The Great Vancouver Trip of 2008

First off, what a deal. We snagged the flight through WestJet just before the big fuel surcharge was added so Lauren and I both flew to Vancouver return for less than $400.

When planning the trip (I get a little OCD when it comes to planning) I called many hotels and motels and ultimately, decided on a Bed & Breakfast. The cost was similar to a hotel but the hotels were less than accomodating and I was annoyed with their attitudes when I called. So I decided to book online with Granville B&B. I also prebooked reservations to some of the restaurants we wanted to go to (using Open Table) and I even booked our rental car.

So. Since we were all set, all we had to do was show up. Alice was nice enough to take care of the kitties while we were gone too.

So we flew into Vancouver on Saturday evening (6:30), grabbed the rental car and our bag and drove to the Bed & Breakfast to drop off our stuff. At the airport, I went to the 7-11 to pick up a transit map and an all day bus pass for each of us.

The rental car was relatively cheap for the 4 days but I had to be the sole driver or the cost would have doubled.. so I ended up renting a Pontiac G6. We got to the B&B and it was pretty cool because everything was coded. The front door had a numbered key code box. All the codes were emailed to me weeks before so I just printed all the info.

We went into the foyer of the huge house. They have a "shoes off" policy so we took our shoes off and carried them to our room with us. There was no one in sight. The main foyer had one suite off to the right and then a dining room and sitting room off to the left. There was a huge staircase in front of us. The directions told us to go up the stairs and find the Dogwood suite on the right. So we did, and we coded in our special key code and entered the suite. The Upstairs had a total of 4 suites.

Lauren and I shared a king sized bed (the only option but it was big enough for 3!!). The suite was functional and very nicely decorated. The bed linens were so cozy and the bathroom was fully equipped with shampoo/conditioner/body wash dispensers in the shower, and soap/lotions (all local Purely Saltspring products) and a hair dryer of course.

The room also had a big closet with a fridge and safe and a decent sized TV.

So we changed into some fancier evening clothes and went off to dinner at Cloud9 (In the Empire Landmark Hotel). I found this restaurant in the Vancouver entertainment book. It has a revolving restaurant at the top and a piano lounge that didn't take reservations. The piano lounge opened at 8pm so we made it just in time. Traffic on the way there was hell though since the Jazz Festival was happening on Robson St. and there was construction everywhere.

It was the perfect way to start the trip. We were able to enjoy a sunset view of the city and Pacific Ocean while listening to the piano man. Lauren ordered a salmon dish (savoury not sweet) and I ordered Duck. For appetizers, we had shrimp cocktail and raw oysters. Hey! Why not enjoy the fish when you're on the coast! For dessert we had a delish cake called a charlotte. YUM!

After dinner we went back to the B&B and planned the following day. We also walked several blocks to a gas station to grab bevvies and snacks for the evenings.

The next morning, we had breakfast in the B&B. The chef, Eduardo made something called "Dutch Babies" which were like a firm egg custard baked in the oven with maple syrup and blueberries on top. They also had bacon, wheat/raisin toast, juice, fresh bananas/oranges, cereals, coffee, tea and home made preserves.

We ate and then left to catch the bus. The B&B was conveniently located on a street with a major bus line so we were able to hop on and it took us fairly close to where we needed to be for our first day of adventuring. We weren't 100% sure where we were going so we hopped off the bus with another tourist couple near the harbour and it ended up being maybe 6 blocks from where we needed to be. We headed to Dr. Sun Yat Sen gardens in Chinatown. We navigated our way to the gardens (snapping pics all the way) and met a very nice pair of Police Officers who offered to snap our photo for us. We wandered the gardens and decided to abandon the official tour (boring) but just enjoyed the beauty and serenity. We took a ton of pictures and in the last room of the gardens, people were doing Tai Chi and we were able to have some free chinese tea. We then hit up the gift shop and headed out.

Originally, our plan was to go for Dim Sum in Chinatown but as the day progressed, we decided to take the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay (pronounced Key) to the public market. We figured there would be good food to eat on the other side of the sea.

We found our way to the waterfront (where some of the cruise ships were docked) and hopped on the Seabus. It was all included in our day pass for transit so it was very convenient. When we got to the other side, we walked over to the market and just took a look around. There were couples square dancing and lots of people just soaking up the sun. We perused the market and found a lot of food options. Greek, indian, italian and everything in between. We settled on a very busy Fish and Chip place. It looked delicious and the busier the better! We ordered fish and chips and coleslaw to share. We are lucky we did because the portion was HUGE.

