I had set our alarm for 07:00, but I was awake just before then as there was a debarkation announcement. We had arrived back in Vancouver around midnight, but there were still some delays. We got up when the alarm went off. We got ready and packed the last odds and ends. I took a quick photo of our towel animals that were all lined up on the sofa. Then I took down our magnets and we headed out. We bumped into our stateroom host Albert and were able to say goodbye. He was leaving that day to go on his holidays. Then we headed upstairs to get some breakfast. Things looked pretty chaotic outside the Windjammer. We decided to check out the Solarium Bistro and we were in luck. We got a table outside the solarium bistro. Graham had some fruit, some bread, scrambled eggs, and bacon. I had strawberry granola parfait, some sausages and hash browns. We both had some coffee. This hit the spot.
While we had our breakfast, they started to call people who were carrying off their own luggage. By the time we had finished our breakfast, they still had not started to call people who had put out their luggage. We managed to find a spare round lounger and settled down. Initially they were running about an hour behind schedule, but by the time they got close to our luggage tag number, they were running about 30 minutes behind schedule. We were not bothered. Our flight was not until the evening and although we had some plans for the day, we were on no specific time able. Eventually it was our turn, and we headed down to deck 5. From there, it was smooth sailing. There was no line to speak of where they swiped our Seapass cards. Nor was there a line to get in the terminal. I found my suitcase straightaway, but they organized the areas for each luggage tag in a strange way and Graham’s case was in a different area. Fortunately, our suitcases are quite distinctive and we spotted it quickly. Customs was also entirely painless. Then we were free to get on with my day.
I had found out the day before that there is a left luggage facility right at the port. I managed to prebook this. The desk for the company that provided the left luggage facility was straight after we came out of customs. We checked in and were then directed to the area where they kept the luggage. We were given a map on how to get back there once the port was closed and also the latest pick-up time. Then we headed out.
Graham had mentioned that the University of British Columbia has a botanical garden. We had never been to that part of Vancouver. As the weather was nice, we decided to check this out. I checked out ow to get there and this looked straightforward enough. There was a bus that would take us to University of British Columbia from Burrard Street station and at the main transport interchange at University of British Columbia we then had to change to the campus shuttle to get to the botanical garden. It was not the quickest trip, but most of it was very interesting. The campus is a huge area and has all kinds of interesting things. There are two museums and an art gallery, a performing arts centre, a working farm, a Japanese garden, and the botanical garden. There are also various shops, bars, and restaurants. It feels like a town in its own right. This definitely deserves more in-depth exploration on a future visit.
Although both gardens sounded appealing, as we had limited time, we chose the botanical garden. While we were waiting to get our tickets, we saw another hummingbird. When we got our tickets, we were given a quick overview of what to expect and where to find everything. Near the entrance is the Asian Garden. This is the largest of the individual gardens. It is inspired by the wild forests of the Himalayas, Japan, and China. It mainly features trees but also has 400 different species of rhododendron bushes. There’s also a small pond. There are no huge attractions or highlights there, but it is just a very beautiful and peaceful setting. About halfway along the Asian Garden is the Chinese Moon Gate. This is the entrance to a tunnel that goes underneath the road and leads to the second half of the botanical garden.
On the other side of the tunnel is the Garry Oak Meadow and Woodland Garden. The focus of this garden is biodiversity and sustainability. The plants in this area are drought resistant meaning that very little watering us required. Maintenance of the garden is kept to an absolute minimum. The next garden is the opposite of this. This is the food garden. The vegetables are grown by professionals in environmentally friendly ways, without synthetic pesticides. When the vegetables are ready, they are harvested by volunteers, packed and sent to a charity for the homeless. We only had a quick wander through. Although I liked the idea behind the garden, it is not particularly interesting to look at.
We then moved on to the Garden Pavilion. The Garden Pavillion itself was locked. It is used as a staging, storage and dressing area for events that are taking place on the nearby lawn. However, the Garden Pavilion has a wraparound porch with some benches. We sat down in the shade for a while, and all kinds of interesting birds were coming past. It was a really nice way to spend an hour. Eventually, we had to move on. The adjacent Harold and Frances Holt Physic Garden is the most formal of the gardens. It consists of 12 beds with brick borders arranged in a circle. In the centre is an engraved bronze sundial. The design is based on a 16th century Dutch engraving. The plants in this area are medicinal plans that go back to Medieval times. We only gave this a casual glance and then moved on to the Alpine Garden. This contains flowers, shrubs and trees from mountainous regions across the world organised into geographic areas. This is a relatively compact area but contains about 40% of the species of plants that can be found in the botanical garden. There was also a nice pond with a bench in this area. I thought that this was the prettiest area.
Once we had thoroughly explored the Alpine Garden, we checked out the last main area, which was the Carolinian Forest Garden. This represents an eastern North American deciduous hardwood forest that extends from the Gulf Coast of the United States into southern Ontario. Carolinian Forest Garden at the botanical gardens is divided into 12 groves. It is a pretty area, and I think it must look absolutely stunning during autumn. Apart from the trees, there are also some pieces of art in the area. Once we had explored this area, we crossed the main lawn and headed back towards the exit.
