I thought I’d done my homework on Granville Island or, rather, how to get to it, and that driving was a sensible choice. It would take me nearly three hours to get there on public transit and there is ‘ample’ parking.

Well, I knew I was in trouble when I saw the line up to get onto the island. There was lots of parking, but I wouldn’t have called it ‘ample.’ ‘Ample’ in my book means enough parking in relation to the number of spots needed. Moreover, no one thought to warn me that there is almost no signage on the island, that one ways are poorly marked, and that everyone drives and walks around like there is absolutely no congestion. By the time the exit was in sight, I knew that even if by some twist of fate I managed to find a parking spot on a second or third circle around (after waiting in line to get back in, of course), getting out of said spot would require way more effort than the island seemed to be worth. I didn’t want to give up, not when I was doing almost 90km round trip, so I poked around the side streets adjacent to the island looking for a place to leave the car, but, of course, there was no parking permitted. So, I just went home. 🙁

Granville Island seemed like a lot of fun, with small artisan shops, quirky-looking restaurants, and buskers aplenty. But I doubt it’s worth the six hours round trip it would take to get there and back via public transit, so it’s unlikely I’ll get to experience it.