Vancouver, B.C.

Last weekend, Derek and I went to Vancouver, B.C. I hadn't been there in probably nine years, and was really looking forward to it. It was a lot of fun, I'm pleased to say.
Here's my little Vancouver chronicle.

The first night, we spent in Seattle, staying with some friends of Derek's. They live in a small, but awesome 100-year-old house on Queen Anne Hill. If I lived in Seattle, I would probably want to live in that neighborhood. Lots of little shops and restaurants to walk to, but their particular corner was thoroughly residential--just homes and schools. They had a great view of the water below. Best of all, they had the sweetest, cuddliest dog named Sophie. She looks sort of ferocious, being a boxer-german shepherd mix, but had the personality of a very loving kitten.

Nearly in Vancouver, we saw this disconcerting ambulance pass by. If you look closely, it says "On Strike." ??? Turns out the Richmond paramedics were on strike. Not sure what that means for emergency victims.

All right, now we're in Vancouver. First stop: Chinatown. We see this written on the top of a building. I like it!
The majority of the shops and restaurants appear to be closed for the evening (not at all like the last time I was here), but a night street market is just getting set up. We eat barbecued lamb on sticks from the street vendors.

The Chinese garden is open, so we check that out. It was nice, but I think the one in Portland might be more impressive.
That evening, we head back out to Richmond for the huge Night Market. After 20 minutes of mis-turns, we find it, and it was all that we hoped for: lots and lots of various Asian food stalls, knock-offs, and a huge stage for karaoke. Some Japanese guy continually sang Elvis's hits.


After the night market, we went back to the city, and went to a super-cool Belgian bar; great cocktails, but sorry, not really any photos.

The next day, we drove up to Whistler. I had never been there before, and was excited, but there was some sort of off-road biking event going on there, so it was packed, and not really what I expected. After that, we left Whistler, and went hiking to Lake Cheakamus. It was pretty:




Back in town that evening, we took a cab to Stanley park, and had a little look around. Pretty photos ensued.

Then, dinner on the West end at an Izakaya. It was awesome. Everything we ate was really, really good. Unfortunately, I don't remember what it was called. (Derek is pretty cute in that photo, huh?)
The next morning, we went to a cute little cafe for breakfast called Finch's Tea and Coffee. There was a problem initially: the baguettes had not yet arrived, and nearly their entire menu was dependent upon them. But fortunately, a few minutes later they showed up, and all the drama ebbed.

We stop at the Bloedel Botanical Garden. The guide books describe it as the type of place with various climates and accompanying plants and animals, including over 100 types of birds. Turns out, there was only one climate--tropical. It was pretty, but disappointing compared to the Palmengarten I saw in Frankfurt. That one was huge, and had probably five or six different climates. But here are some pretty flowers and birds from the one in Vancouver:

By now, we're way behind schedule (we're supposed to be driving home that day), it's after 2, and we haven't had lunch. Might as well stop at Aberdeen Mall (huge, all-Asian, yes I know a theme seems to have developed) in Richmond, as it's on our way, and have some authentic Chinese food. But first, a photo in the toilet store:

Lunch over, it's time to hit the road. But wait! There's a huge Buddhist temple (not pictured) and an old fishing village on the way. That was our trip. Aside from the baguette debacle and some confusion on the way home regarding a "Detour" sign that nearly caused us to have to go back and forth through the Canadian border again, it was an all-around successful, enjoyable trip.