Stanley park is the centre of Vancouver. A large natural reserve near to the city and it has so much to see in it.  I did some running around on my first morning and used my iPhone to take pictures of the eastern tip of the park. The water is still and offers lovely reflections of the marina and the city. I got there by running down Robson street and used that as my starting off point into the park. 

View of the Marina
View of Vancouver from the Park
A lighthouse on the north perimeter

For the Summer solstice, I walked to the Eastern side of the park and captured the sun going down.  Crowds had gathered near to the English Bay Beach. The sunset was golden and a lovely end of the day

Summer Solstice

For my last day in Vancouver, I ran around the Eastern perimeter underneath the road bridge and then headed down through the interior of the park.  I stopped at Siwash Rock to take pictures as it has nice views of the western part of Vancouver. I kept running past the upper tip and then made my way home. I headed southwards through the park. I quickly found that you can easily loose your bearings in the park especially if you are tired with your running.  Once again I used my iPhone to take pictures on the run, and I was pleased that I came across the rose garden which is a peaceful place in the park with lots of colour. Then I found Robson street and it was back to the hotel. It was a long but rewarding run.

Siwash Rock
Siwash Rock

The conference is intense but during the lunchtime breaks, I was able to take time out and stroll around the seafront.  Vancouver is a photogenic city and there is always something happening.  You can spend many an hour just watching the harbour float planes taking off and landing in front of the conference centre.  The marina has beautiful yachts and colourful house boats.  There are people just enjoying the outdoors, cycling and running around the Marina. The city does have its homeless problem but I did like the ingenuity of the person who hung his hammock on the house on stilts.  The aluminium house is known as the “crooked house on stilts”, or LightShed by Liz Magor. When I looked the next day the hammock was gone. All pictures by my Sony RX100v5 either on P or S setting.

Even though the view is breathtaking, it is time to take a stroll outside.
Float planes landing and taking off
A single figure goes forward into the land of high rise living.
An ingenious way to find a bed for the night.
Colourful House boats in the Marina
Space Venus by Salvador Dali

The last picture is of Space Venus by Salvador Dali. This picture was taken on the Friday. I learnt that the statue was vandalised and the golden egg taken on the Saturday night after we left to go back home. Details of this were reported in the local news.

I had another chance to visit Dubai and see the Campus which is now open for business. The City is still fun to visit although as I mentioned in my last blog it is sand, concrete and steel. A year later and I noticed a lot more new buildings. In some cases the photographs I had taken in 2017 would not be possible now. Fortunately there were new possibilities available and a selection are shown in my blog. I took my trusty travel camera the Sony RX100v5 with me. As you can see it is very versatile and offers the ability to capture the sight and sounds of this amazing city.

This is an impressive view showing the mix of recreation with high rise living.
A view from a hotel window and the tint is the same one used in the new Blade Runner film.
I had to wait until it was clear of people taking selfies with this sign in the background
Capturing the moment of the dancing water show.
The beach at night
The University of Birmingham Dubai Campus entrance.
Looking up towards the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower at present in the world.