Category: Vancouver - WANDERING WITH WILLIAM

Chillin' in Vancouver

3/30/2017

True to our weather observations, after sunny Saturday Vancouver receives 3+ days of rain. We both admit that the overcast skies and rain is putting a bit of a damper on our activities. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we tend to hang around the condo until noon each day, then put on rain jackets and grab the umbrella before stepping out on the street.

We explore some of the more interesting architecture in downtown Vancouver including the Art Deco Marine Building and the Hotel Vancouver in the Franco-Scottish Chateau style.

We walk from our condo to Gastown, Vancouver's oldest district. It has cobblestone streets and many small shops and restaurants. The Gastown Steam Clock plays the Westminster chimes every quarter hour and blasts the hour, playing for us as we walk by. It is the world's first steam powered clock.

The underground Pacific Center offers a couple of hours of entertainment; meandering through the mall and dropping into the stores that look more interesting to us.

Food and beverage are also some of our entertainment. We celebrate William's birthday on Sunday with a delicious dinner at La Brasserie on Davie Street. After a cold, rainy walk in Gastown it seems only fitting that we stop in the Steamworks Brewing Company for a beverage to warm us. And after shopping there's nothing better than Doolin's Irish Pub as a place to rest our feet, have a pint and a bite to eat. Transylvanian Traditions Bakery two blocks from the condo has been calling to us since we arrived. We finally give in on Tuesday and sample their Amandina cake. It's chocolate cake with chocolate cream and a hint of rum. I think it's pretty good, with subtle flavors and sweetness.

Tuesday evening we start to pack our bags for the trip to the U.S. It's been 80 days and many fun adventures. The highlight, of course, is Paul and Kara's wedding.

Renting Apartments/Condo's/Homes

3/30/2017

Over the past few years we have rented many places to stay through online sites, mostly VRBO, Flipkey, HomeAway and BookaBach. The vast majority of rentals have been relatively close to their photos and descriptions. We've also found the owners or agents to be reasonable to work with, including our stay in Sicily where we used Google Translate to explain that the refrigerator was not working properly. As minimum we always look to rent places with wi-fi, TV, heat/air (as what we feel is appropriate for the climate), shower, a queen or king size bed, towels and linens, and a kitchen we can work in given the amount of time we will be staying.

One interesting moment in each rental is finding what's been left for us in the refrigerator and pantry. Owners may make a point of leaving tea, coffee, milk, basic spices and sometimes biscuits or fruit to get us started. Some places are barren of food - to the point that there may not be even salt and pepper. In other cases there is an accumulation of what previous renters have left and the cleaners have not removed. Once when renting a home in Vermont the pantry included everything from onions and 5 lbs. of potatoes to a quart-sized jar of capers from Costco.

The winner for "most diverse food items" in our New Zealand and British Columbia trip is the condo in Vancouver. In addition to tea, coffee, sugar, olive oil, spices and condiments we were supplied with: a quart of pickled turnips, 4 liters of canola oil and a quarter of a bottle of Maker's Mark (we found the Maker's Mark in the freezer).

Sunny Saturday

3/28/2017

One thing we have learned since arriving in British Columbia - if it's sunny today it will probably be rainy for the next three to four days, so take advantage!

It is a good day to explore Stanley Park. We have a late breakfast then taxi the two miles over to the park information booth - saving our strength to enjoy strolling around the park. I pick up a map and choose the Seawall Trail which goes around the eastern section of the 400 hectare park. It provides a wonderful view of Downtown Vancouver.

A little detour takes us to the totem poles. It is interesting that totem poles are present in both Canadian and New Zealand heritage - separated by so many miles of ocean.

Back along the seawall we pass the small lighthouse. Across the harbor snow-topped Mount Gross towers above North Vancouver. We also see Lions Gate Bridge as we walk along.

After walking the Seawall Trail for a couple of hours we're tired. We're close to the aquarium and trudge up the hill hoping to find a taxi. Yeah! There are two waiting. We have the driver drop us off near the Public Library - there's an Irish Pub and a Scotch Egg sounds like a good snack to tide us over until dinner.

First Days in Vancouver

3/25/2017

Thursday we walk six blocks and pick up the Water Taxi to Granville Island. The small island is a food and arts fiesta. We start by walking through the Public Market. The ~50 purveyors offer a broad range of foods. The fresh meats, cheeses and vegetables draw us to the various counters. We pick up some items to stock the refrigerator in the condo. We walk by other counters drooling a bit over the pastries and candies. The food stalls offer a wide assortment of meals, everything from fish and chips to Mexican to German sausages.

