest in the temperature hovering around freezing, or a bit below.  We love to ski!

 

 

So far Silver Star has managed to keep itself above the "snow line".  It is quite dramatic driving up

from the wet valley, often through low cloud, then some muddy slush along the side of the road that finally morphs into a skiff of white.  It is not until you have passed the "Silver Star Provincial Park" sign that there is evidence of any substantial snow.  Then presto, by the time you pull into the parking lot it actually looks like a ski hill.  Snow is piled on the roofs and has coated the trees.

And the trip up to the hill is much improved over last year.  The entire road from the Butcher Boys corner in Vernon has been repaved.  No potholes!  Now it only takes us 25 minutes to go from our driveway to the parking lot.

 

We have enjoyed a half dozen days of cross-country skiing and the conditions have been excellent.  Last week we experienced our first "inversion" when the valley is stuffed full of dreary cloud and the sun is shining up on the mountain. It is such an uplifting feeling to be above the cloud.  You can just feel a smile creep onto your face when you look down on the cotton-baton white fluff below while you squint in the bright sunshine. I am convinced there is an immediate surge of endorphins when you come out of the valley fog and into the sunshine.

I was up last Wednesday to set up equipment for the SADS (Canadian Association of Disabled Skiing) Western Pre-course, an early season meeting and in-service to update Adaptive Ski Programs.
This year the manuals and certification courses are being updated, and during this pre-course the more senior instructors from all over Western Canada were being orientated to the new course requirements.  Then they will return to their organizations and update all the instructors.  It was really neat to see all of our SSASS (Silver Star Adaptive Snow Sports) sit-skis and other equipment all set up in one room, and help assemble some of it for the sessions.

 

  I now will wait with most of the rest of our instructors for our in-service courses where we will get all the new info.I was able to sneak out and do a couple downhill runs that day and was really impressed with how good the snow was.  Then on Friday I returned for a "downhill day".

 

 

There was some fresh powder but I did not try any of the powder glades as there is still not good coverage where no grooming has been done.  And I did on run, BX Express, down to the bottom of the Silver Woods chair, which is farther down the mountain than the village and the snow was poor.  It had obviously been below the snow line!

 

 

Today we skied on the lower cross-country trails.  There had been over 20 cm of new snow and the tracks were freshly set.  My skis loved the conditions. The trees were covered in powder; it was a winter wonderland. 

 

 We finished the ski day (at about 1 pm) with a "flat white" at Out of Bounds Bistro.  No doubt, the best flat white so far this season!