GRANVILLE ISLAND PUBLIC MARKET
One of my favorite thing in Vancouver was
Granville Island which includes the Public Market and tons of other neat shops outside of the market. I have to say that of all the public markets we've eaten at (LA's Grand Central Market, LA's Orignal Farmer's Market, Philly's Reading Terminal, Anaheim's Packing House, and Copenhagen's Torvehallerne), the food stalls at Granville Market is our least favorite. But overall, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the ease of getting there via a public bus, and visiting the shops outside of the food stalls. I do wish we could've gone a few more times to try a few other food stalls. It was pretty crowded, even on a Monday when we went. I also wished I had a bigger stomach because I wanted to try some of the fresh fruits they had at the market! The vendors all stacked their fruits and berries into these amazing pyramids. The surrounding shots were fun and unique. We actually spent more time outside shopping than browsing for lunch. Thankfully, the weather was pretty great that day and many people sat outside to eat their lunch. If it was raining, I don't even know how one would be able to find a seat to eat at. If you do visit Vancouver, Granville Market is a definite stop. Enjoy the pictures!
Posted on March 14, 2024
CAPILANO SUSPENSION BRIDGE
After doing some research, I decided to book tickets to see the
Capilano Suspension Bridge. There are actually several suspension bridges in the Vancouver area and Capilano Suspension Bridge is the most touristy one. Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge was one that the local recommended as being more authentic and less touristy. But it's also more rural and there's not direct public transportation to get there. Since I was prepared for rain the entire time and you have to pre-purchase tickets to Capilano, I decided to go with the safer bridge park to visit with well paved roads and a free bus to the site. I think it was the right choice for us, being our first visit to Vancouver with the threat of rain and all. But after our visit, I do agree with everyone's assessment that Capilano is very touristy. Next time we visit Vancouver we would probably not go to Capilano again. In fact, when we were visiting, the whole Capilano park area was decorated with lights and decorations for Valentine's Day. I actually preferred to not have the lights and decorations because they make things felt even more touristy. The lights are probably very pretty at night but during the day, they felt a little cheesy. In anycase, we did enjoy the little trails and we liked the Cliff Walk the most. The Cliff Walk is the metal trail that is suspended from the cliffside. You access the Cliff Walk before the suspension bridge, so many people actually missed it or skip it, making it way less crowded. As you can see from the pictures below, the weather was simply amazing!
Posted on March 11, 2024
VANCOUVER!!!
It has been over a year an a half since Mr. BAW and I took a adult-trip sans kids to
Montreal and Quebec. We had such a wonderful time, no offense kids, that we've been wanting to do another trip without the kids. Well, an opportunity presented itself when we had some flight credits that were about to expire. Looking at the flight paths of our airline, Vancouver jumped out as a place we've been wanting to visit. We were also super lucky that Mr. BAW's Aunt, kids' Great Aunt, was able to stay with the kids for the long Presidents' Day weekend. They ended up having a wonderful bonding weekend, playing mean games of scrabble, the kids introducing her to a few fantastic movies she's never seen before(
The Wind Rises and
The Imitation Game), and taking a few walks in the neighborhood. We are so thankful that she was able to babysit for us! The kids were awesome too, getting their own breakfast, showering when they should, and helping to clean the kitchen each night after dinner. To make things easier for everyone, Kepler spent the long weekend at doggie daycamp.
As for our trip to Vancouver, we were well prepared for a long weekend of rain. We both brought heavy rain jackets, umbrellas, and rain shoes. However, as you will see in my pictures below, we ended up having a glorious, dry weekend in Vancouver!! There was actually more rain in LA that weekend than we got. It only rained one evening in Vancouver, the night we had dinner reservations at our hotel restuarant so we didn't even have to go out of our building. I have so many pictures to share from our three days in Vancouver. But first, just an overview of the beautiful city, Gas Lamp District with the famous Steam Clock, China Town, and Downown Vancouver. Stay tuned for picture dump in up-coming posts. Besides that beautiful sights, Vancouver is definitely a city for food lovers. We had three amazing meals at three different restaurants, one was a
Michelin Bib place. Food is definitely a huge deal in Vancouver. Besides fine dining, we also got to try the famouse
Japadog! And yes, it does live up to all the hype. Stay tuned for more Vancouver pictures! Pss...notice that adorable bicycle traffic light?
Posted on March 5, 2024