Sunday photos

Across the country from drizzly Vancouver, my sister Betty sent me this snowshoeing photo from Quebec on Sunday. It's taken  on the lake in the Laurentians where she and her husband Bert live. Like me, Betty loves trees, walks and being out in nature. 

Meanwhile, in Vancouver, John and I were waiting for Betty and Bert's son Etienne and his family to arrive for brunch at this restaurant on West Hastings. We were told it would be an hour's wait. It was raining.  Photo by John.

We wondered what the attraction of this particular restaurant was, but perhaps all is explained in this sign.

The wait wasn't as long as expected, and  a highchair was all set up for Etienne and Aya's  daughter Emi when we got inside. I think Emi enjoyed her brunch.

At age two, Emi is getting good at feeding herself.

But a little help from mom is always appreciated.

After brunch, the rain had stopped. John demonstrated for Etienne  the amazing capacity of his full-length raincoat to fold up into a little pouch with  straps so he can carry it like a backpack.

After brunch (with coffee), what do you do? Stroll the streets of Gastown until you find a good place for more coffee. Actually, I think Aya and Emi are sharing a rooibos tea. Photo by John.

Emi makes a break for it at the coffee shop. Photo by John.

After another stop at Etienne and Aya's place for dessert, John and I headed home to Dunbar from downtown on foot, which took nearly two hours. En route, I noticed these curious humps of dried gunnera leaves with their stick-like stalks in the gardens of south False Creek.  A different scene from Betty's, but the walk and  a look at this unusual plant life nicely rounded out the day.