After lunch we walked over to a dock nearby where a large sailboat was docked. We had seen it from the seabus and it looked like they were letting people onto the boat so we decided to take a closer look. We ended up beating the rush and getting a wonderful tour. It was a very large sail boat for the Equadorian Navy. They showed us all the main points of the ship and I took a peek into the kitchen and laundry too! Lauren and I each bought a handmade bracelet from one of the female sailors and then we took more pics and left. They were sailing out to Japan the following day!!! We headed back to the market, bought some sorbet (since I can't eat dairy and all gelato in Vancouver seemed to have dairy in it!!). We ate the sorbet while soaking up some rays and sea air and then headed back to the Waterfront on the Seabus.

Our afternoon plans were supposed to consist of a walking tour of Gastown before dinner at the Salt Tasting Room (in Blood Alley, Gastown) but we ended up just wandering around amongst the insane volume of people there to enjoy the Jazz festival. We happened upon a CTV booth where you could get your image superimposed on a pic with your fave CTV tv show (for free!). Lauren picked CSI and I picked Medium. It was pretty cool! Lauren's pic was awesome!!! She's very savvy with posing!

We also ended up getting 2 free rolls of toilet paper, a frisbee and a led light lol.

So after a few hours of wandering and perusing gift shops, we went to the Salt Tasting Room. (it is marked by a black flag with a white salt shaker on it). What an experience that was! Basically, you sit down and look at the large chalkboard. You can either choose a cheese or meat tasting plate yourself from the items on the board, or you can have the chef's choice. Also you can have each paired with wines. There is also a small dessert menu.

So Lauren and I chose the Chef's choice meat tasting plate and the chef's choice cheese tasting plate. We also had the wine tasting paired with the cheese. I also ordered a very interesting pate with pork and pistachio nuts. Each meat/cheese was paired with a condiment, relish etc.. which is supposed to make the taste an experience. It was quite good and even though it seemed like small portioning, it really was quite filling. They were very good at explaining everything. They knew all the wines and meats and cheeses well.

After dinner, we headed back to find a bus home. I was craving sushi so I planned on hitting up a sushi joint for takeout on the way back but being Sunday night, not much was open. We had to ask a transit officer where to catch our bus but he was really friendly and helpful! Once we hopped on the bus, it was a fairly quick ride back to the B&B. No sushi :(

So the next day we went down for breakfast again. This time, it was a frittata with sausages on the side and of course the fresh juices and breads etc..

This time, we hopped into the rental car and drove over to VanDusen Botanical Gardens. I wasn't totally impressed with the foliage at Dr. Sun Yat Sen so I wanted to see some flowers! We didn't have to go far since the gardens were just around the corner. We spent all morning touring about 1/3 of the gardens before heading out. I managed to buy some seeds to plant at home and then we headed off to Granville Island. I want to go back and see the rest of the gardens sometime!

Eduardo told us about a great fish place on Granville Island called Go Fish!. It was basically a little take out place right on the dock but it was closed so we had to find an alternate lunch plan. So after wandering around, we settled on the Sandbar Restaurant. It was a huge restaurant right on the water. We went out onto the busy patio and had some wonderful food. We decided on a seafood platter with cold crab, shrimp and oysters and then shared some shrimp dumplings (paying homage to the Dim Sum we never had) and a delicious beet salad. It was a lot of food but we ate it all. I also had the BEST virgin caesar I have ever had! And Lauren enjoyed a Granville Island Lager (YUM!!!) One of our favourite beers before ever setting foot on Granville Island!

After lunch we browsed the market. We didn't get to see much though because we spent most of our allotted time in an amazing store called Dragonspace (or Dragonsense?). They had a lot of dragon items and beautiful jewelry. They also sold tarot cards, art, tshirts and books. Lauren got a book on Vikings and I bought a book on trees. I also bought a deck of tarot cards and a cool necklace of a lunar eclipse. (it is meant to symbolize positive change which seemed to fit my life perfectly!)

After leaving Granville Island Public Market, we took a drive to 4th St W (Kitsilano) for some shopping. Originally we planned to do shopping on Robson Street until we discovered most of the stores in Robson area are the large name brand chains..

