BOB HENRIT is wowed by whales, brown bears and towering glaciers on a week-long cruise north from Vancouver, Canada to Alaska, United States.

Rod Stewart, that acute observer of society, once pointed out that no Parisian looks as if they are ever working .Vancouver feels the same.

Western Canada’s hub is rapidly expanding in readiness for the 2010 Winter Olympics – and the area’s appetite for fine cuisine is growing just as fast, discovers Matthew Brand.