Easter Sunday

It is a sunny Easter Sunday and our granddaughter Annelies is entertaining us while her parents take a break. Can this get any better?

North Of The 49 Parallel

With the visible disappearance of small shops, as well as the large ones such as Eaton's, Woodwards, Simpsons and Sears, it is welcoming to see new arrivals. Things seems to be a bit sparse north of the 49th parallel when it comes to choices of furniture, clothing and household appliances. Therefore, it was with delight I saw the new Crate & Barrel store opening in Oakridge Mall. Soon to open there is a new Target store. 

The Last Supper

Easter is indeed the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The Thursday before Easter was the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus shared with the Apostles. The most famous painting of The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan. A lesser known one, also named The Last Supper is by Marco Zapata (c.1753), a meal of bread, wine and guinea pig.  We saw the painting on display in the Cathedral in Cuzco Peru. Roasted guinea pig was an delicacy, which the Spanish call cuy. The Eucharist cup, various other glasses and two platters of native foods are visible. The platters include red, purple, tan and yellow potatoes as well as red and yellow rocotos, or spicy peppers and corn. It is said that there was local Pisco or chicha in the glasses. Marco Zapata was one of the last native painters of the Escuela Cusquena and one of the most prolific artists of mid-eighteen century Cuzco. The platter of the guinea pig makes for a unique Last Supper.

Life Is A Bridge

While taking a night photo of the Expo 86 site, from the Cambie Street bridge, a man asked for directions to Granville Island. He was a long way off, but didn't mind the walk. He carried with him a large painting and I asked if I could see it and photograph it. He agreed, posed and for a few seconds became friends and then continued on our separate ways. I still cannot figure out what the painting was about but I liked the size and am sure it will look great on just the right wall.

The Site of Expo '86.

It had been a dry summer that year, with the last rain the day before opening and the rain managed to stay away until after closing. We received complete cooperation from the local rain gods and we fooled the 22,111.578 guest and tourist into thinking Vancouver's weather is always like this. The Expo theme was "Transportation and Communication" and it featured pavilions from 54 nations and numerous local corporations. It was considered a tremendous success, and it transformed Vancouver from a sleepy backwater to the second most expensive real Estate in the world.

Expo '86 was opened on May 2nd by Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales and the strain on their marriage visible. Diana fainted due to not haven eaten for a few days and His Highness thought that she should have fainted more gracefully, out of publics eye, behind a door. Both Vancouver and Charles have come a long way since then.

After the event, most of the lands were purchased by Hong Kong Billionaire Li Ka-Shing under his Concord Pacific banner. Even though the redevelopment took longer than expected, it remains one of the most successful urban developments in Canadian History. The south-eastern section was further redeveloped as the Olympic Village, which housed the athletes for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

• The next Expo, 2015 will be held in Milan Italy, followed by Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. I haven't checked any flight schedules for that one yet.

No. 3 Road Richmond 沒有3路里士滿

Sprawled under the runway approaches to YVR Airport lies Richmond, the new Chinatown with it's large Asian-Canadian population. Modern high rise apartments, several large Asian malls and well stocked Asian supermarkets have transformed the area that was once agricultural. Running along No.3 Road is the Skytrain and it's connection to the airport, downtown business core and transit system. My favourite is mall Aberdeen Centre, located in the Golden Village district. It was first built in 1989 and demolished in 2001 to be tripled in size by a more modern mall, which opened in 2003. Its primary anchor store, Daiso, a gigantic $2 store proudly displayed its recent arrival of artificial Cherry Blossoms in full bloom. Ah! Spring has finally arrived in Richmond.

Strawberries and Butterflies

I grew up surrounded by paintings and objects d'art. My father was an artist, painting in his free time, when he wasn't working as a house painter supporting a family of six. My parents philosophy was to surround yourself with the things you love and when you move to a new place, you take them with you. When you unpack, you hang up the paintings and unpack your treasures - and you are home again.  After I left home at eighteen to Immigrate to Canada, small packages would arrive in the mail. My mother thought I needed some Dutch items, not to forget my roots, my father's thoughts were that I needed more paintings. I don't know who was right but I ended up with plenty of each. I have immigrated three times and moved around to at least thirty addresses. Our passion for travelling and sailing has also kept us away from home, but when we return and see the little painting of strawberries and butterflies - I know we are  home again.