Vancouver British Columbia Canada : Venue of 2015 Women's World Cup Soccer Finals

 Aug 2012
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The city of Vancouver BC which hosted Women's WC is sure to win your hearts when you visit this tourist-friendly town just north of the border. In my opinion driving across the border is the best way to see Vancouver. How do you make your border crossing a little less daunting? Please read on...

A week ago US women's national soccer team exacted sweet revenge over Japan while winning the Women's World Cup Soccer Finals 2015. The US team sealed the victory in the first 10 minutes by scoring 4 goals over Japan and did not repeat the mistake they made against the same team in the last World Cup final where Japan won the finals in an over time penalty shootout. Well done team USA.

The hosting country Canada couldn't have picked a better city to stage the finals. The city of Vancouver located in British Columbia(BC) of Canada known as "Terminal City" is truly a breathtaking place. Ever since Vancouver hosted Winter Olympics in 2010 the city was thrusted into limelight and people have been flocking to the city and they can't seem to have enough of this place. If you have never driven into to British Columbia across the US-Canada border you must try it once. It will be an interesting experience that teaches you a lot about border crossing by road. 

If you happen to be in Seattle Washington and the drive up to Peace Arch Border Crossing should be a breeze but how the rest of your day will turn out depends on which side of the bed you got off and how the stars are aligned for you that day. If you don't plan your day well you may end up spending hours waiting to clear the immigration. Avoiding crowds is the best way to go; usually late afternoons on weekends are the busiest. Getting there early and doing your homework is the mantra you have to follow to keep your sanity. Nothing ruins your day like a bad experience at the border crossing.You may be going to Vancouver to attend a music concert and in a fun mood but for Border Patrol it is a serious business and you have to treat it as such. If you take them lightly they will make you pay. Get your paperwork in order and get the purpose of your visit down to a simple statement. Print your reservations, tickets, any documents that support your answers. Have the names, addresses and numbers of your friends, relatives, hotels handy. If you keep it in mind that Officers have a difficult job to do and try to see their point of view then the things would sure to go lot smoother. You may laugh at this : keep your car clutter-free and leave any thing that you don't need at home. One time they interviewed us because an Officer noticed some bags full of groceries in our back seat - go figure.

Now that the logistics out of the way it is time to talk about things to do in Vancouver. Well I don't have much to say because we spent 3 hours at the border crossing that left us very little time for any sight seeing. We still managed to hang around Chinatown and also go to Stanley Park which is a huge urban park that is extremely popular with visitors and residents alike. We got to see downtown on our subsequent trips but that is for another day. When you are ready to head back to the familiar confines of Seattle you might want to stop at the Lions Gate Bridge aka First Narrows Bridge and cross it to get to the north west side of the city and when finished drive back down on Route 1 to get to the border via Rt 15 and get on Interstate 5 that would bring you back into the Seattle where the rain certain to be waiting for you.

==Thank You==

Ps : If everything suddenly seems farther the north of the border it is because the distance is shown in Kilometers.