avoid staring and gawking: gio lets it all hang out in VANCOUVER

giovanni sasso · #1 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 8:20 PM**

after a twelve year separation, vancouver and i last weekend renewed our steamy, and perhaps a little unseemly, love affair. vancouver, british columbia is everything a city could be: big, bustling, beautiful, with mountains, beaches, wildlife, and even a seedy side that doesn't seem to exist any longer in portland. i love portland, but it feels like a borderline homogenous small town after spending a couple days in vancouver, where they block off traffic from granville street so you can sit or stroll, where ripped gay dudes walk hand in hand down the street, where asian girls in black rim glasses and bikinis take in sunset at the beach. i went to the nude beach at daybreak and saw three bald eagles and the first owl i've ever seen in the wild. vancouverites even still say "eh" and "aboat", and they're evidently passionate about their hockey.

official propers to giallo for being my canadian ace, to JLousa for his generous hospitality, to Mike K for a firm handshake and keeping SSP under control, to jada for being jada, and to dylan for being the grand poobah who's the reason we're all here right now. and also to you other canucks for letting this yankee hang with y'all.

enough chatter, here go the pics.

• Video Link

somebody tipped 'em off!

click to enlarge:

(international) peace (arch) out.

SFUVancouver · #2 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 8:54 PM**

An unbelievable set! Those are some of the all-time best photos I've seen of Vancouver and the pair of the Woodwards tower with the old W in front literally made my jaw drop. Very, very well done.

Okayyou · #3 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 9:11 PM**

Another top tier thread. Vancouver has a feel of serenity that isn't matched by many other cities. I'm not sure if it's the proximity to nature, the abundance of blue/green hues, the far north crisp light... regardless your pictures captured it. I'm surprised that Philly pic wasn't your first image, maybe too easy. Loved the owl.

fflint · #4 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 9:16 PM**

Sweet pics of a fascinating city. Oh, and...nice ass, Sasso!

diskojoe · #5 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 9:29 PM**

Nice one.

I did gawk and stare just a little though.

toyota74 · #6 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 9:51 PM**

Full marks....very impressive thread.

Swinefeld · #7 Posted **Aug 2, 2011, 12:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by fflint

Sweet pics of a fascinating city. Oh, and...nice ass, Sasso!

I was going to make a wisecrack about sasquatch but I was a little late to that party, so.....

Ahem, yes, nice tour of a city I almost went to three years ago. I did make it to Vancouver, Washington however (not that nice).

whatnext · #8 Posted **Aug 2, 2011, 1:18 AM**

Great photos, its always nice to see the city through someone else's eyes. Glad you arrived during some rare sunshine. I'll have to bookmark this thread to look at during the rains of Octoapriljune to remind me why I live here!

Canadian Mind · #9 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 9:51 PM**

Can you guess which SSP members are in the photo's?

Expat · #10 Posted **Jul 31, 2011, 10:34 PM**

Gio - I am humbled by you and Vancouver

Splendid set!

Lipani · #11 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 12:13 AM**

Outstanding!

tower · #12 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 12:34 AM**

nature, people, sweet urban goodness

you caught em' real good. just looked up the american cheesesteak co., seems they headed to philly to see how we make our cheesesteak sandwiches. be cool to see if they can pull it off

Robert Pence · #13 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 1:16 AM**

A very different sort of city, and some stunning photography!

hollywoodnorth · #14 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 1:57 AM**

where is this exactly? which beach?

great pics BTW!

HHC · #15 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 2:05 AM**

Holy shit! You're a great photographer, and what an awesome set!

Dylan Leblanc · #16 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 2:05 AM**

really great photo thread Gio!!

giovanni sasso · #17 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 3:38 AM**

hollywoodnorth: that's one of two WWII lookout towers at wreck beach. that one is at the bottom of trail #3 from marine drive.

okayyou: with all that vancouver gave, i just couldn't lead with that one.

tower: yeah, i miiight have considered giving them a go if they were open, but they weren't quite there. it's not hard to find cheesesteak joints out west, but it IS hard to find one who knows what they're doing. i did, however, notice several people wearing phillies and flyers gear.

fflinty, you know i'm going to take that as a high compliment.

thanks everyone!

Alex Mackinnon · #18 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 4:31 AM**

A very nice set indeed. Lot of good people shots too too

KevinFromTexas · #19 Posted **Aug 1, 2011, 4:32 AM**

Hey, it's the Neverending Story alley! Almost at least, by the looks of it it's a few blocks closer.

Great thread, Gio. Nice job being the first forumer to show up in the buff in his own thread.

SFUVancouver · #20 Posted **Aug 2, 2011, 12:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Hey, it's the Neverending Story alley! Almost at least, by the looks of it it's a few blocks closer.

Great thread, Gio. Nice job being the first forumer to show up in the buff in his own thread.

The Neverending Story was filmed in Vancouver, so that may well be the famous alley. I know the Dominion Building was in the movie and in Gio's set of photos.