Tired of Vancouver

       There are a lot of people from all over staying at this hostel. Last night, after sitting in the lounge area for a while, I met a German, a French Canadian, an Estonian, and a guy from Japan. The German, French Canadian, and I went and had a couple beers at a nearby bar. Beer is expensive here... When we came back we spent some more time in the lounge talking with 5 other Germans, a Scottish girl, and a guy from the Netherlands.
       I didn't sleep too well last night. The bed was comfortable enough and my earplugs did the trick, drowning out the noise of Saturday night partying outside the window, but I slept lightly all night and was up early. I showered, stuffed myself with the all-you-can-eat continental breakfast, and caught a bus to the University of British Columbia. It was raining quite a bit by the time I got there. It was the worst kind of rain. A never-ending drizzle that soaked everything and weighed down my rain jacket.
       The campus was quiet. I guess that makes sense since its the last day of spring break. The buildings weren't impressive. They were all plain and made of concrete. It helped me to better appreciate the U of O campus.

       My original plan was to visit the Museum of Anthropology and then the Notobe Memorial Garden. I decided not to go into the museum because I could see through the windows that all there was inside were a bunch of totem poles. Totem poles are great to check out, but I wasn't going to pay $16 to go inside when there are plenty of totem poles just outside of the museum. I also decided to skip the garden because of the rain. I ended up just wandering around the museum. I stumbled on some old WWII gun mounts and ammunition stores. That was neat to check out, but there wasn't much to see. After that I found a a long stair case that lead down a steep hill to a "clothing optional" beach. The beach was empty. It wasn't sandy, but full of pebbles of all sizes and colors. I started walking down the beach with no real aim.

       After walking about half a mile I came to another stair case leading back up. I was a bit disoriented for a moment when I got to the top, but I soon found my way back in the direction of the bus stop. After being splashed by a passing car, I was thoroughly soaked.
       I needed to break a 20 to get exact change for the bus ride back to the hostel, so I headed to a fast food restaurant on campus and ordered some poutine. Poutine is supposed to be some kind of definitive Canadian dish. Its french fries with brown gravy and cheese curds on top. Its OK. I spent quite a while just sitting there, hoping the rain would stop. It didn't. I made my way to the bus station and back to the hostel...and here I am.
      
       I'm heading to Greece tomorrow. I can't wait to get out of Vancouver. I'm not fond of this city.

Don't expect to hear anything from me until Tuesday or Wednesday.