As a perfect ending to my Vancouver visit Bing took me to Cloud 9 revolving restaurant in downtown Vancouver. We started with cocktails – Bing had a Peach martini and I had a Sex in the Clouds. Followed by delicious entree, mains and layered chocolate mousse/cake with fresh strawberries! The views were fantastic, the food delicious and company perfect. All in all, a perfect end to my trip to Vancouver.
As Bing, Ben and I were walking around the lookout overlooking the Lion Gate Bridge we saw a family of wild raccoons! They were so cool – I just wanted to take them home!! Ben fed them chocolate – I still haven't googled it to see if it would have killed them (chocolate kills dogs).
Bigger than New York's Central Park, Vancouver's inner city park is not surrounded by luxury condos or city skyscrapers but by water. The view looking across the water to downtown Vancouver is truly spectacular (pictured above). Bing and I are standing on the 'seawall' – a path that completely surrounds the park, originally built in 1920s and 1930s. Seeing the Totem Poles and the view of the Lion Gate Bridge leading over to West Vancouver were other highlights. I plan on budgeting a full day on my next visit - just to wonder around Stanley Park.
After having afternoon naps and dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant Bing and I were ready for the night to begin! After picking up Ben, out first stop was 2 hours of Karaoke! On the playlist was everything from Britney Spears' "Oops... I did it again!" to "Apologise" by Timberland (and after hearing us sing, we really did need to apologise) - we had so much fun!
Labelled the Peak of Vancouver, Grouse Mountain is marked as a must do for all first time visitors to Vancouver. With that in mind, Aunty Janice, Bing and I headed up there with high hopes! At Bing's house the weather was a little overcast – patches of blue sky. By the time we got there (a 30 minute drive) and climbed the mountain in the skyride (pictured above) it had started to rain. We walked around in about 2°C (36°F) and rain for about 20 minutes until we made the decision to head back down. Of course by then so had everyone else and we waited for over 30 minutes in line for the skyride back down. I am sure that on a fine day or during the snow season it would be a well worth trip, but for yesterday, not so much.
After a long day of sightseeing I was hungry and Bing suggested that we join some of her friends at a Korean Barbeque Restaurant. I have never been to one before and I was excited to try it! How it works is you order all the vegetables (which come prepared ready to eat) and then you order which meat you want. We had several different types of beef (all seasoned in different flavours), spicy pork and a range of seafood! Then in the middle of the table is a barbeque and you cook what you want (it is only small, about 30cm (12 inches) in diameter) and when the stainless steel plate gets dirty you ask the wait staff to change the place (which is a simple process of just lifting it up). The food was delicious and all in all was a great experience that I would definitely do again!
Originally built for the World Expo '86, Canada Place has become a national icon. Not only can you walk all the way around it, looking out at the water, Stanley Park, downtown and the Canadian Rockies in the distance, but it is also an exhibition centre and a cruise ship terminal! The photo above was taken from the nearby Harbour centre tower. In all honesty, I didn't actually walk all the way around it – but I did do most of it!
So far my explorations in Vancouver have led me to say that Gastown is my favourite neighbourhood! This downtown 'community' features historic buildings and tree-lined streets that are scatted with hip cafes. In between the cafes and restaurants there are independent fashion boutiques – just people watching feels like you are watching a Milan fashion show runway! It very much reminds me of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco or Greenwich Village in New York. Absolutely loved the place and can't wait to go back.
It must be completely obvious that I love Chinatowns – I always try and make time to visit when I am in big cities. With Vancouver's Chinatown being the largest in Canada, eh, and the second largest in North America (only after San Francisco) I just had to go there! So what is my take on Vancouver's? I am glad you asked. I really enjoyed it. I would say it is not as safe as others I have recently visited (SF, NY, Chicago) but it has a nice charm to it. I feel like that it is less touristy and features more actual Chinese stores. According to Bing's friend Ben, the real Vancouver Chinatown isn't in Vancouver, but in a neighbouring city – Richmond. Not sure if we will get a chance to stop there on this visit but there is always next time!
