hey milly, I just got an email from my sister in London. She gave me your URL so I figured I'd suggest a few tips for your trip to Vancover. I lived there for over a decade. Don't worry about it being too cold. It's essentially about the same temperature as winter in England, so expect some solid rain and darkness. (It's technically a rainforest climate. Neat bit of trivia, eh?) Things for you to check out:
1. Jump on a bus and head to Whistler. The drive on the sea-sky highway's gorgeous, and whistler's a cool place (although getting a bit too commercial).
2. Go to a restaurant at The Eatery (on Broadway Ave), in kitsilano, and order a sushi combo plate. yes, sushi! trust me, it's awesome.
3. If you want to buy cds, go to A & B Sound on Seymour st, downtown van, where you'll find the cheapest cds in the world.
4. Check out the Capilano suspension bridge. A bit touristy, but gorgeous nonetheless.
5. Check out the Museum of Anthropology at the University of B.C. some really cool artefacts and it'll give you a good sense of the lay of the land and its peoples before we whiteys found our way out there.
6. Catch a flick at the IMAX cinema at Canada place.
7. Catch the bus on the corner of Granville and Broadway that'll take you to the ferry terminal where you'll then jump on the ferry to schwartz bay and bus it to Victoria. Nice place.
OK, that should keep you pretty busy. Have a great time tumbleweeding around, enjoy the city.