FLY OR DRIVE VANCOUVER Part Two of Four

SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP: Robsonstrasse, the Canadian PR types no longer favor this, but locals still use the term -- reminds you of Carmel or Cape Cod B.T. (before tourists). Ethnic restaurants and chic shops jam the streets and interesting art galleries offer plenty to see. Coffee houses with al fresco tables testify to the fact it does not rain every day. There is even a ticket kiosk, much like our favorite in London, where you can buy half-price theatre tickets on the afternoon of the performance.

Granville Street, now closed to traffic except taxis and busses, crosses Robson Street. It has excellent shopping and, a block away, the Vancouver Art Gallery that is worth a visit.

Shopping does fill the day if it rains a bit as an underground network of shops and malls laces together major department stores such as The Bay, the Hudson Bay store, downtown. Smaller specialty shops offer good value too. Each trip we add to our china at Millar and Coe, a discounter on West Hastings Street. Towards the harbor past the glossy "sails" of Canadian Place, the cruise ship terminal there's an excellent food hall and discount outlets on the way to the Gaslight District..

Gassy Jack's statue presides over the Gaslight District, a major tourist attraction with its landmark steam clock, ethnic shops and restaurants. Gassy Jack, a local character like San Francisco's Emperor Norton, reflected the rather raffish past of this now delightful shopping and dining area. The Medieval Inn just up the street offer a traditional English feast with wenches and such.

Two blocks towards the old Expo site, one of the three largest Chinatowns in North America -- New York City and San Franciso are the others -- offers wonderful food and Chinese crafts and shopping at lower prices than the U. S. Try the Dim Sum lunches where you where you can select individual dishes from carts. The Sun Yat Sen Garden deserves a quick look as an example of formal Chinese garden planning..

To the north the sails of the Canadian Pavilion of Expo '86, now a convention center, hotel and loading dock for cruise ships, back towards the Stanley Park end of the waterfront. The hydrofoil ferry to West Vancouver takes you to buses that access North shore attractions such as Grouse Ridge Ski Area verlooking Vancouver. You can take the Superskyride up the 4,1000 foot peak and enjoy the view on clear days. Beer in the outdoor Bavarian Gardens is good and their sausages seem a better value than spots such as the more expensive Grouse Nest Restaurant.

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