Vancouver days 4-5 {more sea wall running, Public Market, breweries and oysters!}

On Monday L didn't have any training so we decided to start the day with a run along the sea wall. We were also lucky that the sun came out!


I took L to the totems.


And we 'Grammed them.


And took selfies with them.


Vancouver looked amazing in the rain and overcast conditions. Vancouver also was stunning with the sun out!


The sea wall wasn't busy at all.


I was so happy to go for a nice run with L and spend some time with him!


The cherry trees were also in full bloom.


After our run, we took the cute water taxi to Granville Island to go to the Public Market and Granville Island Brewery.


The tour at GIB was informative and fun. The gal leading our tour definitely knew her way around beer.


We ended up sampling 8 of their beers, including the potato stout I had post race. My favorite was either their winter ale or their Scottish ale. Yum!


Once we were good and buzzed, we walked over to the Public Market for lunch.


The market is super clean and full of the usual market type stalls- containing fruits & veggies, meats and other goods. They also had many food vendors with all different ethnicities of food. We ended up with Indian food and it was so delicious!


We couldn't pass up dessert. Duh. I had chocolate mousse.


After lunch we took the 4 minute water taxi ride back to the other side.


The sunset was especially amazing on Monday night- my last night in Vancouver. That was the view from our hotel.


For dinner I wanted oysters (because Vancouver seafood = so good) So we ended up at "Chewies." The oysters were out of this world fresh and delicious. My favorite were the Kusshi from BC.


Post Chewies, we closed out our night at Steamworks brewing with a couple of good beers.


On Tuesday morning we went to Medina cafe. I can't remember where I had found this place, but the menu looked incredible.

I started with a lavender latte. Divine.


For breakfast I had "Fricassee Champignon" basically a delicious skillet with mushrooms, potatoes, arugula and fried eggs.


We went back to the hotel and I re packed my suitcase and took one more photo from our room.


Then I said goodbye to L and took a cab to the airport.

I love the airport- it's super clean and has cool statues in it.



I wore compression socks on the 4+ hour flight to Vancouver and my legs were throbbing by the end of it. (The soreness lasted for a few days) On the way home, I didn't wear compression socks and my legs felt great. A day later they still feel fresh. Same thing happened on my flight to Brasil. Needless to say I'll never wear them on a flight again.


I got wifi on the plane and killed time by writing blog posts. It was still a long ass flight at 4 hours.


Final thoughts:

I loved Vancouver. It surpassed all my expectations for scenery, food and ambiance. While the diversity of the folks in Vancouver was surprising to me, the concentration of super cars or exotic super cars was even more surprising. The amount of Ferrari's and Lamborghini's and Maserati's was crazy! I had no idea there was so much money in Vancouver!

I was so happy L and I got to take a short trip to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. It was so wonderful to visit Vancouver together.

Vancouver day 3: a run along the Stanley Park Sea wall, and more delicious foods & drinks

Day 3!

Since L had training (the whole reason for this trip) I decided to run along the sea wall at Stanley park. It was a beautiful overcast day for a run.


The water was so calm and reflected the downtown as if it was a mirror.


I ran from our hotel to Stanley park which was about 2 kilometers away. I ran along the sea wall to get there. For this run I stayed on the outer perimeter of the park- about 10k total around the whole thing and did not incorporate any of the hills from the 5k I did (which was contained to the roads of the interior part of the park.)

A few K's into my run I came across the totems in Stanley park. Most of them were relatively new, made by local artists.


I also came across a statue of a famous Canadian athlete from the late 1800's.


I also saw a good graffiti near a lighthouse type thing.


I also saw the famous "Girl in wetsuit" statue which represents Vancouver's dependence on the sea.


Did I already mention how absolutely stunning running around the sea wall is!?


I saw some cool black and white ducks and huge ass seagulls.


I also ran under the bridge which you would take of you went to Whistler.


I was surprised that it wasn't too busy for a Sunday morning. I saw some runners and walkers- the cyclists have to stay on a separate path away from the pedestrians.

While it was overcast and raining very lightly, I enjoyed this run immensely. My legs were still a bit tired and sore from Friday's flight, but it was nice to run almost 8 miles in the morning.


Post run I met L for a quick lunch at a hole in the wall sushi place near our hotel called "Shizen Ya." Holy crap the quality of the fish was amazing! And it was just a normal nothing special place. We absolutely enjoyed the chicken gyoza, spicy tuna roll, albacore roll, and the mango California roll.


After lunch I went out in the rain to go shopping. I really wanted to buy an outfit from Canada. So I went in nearly every shop on Robson and ended up getting a few dresses from FCUK and some other small items. (Pro tip: bring a small umbrella with you. It rains a lot here.)


I also went to starbucks where I had a nice creative version of my name on my cup.

For dinner we went to "Alibi room." It is an amazing gastro pub with all the best Canadian beers on tap. Our waiter was super knowledgable about the foods and beers and was impressed we were there- he said Alibi Room is more of a "locals" kind of spot.


We had some delicious Canadian craft beers as well as these curry mussels which were out of this world amazing!


After day 3 I was falling in love more and more with the 'couver. The food, the people and the scenery are all amazing!


Me in my new dress. :)

I'm so happy it worked out that L had training in Vancouver- it was a nice way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!!!

--Xaar

Vancouver days 1-2

Day 1:

I jumped at the opportunity to go to Vancouver when my husband asked a few weeks ago. He was going for training/conference and wanted me to join him. I've wanted to visit Vancouver for a long time so this was awesome!!


We boarded our packed plane and headed west. 4+ hours later we landed in Vancouver. I wore compression socks during the flight and my calves and feet were achy almost the entire time. After we landed I took them off, but my legs were still stupid achy. I won't be wearing them for the return trip.


The first thing we ate were hotdogs from the famous "Japa dog."


I had a cheese smokey terimayo dog. It was unbelievably good.


We were super excited to eat here.


This place lived up to all the hype from L as well as the celebrities that have made TV shows which highlighted this place. (Like Anthony Bourdain)


After lunch, we walked over to the Running room to get my bib and shirt for the race.


Then we walked along the waterfront back to our hotel and took loads of photos. I thought it was super interesting how diverse Vancouver is. I rarely heard English being spoken by folks walking near us. Most people were speaking Chinese/Japanese/Korean, some were speaking Portuguese and Spanish, and then a few were speaking french!


And more photos.


And more and more photos.


I also saw that "spring has sprung" in Vancouver. I hope Chicago follows quickly!


Vancouver is a super clean beautiful city. It also seems much more quiet than Chicago.


We met our friends for dinner and had ramen at "Ramen Koika." It was delicious.


Then we walked more by the water front and ended up taking a cab to "Revel Room" Where we had delicious basil/grape vodka mojito type drinks.


Then we walked to the "Irish Heather" and had good whiskey and whiskey based cocktails. I really enjoyed my "Ginger lady" as well as finishing off the night with a Canada Club 100% Rye whiskey neat.


DAY 2:

Saturday morning I woke up early and ran the
St Patrick's 5k

After I got cleaned up, I met L for lunch at "One Saigon" and had wonton soup. It was delicious and warm and hit the spot after a run in the rain and cold.


L really enjoyed their Pho.


Later on we met our friends and went to "Earl's test kitchen" and had really good food like these tuna tostadas.


I also had my favorite Canadian beer to date: N2 Milk stout by Parallel 49.


We finished the night with more cocktails and great conversation at another bar. I am so happy we know friends pretty much everywhere we visit. :)


--Xa'ar