For our second day in Vancouver we wanted to visit Grouse Mountain which is part of the Coast Mountain Range in North Vancouver. It is possible to hike to the top but we opted to take the gondola instead. At the top of the mountain are lots of activities and also chair lifts that take you to over 4000 feet with views of Vancouver. We especially wanted to see the grizzly bears!

We arrived just before 10am and were straight on the gondola. Our first stop at the top was the grizzly bear enclosure which houses two male bears – Grinder and Cooler – who were both orphaned as babies. They were both outside so we spent quite a long time watching them play in the lake.

^{The grizzly bears enjoying the sunshine!}

We then caught the end of the birds of prey exhibition and then waited for the lumberjack show to begin. The show was good fun – we watched two lumberjacks engage in a few competitions such as who could be the first to saw a log in half and climb up a post. It was very predictable but we all really enjoyed it.

^{Some photos of the exhibits on the mountain.}

We then took the chairlifts to the top of the mountain where the views were spectacular!

^{Views of Vancouver from the top of Grouse Mountain}

Tom & I do not like chairlifts so we decided that we would walk back down to the main part of the mountain rather than use the chairlifts. There was a gravel path we could take but it was very steep and the gravel was quite loose so I decided I would be much safer on the chairlift! I kept my eyes closed on the way back down.

By this stage it was just past lunchtime and we decided to return back down the mountain. There was a Starbucks at the bottom of the Gondola so Tom & Izzy both had drinks.

Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens

For the afternoon we headed back into the city to explore the Chinese Gardens. We wandered round the plants and paths for half an hour or so and then as we were leaving we watched a flamenco dancer show.

^{Dr Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens}