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Oct 21
   Vintage! This is a random post. The year was 2007...

When East heads West - The rebound

Vancouver has grown into me, it has slipped under my skin and become part of me. I talk to it and it responds. I can feel its moods and I know some of its secrets. We confide in each other, casually, as friends exchange impressions on their daily routine.

But now I am suddenly trying to see the city through someone else’s eyes. Ironically, after two years working in the tourism industry, it’s the first time I completely immerse myself in that perspective. Hundreds of questions arise daily, trying to imagine what she will see, what she will think. The smallest things I take for granted can now be redrawn into possible surprises or exclamation marks.

What will she think of the innumerable coffee shops? Will the fancy Caffe Artegiano win with its classic elegance, or will it be the funky decor of Trees Organic Coffee, or the busy JJ Bean on Commercial Drive? Will Granville Island’s public market appeal to her cooking spirit or is it too pretty and not spontaneous enough to match the real European markets? Will Stanley Park have the same magical effect on her it has on me, erasing the urban core from my conscience in as little time as it takes to walk a block or two? Will the Seawall and its mesmerizing views make her stare in awe? Will the outrageous richness of Yaletown’s waterfront be too much to accept or will it just be an urban feast for the eyes? What will she think of Lynn Canyon, which I consider to be the most beautiful spot in the lower mainland? Am I just biased about it or is the magic real? Will she see the colors I see in our West Coast sunsets, how will they compare to eastern ones? Will the sight of a graceful harbour seal poking its head through the calm waters of Coal Harbour make her smile and point like I still do? Will she laugh at people respectfully waiting for the signal to change to cross an empty street, at passengers thanking the bus driver when leaving, at girls waring flip-flops in the autumn rain? Will she share my childish excitement when riding the gondola up to Grouse, and when overlooking the Greater Vancouver at night? Will she enjoy the Seabus ride to North Van, and the False Creek Ferries, unavoidable floating links between here and there in our city surrounded by water?

What will Marie think of Vancouver? I almost wish I was in her shoes, ready to discover the city all over again. But she’s bound to like it. Vancouver has beauty everywhere one looks, and beauty is what makes Marie tick. And me too.

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2007-10-21 19:12 • Posted in Always: & Vancouver:

3 Comments

Display comments as(Linear | Threaded)
  • 1 - Marie says:

    « Does this mean I can bring my flipflops??? So...when it rains in Canada and girls wear flipflops, is Canada so clean that no mud flicks onto the backs of their legs??? - because if that is true I’m moving now.

    I can’t wait to see your city.

    And I thought you didn’t like...ticks...:-) »

    Date of comment: 2007-10-21 20:18 •
  • 1.1 - Vince answers:

    « Well, no, nothing is that perfect. The flips still flick mud on the chicks’ legs and no, I don’t like ticks. ;-) »

    Date of comment: 2007-10-21 20:24 •
  • 2 - Anonymous says:

    « Don’t worry, Marie is running through life with the eyes of a child.
    She will love you both.
    ;-) »

    Date of comment: 2007-10-24 07:36 •

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Nov 29

Amazed by Google, heart in a vise

Incredible things are happening with technology as we speak. The internet is growing exponentially. I find it almost impossible to stay up to date. And sure enough, once in a while, I find out that I have indeed fallen behind.

It was the case this evening. Having looked up the French town of Anjou on Google Maps while Skyping with Marie earlier, I was left with an open browser and beautiful France smiling at me. I began to zoom in and traveled south. A little orange icon looking like a person attracted my attention on the interface. It looked like the « Street View » icon, a very cool new feature in Google Maps that shows you street level images of a location. But I thought I remembered Street View only being available in select US cities. I checked further, zooming in on Marseilles.

Surprise. Street level views were everywhere. My heart started beating faster. What if? I scrolled, scrolled and scrolled, disoriented at first. I missed la Bonne Mère, found le vieux port, climbed back up the hill and spotted the name I was looking for. I dragged the little icon and held my breath.

And this, is what I got.

I was blown away - that ruelle, boldly labeled an « avenue », is the smallest street one could ever imagine; the hairpin turns below and to the left (once in street view, click and drag to turn around) are so tight and narrow that most small French cars miss and have to back-up once. And yet, there it was, on my screen and out of a decade of dust collecting, duly photographed and archived by others onto the internet. 69 Avenue David Dellepiane. Google sent me tumbling down the memory lane.

How many times had I written that address on an envelope? The squeaky metal gate would open into a small empty terrace, and then the door, to the right, lead via a long corridor inside one of the smallest (and darkest) apartments I had seen before arriving in Vancouver.

There, lived my father. He spent the end of his tumultuous life smoking and drinking himself to oblivion, and he stayed at 69 D. Dellepiane until the end. The sight of this house is an amazingly sad one, filled with the heavy burden of guilt and regrets. But at the same time, I catch myself smiling at the memory of such a colorful man. I chose, long ago, to remember all the extraordinary moments he filled my youth with, rather than the sadness of an unavoidable end.

Isa, if you ever read this, my love to you and everyone around you. :-)

As it was said somewhere else:

- Will you tell me how he died?
- Instead, I will tell you how he lived.

...

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2008-11-29 21:18 • Posted in Web winks:

9 Comments

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  • 1 - sigrid says:

    « When I first read the quote, I didn’t notice that there was a question and an answer. I read: « Tell me how he died, I will tell you how he lived. »
    I thought that was so unspeakably cruel. But ok, now I get it. »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-01 05:42 •
  • 1.1 - Vince answers:

    « Ok, I cheated and altered the unspeakable quote. :-) »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-01 07:36 •
  • 2 - Sigrid says:

    « Ok, I admit it. I went and look for my landmarks. Antibes, of course, Freeport, Bay St-Louis... Pretty cool though none so precise as 69 David D. »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-01 16:48 •
  • 3 - Anonymous says:

    « When I first met him, he had the world in his eyes... and a kind of sadness that never left. His war youth, the absence of a denied father, atrocities in Algeria
    waged war within himself and ordinary life had become difficult, if not impossible. »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-02 04:56 •
  • 4 - Marie says:

    « Oh, Sweetie (sorry) - I have been so wrapped up in deadlines and Stuff that this is the first time I checked your blog in a few days - I came to look at your pictures and to breathe a bit. Now I am sitting in tears at 210 Forsyth Street :-) with night drawing in and a million miles to go. I love the quote. It is so much you. You are teaching me to react differently. Instead of to rage. Thank you.

    »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-02 15:07 •
  • 5 - Vince says:

    « Well, if my esteemed readers are going to start writing stuff that is even deeper and more thoughtful than my own blabber, I’d better watch out and plan carefully.

    This post was a « think out loud » kind of post, not really meant to send anybody else tumbling down the memory lane. However, thank you all for commenting and my apologies if this was all too serious. Such is life, at times. (Nah, I won’t quote Pagnol here, one quote per entry is enough, and that’s a really sad one... ;-) )

    But I can promise you a completely silly and 100% superficial post very soon. :-) »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-02 15:44 •
  • 6 - Anonymous says:

    « No, don’t apologize. Life is not only smiles and gurgles.
    Your posts touch us deep down and that’s wonderful.
    That’s how it should be, at times. We need both sides
    of the epic adventure that life is. »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-02 18:07 •
  • 7 - Sigrid says:

    « I know which quote. Let’s pass. »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-03 09:55 •
  • 7.1 - Vince answers:

    « :-) »

    Date of comment: 2008-12-03 09:59 •

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