For how many times I quoted this line from You've Got Mail, I would have been an easy drinking game. For our Four year anniversary trip, Joe and I went to the beautiful city of Vancouver. I have been to Canada many times. My mom is Canadian and would take my sister and I every summer to stay at beautiful Tie Lake. However I had never seen Vancouver before. My Grandpa Dil loved Vancouver and use to tell me stories about vacationing there as a little boy. Apart from the exciting opportunity to explore a new place we got to do so without G. This was the first time we had ever spent the night away from her. I had a lot of anxieties but quickly got over them once I placed her in the loving doting arms of her Aunts. She had a wonderful time and is still wondering why I am getting her out of her bed in the morning and not her Aunt Delaney!
We spent Friday traveling. But once we landed and got into the rental car I rolled down the window and gulped in salty clean Canadian air. When My mom and I would drive to Canada I use to laugh at her when we crossed the border. Inevitably her eyes filled with tears as she exclaimed "look at the mountains! oh look at the beautiful trees!" I felt a bit like that hanging my head out of the window yelling at Joe to look at the trees! Smell the beautiful air. I can without a doubt say that Canada is one of my happy places. Well, after we checked into our hotel in downtown Vancouver we went for a walk and scouted out dinner. We went to a quiet intimate restaurant called Salmon and Bannock. If you are unfamiliar with bannock bread, it is a North American Native staple. I would describe it as a weighted scone. We ordered homemade birch soda and wild berry soda to start. The menu offered a variety of wild game fresh fish and organic sides. The waitress told us about some of the choices but hesitated to tell us the specials. She said "I'm not sure if you are adventurous but the special would require it." It was as if she had flipped her hair and said oh honey I know you aren't brave enough for this. So naturally I had already decided that no matter what she said next...I was ordering it. "The special tonight is Sea lion".
Dinner took about two hours. It was so nice to sit and eat completely unaware of time or any type of schedule. Next we made our way over to Gas town which is the oldest part of Vancouver. Gas town is made up of cobbled pathways, shops, lots of bars, and lit up by beautiful lights. We wandered for an hour or so stopping by a store to pick up Canadian oreos and a Macintosh candy bar (two of my favorite things). What the tourists come to see is the steam clock. It is run by a steam engine, announces each quarter hour with a whistle chime and exhales a puff of steam from its top on the hour. We were lucky to see it chime and puff smoke from the top.
The next morning we woke up early and made our way to Granville Island. We strolled through the public market which must be every foodies fantasy. I had never seen so much amazing beautiful food art in my entire life.
We sampled and tasted as much as we could. I had read the Lee's donuts, and Kaisers Bagels were a must. I was on the hunt for two things, a butter tart and a Nanimo bar. It wasn't hard as both are popular Canadian treats. Back to my summers at tie lake....on Saturdays we would all go to the local farmers market. If you were smart you would stick with my Grandpa Dil because if you did he would buy you butter tarts from any booth selling them. They were his favorite and always remind me of him. As I sat down with my beautiful tart I knew he was there with me. It was a very special experience for me to be in his favorite place eating his favorite treat.
Next we explored the rest of the island. It is famous for its handmade Broom store, countless theaters and museums, and brewery. I had read that you could not leave the island without going into Rogers chocolates and getting a maple Victorian cream truffle. Joe and I each had one. I made it about one bite in when the sugar coma set in.
Because we were in Vancouver Joe wanted to meet up with a colleague at the airport. He had a quick meeting so I dropped him off and settled in the car overlooking the city to read my book and eat Canadian Candy. This may sound like a waste of precious site seeing time but it is rare that I find quiet, rain drenched time to sit and read a book. Half way through Joe called to invite me back to the airport for lunch with his work associate. The Vancouver airport is beautiful and large. I am married to an airport connoisseur and have come to appreciate the inner operations of an airport. We had poutine and fish and chips for lunch. Poutine is French fries covered in gravy and cheese curds. It is the definition of comfort food.
I was officially in a food coma. For our second night in Vancouver we stayed in the beautiful Westin Bayside Hotel. It sits on the border of Stanley Park and the harbor. It was one of the most beautiful hotels I had been in....probably because of its location. We dropped off our bags, grabbed the hotel bikes and began riding through around, over Stanley Park. This is why I came. This Park. Stanley park has been named the best park in North America. I didn't think any park could beat my beloved Central Park...oh but Stanley Park blew it out of the water. We rode along the sea wall and around English bay. We saw the laughing statues, totem polls, swimming pools, and the most glorious trees to be created. I never wanted to leave. I could have spent days there. As I rode along the English bay watching the huge ships I knew if could sit on a bench for hours that I could write a book, think great thoughts, feel complete peace, and be so happy. If I could have any piece of land it would be that park. all 400 acres of it. We stayed as long as we could till darkness settled in and more cold rain.
these statues are incredible. they are made up of pieces all welded together.
We cleaned up and headed to dinner. I knew we couldn't leave without getting sushi. I love Sushi and have eaten lots of it in many different places but never like the sushi we had. All the flavors were so pronounced. It was wonderful and may have ruined me for other sushi. Again, it was nice to eat slowly, talk and smile at my husband. the harbor reminded me of a beach town. Cute shops great shopping tons of places for dessert. We spent the rest of the night wandering the shops and holding hands. That night we opened the windows in our room so we could hear the rain hitting the waters surface. In the morning we went for a crepe breakfast. Joe dropped me at the airport and I headed home and he headed for Chile. Now I am back In Utah with my G dreaming of Stanley Park and maple Victorian Creams.
