Vancouver Day 2: Is That Sun I See?
Wow two days of blogging in a row. Imagine what would happen if I kept this up? Yeah probably not gonna happen but we'll see.
So after my adventurous first night we woke up in the morning quite hungover to be honest.
What is the remedy for a hangover? Greasy food and some bloody marys of course!
But before we got started there's a mandatory Canadian stop that all must make in the morning.
As a huge Starbucks fan (in philosophy and product) it's hard for me to say it, but Tim Hortons makes me so much happier. Anyone who has been to Canada can sympathize. It's the Canadian equivalent of Dunkin Donuts, and is cheap and scrumptious.
So we grabbed our coffees and walked down through Gastown (which was even more beautiful during the day).
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a real architecture geek. In that sense Vancouver is heaven to me. The entire city is pretty much surrounded by water and so all the new buildings are wall to ceiling glass to reflect it.
The city is also unbelievably green, both in color scheme, and in eco-friendliness. It seems to me that a majority of the people ride bikes, with very clearly defined bike lanes running through the entire city (Think two lanes on the side of the road clearly painted and paved to be solely for bikers). There is also a substantial amount of parks and community gardens throughout the city. So much so that these gardens have spread upwards to the rooftops. One building I saw even featured a full size tree on its roof which was just plain gobsmacking!
But more impressive yet is how well they have preserved the old architecture and created a balance between the two.
I know this sounds weird but I almost cherish this decrepit architecture. The paint on the walls are peeling off, the windowsills are chipped and there's even a broken window here and there. But it has so much personality! That's the difference between Vancouver and San Diego. Here in Vancouver they try and salvage what can be salvage because they know its value. In downtown San Diego, with the exception of a few buildings in the Gaslamp, new is better so they just rip down the old. I would much rather see a city with great architecture from times lost, then new trying to be cool buildings. But then again that's just my personal opinion.
ANYWAYS... As we moved away from the trodden path (which everyone should do once in a while!) we arrived in a small residential(ish) neighbourhood where we found "Two Chefs and a Table."
This place was so tiny that with a wait of four people it was cramped inside. But the decor made the wait so much more bearable. On the inside this place reminded me of the small breakfast places Allie and I used to go to in the Mission District of San Francisco. It's so quaint and personal in here. The chefs (of which I assume there are two?) prepare the meals right there in front of you, and the people in there just seemed so nice and genuine. I seriously felt like walking around and making friends with everyone.
Check out the amazing framed mural. At one point in my life, I wanted a tree tattoo. If I got one it would have looked exactly like this one. Speaking of tattoos, everyone here has such amazing original tattoos. This city is just so inspiring in so many ways.
Anyway forget all that stuff here's the best part. We started our meal with two Caesers- a spicy bloody Mary of sorts, with Bacon and some other good things. This one was really quite spicy but AMAZING! I loved the pickled green beans in there the most. When I get home I'm pickling a bunch of vegetables to use when I set up my full bar at my new apartment (fingers crossed on that one). We then followed it with Bangers and eggs for my sister, and Joes Special for me. The special was a scramble of sorts with mushrooms and beef and leeks. But not just any old ingredients, each one was local, organic, and of an unusual variety. The most amazing mushrooms I have ever laid eyes on or tasted. Everything was home made and fresh- including the cranberry orange preserve which was out of this world. Another must try for when I get home.
My sister's smile says it all. The meal was a success, but we only managed to eat half since there was so much of it. No worries we finished it as a late lunch. And the prices were so reasonable too. Like I'm talking Denny's reasonable. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure last time I went to Denny's I spent more- damn you Bacon sundae!
So with our stomachs content and our minds inspired we headed to Granville Island which is undeniably my favourite part of Vancouver.
So imagine San Diego's seaport village, minus the tourists, plus stores you actually want to go in AND a permanent farmers market. That is Granville Island. Can we please please please get on of these in SD?
Inside it just radiates with color, with everything from produce, to coffee/tea, to fish and meat, and even ready made food for all to enjoy.
I just loved the fruit Kabobs and think they would be awesome for some chocolate fondue.
We grabbed some tea and took the little tug boat across the water.
That little girl was having the time of her life!
These little tugboats were so convenient! As opposed to getting on a bus and taking half an hour to backtrack and get across the bridge for $2 we got across in 1 minute, and it was major fun too!