We would have had time to retrace our steps and take to the busses. However, neither of us fancied this. I checked out how much an Uber would cost and this was not bad at all. It turned out even cheaper if we did not go all the way to the port, but a short distance away. We decided to take the Uber to the Hyatt Regency on Burrard Street. We did not have long to wait and had a nice clear run back into city. By the time we were back in the centre, we were ready for some food. There is a shopping centre right next to the Hyatt Regency, and we decided to check this out. On the main level, there was just a McDonald’s which is not really either of our thing. In the basement, they had a food court, but a lot of the outlets were already closed. The outlets that were still open had a reduced menu. Still, one of the outlets that were still open had chicken laksa and we both were happy with this. It came with a drink as well. Graham had some milk tea, and I had a lemon coke. This hit the spot.
Once we had finished our lunch, we walked the short distance to the port. We picked up our luggage. Then we headed to the other side of Waterfront station to catch the Skytrain to the airport. We did not have long to wait for our train to arrive, and we had a smooth run to the airport. Even though we had got there quite early, the check in was already open. We got checked in and then headed to security. The line looked impressive but was moving quickly. They now have the new type of scanners at Vancouver airport where everything can stay in the bags. This most certainly helped.
As we still had a fair amount of time until our flight left, I decided to splurge on a lounge. I get discounted lounge passes with my credit card. When there had been issues with our flight in 2024, British Airways treated us to complimentary lounge access at the Plaza Premium Lounge. At the time, that was a temporary set up. I always did wonder about their permanent lounge. We headed there. It is a nice space. Initially we headed for individual seat pods as they had USB sockets, but Graham did not think the seats were particularly comfortable. The choice of food was not huge, but there was something for everybody. Graham made himself some nachos. I had some tomato soup with croutons, olives, cheese and parmesan cheese. We also had some mini cakes. I initially had a rum and Coke. Graham had a couple of glasses of a local wine, which he really liked. I decided to try a glass, too. It was very nice. At some stage, I retreated back to a seat pod so that I could charge my gadgets. It was a very civilised way to while away a couple of hours.
About an hour before the flight, we left the lounge and headed for the gate. We had enough time to use the bathroom before boarding started. Boarding was a smooth process. As we were in premium economy, we had no issue finding space for our hand luggage. Soon we were on our way. Once we were at cruising altitude, they came round with drinks. Graham had a glass of Chardonnay, and I had a glass of sparkling wine. I watched Crazy Rich Asians once more. We both passed on dinner. When Crazy Rich Asians had finished, I put on The Greatest Showman. I did not get very far with this before I was asleep. I slept most of the flight although I was woken up at one stage by some bad turbulence, but for the most part, I just slept. Time flew and soon we were only 90 minutes out of London. They come round with breakfast. Neither of us fancied the hot food, but we each had a tray with fruit, yoghurt and a croissant. We also had coffee and some orange juice. I played Trivial Pursuit until we landed.
We arrived slightly ahead of schedule. We had arrived at the same gate meaning we had a hike to the terminal. We headed straight to the train and back to the A gates. We used the e-gates to clear immigration and then went to security. This was quick and painless. They now have the new kind of scanners, too. We headed in the general direction of the gates where the domestic flights go from. Shortly after we got there, our gate was announced. We headed down there and soon afterwards boarding started. This was very early, but it was slow as molasses. I think they had a very bad day with delays and flights that were very full. There was a man in front of us whose inbound flight had been delayed and missed his connection to Manchester. He had been bumped off two previous flights to Manchester only to be bumped off our flight as well. When we made it to the gate, we had been upgraded to “Business class”. On a domestic flights it just means that you are closer to the front and the middle seat stays free.
We had to take the bus to the aircraft. We were on there for so long that I wondered if we were still at Heathrow. Eventually we did make it to the aircraft and soon afterwards, boarding was completed. Before we took off, we were handed a menu. Graham passed, but I ordered the tea marinated chicken with charred corn. Dessert was mixed berries with Chantilly cream. Sadly, it took quite a while for my food to come and by then we were already getting ready to land. I literally had time for a couple of bites before they had to clear the tray. That was a real shame as this was gorgeous. At least I was able to finish my sparkling wine.
Arriving back into Manchester was a pretty smooth experience, but it did reveal a pretty serious design flaw of terminal two. Considering that it was always intended to be home to the vast majority of airlines some of which wholly or at least partially operate domestic flights, it is shocking that Terminal 2 was built without a domestic arrivals area. Even though we were right at the terminal, we had to get on a bus where we were taken to a domestic arrival area that is in the old Terminal 1. We wondered how long it would take for our luggage to arrive, but this actually arrived pretty much at the same time as us and I don’t think this arrangement actually slowed us down, but you still have to wonder who thought this up.
Once we had our luggage, we headed for the train station. A train was just pulling in as we got to the platform. When we got to Manchester Piccadilly, we headed for the tram, which also pulled in shortly after we got to the platform. We were back home in record time. We put our luggage into the living room and then we headed of bed.
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