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Vancouver tour, Part 2
Oct. 19th, 2007 06:49 pmMonday morning we gathered in the hotel lobby with no idea where we might be going that day. While we were waiting Kathy and Emily came down with a surprise for all of us. Kathy had knitted scarves for all 40 of us with three different designs relating to HLWW8 or Vancouver. Very pretty. These scarves show up in lots of pictures, they were a big hit.
I had a mental list of places that I knew Highlander had filmed at and that I wanted to see, but I didn't know about Mount Seymour Provincial Park, our first destination.
Lots of episodes were filmed here and you might recognize Duncan's cabin or the cliff he fell off of in Mountain Man. A big surprise was the 'lake' that he pushed a canoe into in They Also Serve to go to his island. Wide angle lenses and careful shots are what turned this tiny pond into a lake.
As we gathered around Adrian started talking to us about filming here. At one point he moved from talking to directing Victoria's camera shots. Adrian the director was the theme of the day as he took control of the camera several times.
One thing that was definitely different on the tour from when Highlander was filming was the number of tourists. When our bus pulled in there weren't that many cars, but by the time we left there were hikers all over the place and the parking lot was full. Finally dawned on us that it was a holiday and because of the wonderful weather families were flocking to the park for a day out doors.
We loaded back on the bus and went to Van Dusen Gardens. This was DEFINITELY one of my must see places. Unfortunately, because of the city-wide strike, the gardens themselves were closed and only the restaurant was open. We all packed into Shaughnessy Restaurant and when Adrian came he took turns sitting at tables, moving when the courses changed. We didn't get him at our table during lunch and had to wait for dinner. As we were eating someone at the table said, "Look, there's Jim Byrnes."
Sure enough, there he was. The owner of the Shaughnessy is one of Jim's oldest friends in Vancouver. Jim was an extra surprise that Carmel had for us. Saying the he had a turkey in the oven at home and could stay long, he sat and sang a couple of wonderful songs for us. Adrian took over one video camera during the brief concert.
Next stop was the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in the Chinese Cultural Center. Very beautiful. Adrian was so funny, soon after we got there he became fascinated with a spider and spider web and commandeered the camera for 20 minutes trying to film it. We wandered through the garden enjoying the beauty of it. Finally we all gathered for Adrian to talk to us about shooting in the garden. He spent quite a bit of time talking about the fight scene in Timeless between Walter Graham and Duncan.
Dinner was a buffet on a boat and those of us who hadn't sat with Adrian at lunch got our chance then. One thing that everyone noticed throughout the day was how relaxed Adrian was. While he was at our table Mary Glynn told him that in all the years she's been going to cons she had never seen him so relaxed and happy.
Finally dinner was done and Adrian had us all go up to the top deck of the boat to help him film a video for PEACE. I a group we all faced the camera and shouted 'Wake the World', flashing PEACE signs. Finally the day was done and we headed back to the hotel. Once there Adrian had us assemble on the stairs in the hotel lobby with a nervous hotel manager looking on. He was afraid we were going to do something loud and he was right. One more time Adrian had us shout "Wake the World".
Then it was done. As we were having some parting words, Adrian was somehow introduced to mini-Mac, Sharon's Duncan MacLeod doll who was joining us on tour. The longer Adrian held the doll the more he got into it and soon he was posing it and playing with it like a little boy and his first action figure.
Very cute end to a very full day.
More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valoise/sets/72157602522684996/
I had a mental list of places that I knew Highlander had filmed at and that I wanted to see, but I didn't know about Mount Seymour Provincial Park, our first destination.
Lots of episodes were filmed here and you might recognize Duncan's cabin or the cliff he fell off of in Mountain Man. A big surprise was the 'lake' that he pushed a canoe into in They Also Serve to go to his island. Wide angle lenses and careful shots are what turned this tiny pond into a lake.
As we gathered around Adrian started talking to us about filming here. At one point he moved from talking to directing Victoria's camera shots. Adrian the director was the theme of the day as he took control of the camera several times.
One thing that was definitely different on the tour from when Highlander was filming was the number of tourists. When our bus pulled in there weren't that many cars, but by the time we left there were hikers all over the place and the parking lot was full. Finally dawned on us that it was a holiday and because of the wonderful weather families were flocking to the park for a day out doors.
We loaded back on the bus and went to Van Dusen Gardens. This was DEFINITELY one of my must see places. Unfortunately, because of the city-wide strike, the gardens themselves were closed and only the restaurant was open. We all packed into Shaughnessy Restaurant and when Adrian came he took turns sitting at tables, moving when the courses changed. We didn't get him at our table during lunch and had to wait for dinner. As we were eating someone at the table said, "Look, there's Jim Byrnes."
Sure enough, there he was. The owner of the Shaughnessy is one of Jim's oldest friends in Vancouver. Jim was an extra surprise that Carmel had for us. Saying the he had a turkey in the oven at home and could stay long, he sat and sang a couple of wonderful songs for us. Adrian took over one video camera during the brief concert.
Next stop was the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in the Chinese Cultural Center. Very beautiful. Adrian was so funny, soon after we got there he became fascinated with a spider and spider web and commandeered the camera for 20 minutes trying to film it. We wandered through the garden enjoying the beauty of it. Finally we all gathered for Adrian to talk to us about shooting in the garden. He spent quite a bit of time talking about the fight scene in Timeless between Walter Graham and Duncan.
Dinner was a buffet on a boat and those of us who hadn't sat with Adrian at lunch got our chance then. One thing that everyone noticed throughout the day was how relaxed Adrian was. While he was at our table Mary Glynn told him that in all the years she's been going to cons she had never seen him so relaxed and happy.
Finally dinner was done and Adrian had us all go up to the top deck of the boat to help him film a video for PEACE. I a group we all faced the camera and shouted 'Wake the World', flashing PEACE signs. Finally the day was done and we headed back to the hotel. Once there Adrian had us assemble on the stairs in the hotel lobby with a nervous hotel manager looking on. He was afraid we were going to do something loud and he was right. One more time Adrian had us shout "Wake the World".
Then it was done. As we were having some parting words, Adrian was somehow introduced to mini-Mac, Sharon's Duncan MacLeod doll who was joining us on tour. The longer Adrian held the doll the more he got into it and soon he was posing it and playing with it like a little boy and his first action figure.
Very cute end to a very full day.
More pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/valoise/sets/72157602522684996/