The beach concept wasn't exactly what we have in San Diego, but it was still really nice. There was mostly small children and couples with their dogs. As you can tell by the clouds people don't get to tan here much, even though my sister thought that this was cloudy and that she was in fact getting a tan.
But whether or not it's the ocean beaches we're used to, the sunset at English Bay was seriously one of the most beautiful I've seen.
After that the night took a turn for the weird so like the movies I'll just cut this short with a beautiful sunset and a happily ever after :)
Oh one last thing (speaking of happily ever after) that Canucks vs Sharks game was amazing.
People up on tables screaming at the last goal.
Millions in the streets celebrating the win. Awesome night last night!!
Anyway I'm having a bit of a fashion breakdown right now so I think I'll head over to Robson to cheer myself up with retail therapy (if my messed up knee will allow me!)
Ciao, Darlings.
Till the next post ;)
So after my adventurous first night we woke up in the morning quite hungover to be honest.
What is the remedy for a hangover? Greasy food and some bloody marys of course!
But before we got started there's a mandatory Canadian stop that all must make in the morning.
Always Fresh, Always Tim Hortons!
As a huge Starbucks fan (in philosophy and product) it's hard for me to say it, but Tim Hortons makes me so much happier. Anyone who has been to Canada can sympathize. It's the Canadian equivalent of Dunkin Donuts, and is cheap and scrumptious.
So we grabbed our coffees and walked down through Gastown (which was even more beautiful during the day).
Anyone who knows me knows I'm a real architecture geek. In that sense Vancouver is heaven to me. The entire city is pretty much surrounded by water and so all the new buildings are wall to ceiling glass to reflect it.
But more impressive yet is how well they have preserved the old architecture and created a balance between the two.
I know this sounds weird but I almost cherish this decrepit architecture. The paint on the walls are peeling off, the windowsills are chipped and there's even a broken window here and there. But it has so much personality! That's the difference between Vancouver and San Diego. Here in Vancouver they try and salvage what can be salvage because they know its value. In downtown San Diego, with the exception of a few buildings in the Gaslamp, new is better so they just rip down the old. I would much rather see a city with great architecture from times lost, then new trying to be cool buildings. But then again that's just my personal opinion.
ANYWAYS... As we moved away from the trodden path (which everyone should do once in a while!) we arrived in a small residential(ish) neighbourhood where we found "Two Chefs and a Table."
Anyway forget all that stuff here's the best part. We started our meal with two Caesers- a spicy bloody Mary of sorts, with Bacon and some other good things. This one was really quite spicy but AMAZING! I loved the pickled green beans in there the most. When I get home I'm pickling a bunch of vegetables to use when I set up my full bar at my new apartment (fingers crossed on that one). We then followed it with Bangers and eggs for my sister, and Joes Special for me. The special was a scramble of sorts with mushrooms and beef and leeks. But not just any old ingredients, each one was local, organic, and of an unusual variety. The most amazing mushrooms I have ever laid eyes on or tasted. Everything was home made and fresh- including the cranberry orange preserve which was out of this world. Another must try for when I get home.
My sister's smile says it all. The meal was a success, but we only managed to eat half since there was so much of it. No worries we finished it as a late lunch. And the prices were so reasonable too. Like I'm talking Denny's reasonable. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure last time I went to Denny's I spent more- damn you Bacon sundae!
So with our stomachs content and our minds inspired we headed to Granville Island which is undeniably my favourite part of Vancouver.
Inside it just radiates with color, with everything from produce, to coffee/tea, to fish and meat, and even ready made food for all to enjoy.
Dragon fruit and lychees next to the more average fruit.
Pot pies as big as my head with a heaven scent.
Everywhere we looked there was Canuck pride, even at the bakery.
We grabbed some tea and took the little tug boat across the water.
The beach concept wasn't exactly what we have in San Diego, but it was still really nice. There was mostly small children and couples with their dogs. As you can tell by the clouds people don't get to tan here much, even though my sister thought that this was cloudy and that she was in fact getting a tan.
But whether or not it's the ocean beaches we're used to, the sunset at English Bay was seriously one of the most beautiful I've seen.
Oh one last thing (speaking of happily ever after) that Canucks vs Sharks game was amazing.
People up on tables screaming at the last goal.
Anyway I'm having a bit of a fashion breakdown right now so I think I'll head over to Robson to cheer myself up with retail therapy (if my messed up knee will allow me!)
Ciao, Darlings.
Till the next post ;)
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