22 April, 2006 (Saturday)

Last day in Whistler. Back to Vancouver. Night out with Andrea and Co.

Out of Whistler
Today was a lazy sleep in before cleaning up the apartment for check out. Em snuck out early to go skiing. Precious and Jules left early on to prepare for Precious' UK leg of her trip. Between the three of us remaining (Sean,Lauren and myself) we managed to have everything cleaned and packed up by midday. Just. It was a struggle to get all the luggage down and repacked. Unfortunately Emily had left more than a few outstanding items and pieces for us to gather.

To reward ourselves we splurged on Whistler breakfasts. I had myself a pair of buttermilk pancakes slathered with sugary maple syrup, while Sean went Asian and Lauren opted for a more traditional fried egg, sausage and potato bits. We spent the early afternoon wandering the touristy cobbles of Whistler, checking out the scenery. Entrance was denied to us at the Blackcomb Gondola, so we missed out on seeing any of the snowboard competition scheduled for that part of the mountain. Nevertheless we kept ourselves entertained, checking out the sales, local adult shop and chain eateries, including KFC and MacDonalds.


Sean and Lauren - Levis Models
Sean and Lauren insisted on stopping by the Levis stand, to show off their modelling pictures. On Friday the two had apparently been chosen to enter a competition, posing in new Levis. Sean's shot was in straight leg jeans - job description: Apprentice Leaf Blower. Lauren was all big teeth and arm gestures as a Weather Girl. Nice jeans. Nice photos. Click.

We left Whistler promptly at 4:30, picking Emily up along the way. It was still a squash up back, but the girls seemed resigned to their fate in the cavernous depths of the Cherokee. The drive back down the mountain to Vancouver was somewhat congested, with traffic banked part of the way. We managed to arrive in Vancouver making good time, around 7pm.


The Dufferin
We had booked accommodation from a free Telus hotspot via http://www.orbitz.com, criteria: the cheapest hotel we could find - a change from hostels. Our choice for the evening was the Dufferin Hotel, ranking two stars it was noted that it was undergoing refurbishment. Parking was provided across the road. We were warned of the possibility of thieves and advised to take all our luggage with us. It took 3 trips to clear the car.

The Dufferin was definitely undergoing building; the main check-in counter was stuck into a too small room, the original lobby was all torn-up tiles and hanging wires. During our check-in the front desk girl regretted to inform us that the only room available to fit us all in was on the second level, right above the bar. It was a Friday, which of course meant a busy night, but apparently this particular Friday it was expected to be even busier - a live show had been scheduled, with cabaret, theatre, poetry reading and more. The show was going to run until 2am. I joked about moving us to the 3rd floor if they had a King sized bed. The bouncer on his way past replied that they didn't have any kings, but had an excess of queens. I wondered what he meant...

We were soon to learn that the Dufferin Pub is one of Vancouver's gay bars. As soon as we'd moved into the room we could hear the pumping strains of Abba blasting through our floorboards. Nevertheless, the room wasn't too bad - a sizeable bathroom and two queen sized beds. Sean got the right side of the bed. No funny business.

Lauren headed off to the airport to see Charles, while Em and I went off to Robson St for dinner. I got a text reply from Andrea advising that she was going to be at a Gelato place for a while. After dinner I caught a cab to meet up, while Em went to make a call to Calgary ("Oh schmoopy!").


Andrea is well
It was a shock to see Andrea- she looked fit and relaxed, a far cry from our last meeting a year ago in Sydney. She's spent the last few years working for KPMG in London, but is overdue an extended holiday after the hours she has been putting in auditing for Unilever (secondment). Her last night in Vancouver, she's enjoyed ten days in beautiful British Columbia. Her next leg of her journey is to trek through Tibet. Lucky girl.

We caught up on our current comings and goings, where we've been and what we wanted to do in the future. She told me about her plans to audition for NIDA in June. I shared my roadtripping plans. It was good to see her again. We ended up moving on to a swanky bar called Beaches with her Vancouver friends. Glen, the brother of her current interest, was kind enough to drive in his grunty VW.

When I got back to the Dufferin nobody was answering the door. I could hear the noise from the bar downstairs and what sounded like the TV. A text message later, Lauren invited me downstairs to see the action. Apparently I was late!

I walked in to a bevy of transvestites and not-so-shy homosexuals. The men were out in force, with a few lesbians filling out the dance floor. When I arrived Sean and Lauren were moving to the music under a big disco ball. Before too long they joined me to perch at the back of the room on the pool table, which was covered in a pile of fresh condoms. We watched the show. The dance floor was packed with an eclectic mix of gay men and a few women. The event was a fundraiser for gays, bisexuals, transexuals and their alliances. I watched bemused as the last dregs bumped and ground their way through club favourites. Two transvestites and a half-naked youth then came out for a prize draw. After the first 4 we decided to call it a night. Emily and Lauren were thrilled to bits, babbling on about a dodgy Cher immitator who revealed her lack of underwear. They got it all on video.

Upstairs we could still hear the music blaring. It all cut off at 3am.