In Kitsilano we found a bead store where I spent a lot of time. The beads were really reasonable and the store was a lot more diverse than some of the bead stores in Calgary. After spending all of our available shopping time in the bead store (it was 6pm and everything was closing) we decided to walk around to see what else there was on 4th st. Lo and behold, we found a tattoo/piercing shop which was open and empty. The shop was so beautiful with jewlery as far as the eye could see. It was so fancy compared to some of the bare shops here. I asked if they had time to do a nose piercing (I have been contemplating this for years but just in the past few months have really wanted it.. but never had the time/opportunity) so they were able to take me right away. So I was taken into the little room while Lauren acted as paparazzi for my big poke.. and it hurt for only the second the needle went in. But the eye on the side with the piercing filled with a single large warm tear which made its way down my cheek when I sat up. It was kinda cool.

Anyway, after the piercing we got back into the car and drove a few blocks away to dinner at Banana Leaf! Eduardo recommended this one to us (Malaysian cuisine). I have to admit, I was slightly nervous about eating all weekend since I was in a strange place and didn't know what my body would like/hate or how I would handle it but I am happy to report very few troubles on the entire trip! Banana Leaf was delicious and such a great atmosphere. Calgary (maybe Eau Claire) would benefit from one of the Banana Leaf restaurants. YUM!. Its funny, after we got back to Calgary I overheard some girls at Melrose Cafe talking about Banana Leaf in Vancouver and how great it was lol.

So on the way to dinner I had some issues parking. I wasn't nervous driving at all in Vancouver but man the drivers are RUDE! So I decided not to even bother parallel parking and parked a block away on a side street BUT it just so happened to be right near a sushi joint (Kitsilano Sushi). So after dinner, I decided to grab some sashimi and a roll to take back to the B&B for a late night snack. Well I must be spoiled by Kinjo or the people in this very busy Vancouver sushi place are just nuts but this was terrible sushi!!!! The portions were HUGE but it didn't taste like anything. I was so unimpressed that I ate 2 pieces and threw out the rest.

So the next morning (or last day there), we had breakfast again.. this time it was 2 crepes with banana and strawberries with syrup and liquor (and bacon). It was yummy but sweet!

Since it was the morning we were leaving, we decided to head up to Stanley Park by car, drive around and then head to the airport and grab lunch before taking our way too early 3pm flight. We drove over to Stanley Park and got out and enjoyed the beach. We took pictures and really loved the scenery. Then we went to the Totem Poles which was really amazing in my opinion. I thought the energy there was really strong and the totem poles were beautiful. We took lots of pictures and bought some souvenirs before heading to the airport.

At the airport, we took back the rental car (thank GOD we didn't have damage and remembered to fill the tank before we got there - I didn't take insurance .. :P) We checked our bag (we were over the weight limit so we had to take the books we bought at Dragonsense (Dragonspace?) and move them to the carry on bags we had. The lady also informed us that the limit for WestJet was dropping from 60lbs to 50 soon! So much for 2 of us sharing 1 suit case.. oh well we know better for next time.

We had lunch at Milestones in the airport. The food and service were terrible in my opinion!! After lunch we waited at the gate. We were really early so we had a lot of waiting to do.. and then the fire alarm went off.. I kept thinking.. "Our plane is here, just let us get on the plane, take off and they can sort out the fire" lol. It ended up being a false alarm.. whew!

The flight home was uneventful (except for the pregnant flight attendant which kept reminding us of that nicorette commercial - "The seatbelt sign is on! God!" lol but she was the nice version) and Alice was sweet to pick us up and take us to our car which was hibernating at her house.

Because of the bad sushi experience in Vancouver the night before, I insisted on hitting up Kinjo for some good sushi to take home with us for dinner. We had our sushi at home and the kitties quickly forgave us for being away. (We bought them some souvenirs too which they LOVED!) One was a dog toy for Faith. A rubber chicken that squeaks. She liked it but then we took out the catnip cigar for Loki. He was all over it, licking it and drooling on it.. and then Faith walked over and took 2 swipes at him and made him run away!!! He's twice her size and she bullied him into letting her have the catnip cigar! It was so funny! I missed them most of all!

So that was our trip.. 3 nights of fun and adventure. I would definitely go back anytime!