There are ~90 small shops and galleries around the island and we explore perhaps a third. Walking around the Island we find the Granville Island Brewing Company. They have ten of their beers on tap and showcase a sampler of all the offerings. William isn't up for trying ten beers, but he selects four to sample. While we enjoy the beverages we talk with the bartender about how he enjoys his job; he gets to meet people from all over the world who are on vacation and drinking beer, and 99% of the people are happy!

Friday we do some window shopping along Robson Street. I am hoping to find some locally owned shops or chain stores not found in Chicago. There are a few, but mostly it is the usual chain stores. Of course I am spoiled by the wide array of stores in Chicago. We walk and browse for a couple of hours in the occasional light rain. We go a few extra blocks on our way home to check out the Vancouver Public Library which was inspired by the Colosseum - interesting!

Tofino to Vancouver

3/25/2017

It's raining as we leave Tofino at 10 AM and continues raining for much of our journey to Nanaimo. As we drive the Pacific Rim Highway we see 100+ waterfalls. Many are only 5-10 feet tall others are 20-30 feet and several on the sides of the mountains are 200-300 feet. Amazing and beautiful! One regret is that we are not able to pull off the side of the winding road to take photographs.

We return to the Nanaimo airport and return our rental car. Amazingly, the same taxi driver who met us when we arrived at the Nanaimo ferry dock a week ago is the only taxi waiting at the airport. He recognizes William and says hello as he drives us to the ferry port.

Our 3 PM ferry is delayed an hour and after a 25 minute taxi ride we arrive at 6:30 PM at our Vancouver condo. It's a one bedroom on the sixth floor of a modern apartment building. The owner meets us, shows us around the condo and also provides tips on the neighborhood and things to do in Vancouver. After unpacking a few things we walk down Davie Street. True to the condo owner's description there are 30+ restaurants to choose from. We settle for a small Italian restaurant - time for some comfort food!

A Typical Spring Day in Tofino

3/23/2017

Tofino receives a good deal of precipitation as proven by the Rain Forest Trail in the Pacific Rim National Park just a few kilometers down the road. The average in March is 13 inches and 22 days with precipitation. So it is not surprising after two sunny days to wake up to rain on Tuesday.

We watch the rain out the window as it alternates between mist and a full downpour. After a relaxing morning we bundle up, grab umbrellas and make a bolt for the car during a downpour. By the time we arrive at Long Beach and Incinerator Rock it is back to misting. The waves are crashing in as people climb over the rock and walk on the beach.

Our target destination this afternoon is Amphitrite Lighthouse in Ucluelet. The rain picks up again as we drive. We snake through the small town then make our way to the parking lot at the end of Coast Guard Road. It's okay walking along the short trail from the parking lot until we join the Pacific Rim Trail which runs along the open sea. It's very windy and the rain is now coming at us sideways! We make it to the lighthouse, check out the surrounding rocks, then quickly retrace our steps back to the car. A stop in town for a coffee is in order to dry off and warm up.

Our late lunch is at the Schooner Restaurant in Tofino. William orders the fish and chips. It's a nice variation - snapper is breaded in Parmesan cheese and pan fried, rather than deep fired. It comes with a small Caesar salad (and chips of course). I have the locally sourced clams and mussels appetizer as my meal. They are tender and delicious. When you are this close to the seafood source, take advantage!

Beautiful Tofino

3/23/2017

Monday morning is sunny. We eat a quick breakfast then make our way to Ocean Outfitters for our 2 1/2 hour whale watching tour. Fellow passengers on the 13 passenger boat include a couple who own a vineyard north of Victoria, a young Italian woman seeing Canada, a family from Spain and a group of friends from Germany. The grey whales are moving from Baja to Alaska and we are all hoping to spot a few.

We learn that the greys have a typical pattern of spouting water, surfacing, then diving for 5-8 minutes. After exiting the harbor we travel out for about 20 minutes before hearing from another boat of a sighting. The captain increases our speed until he comes 400 yards from the other boat, then takes it down to a very slow speed. We all scan the horizon then see a small spout in the distance and the back of a whale for a few seconds. We wait another 15 minutes without a sighting. So much for the typical pattern. Then we are off to another sighting. This time there are some "typical" grey whales. We have fun seeing them spout, surface, and even catch the tales breaching the water.

The captain asks if we'd like to see some sea lions / seals and everyone agrees. He takes us toward a protected island. There's a group of stellar sea lions, the largest of the seal family, sunning themselves on the banks. They have a distinctive low growl. The other seals in the surrounding waters are typical harbor seals. On our ride back toward Tofino Harbor we spot an eagle circling then perching in a tree - so graceful!

In the afternoon we take a walk along Chesterman Beach. There's a few surfers in the moderate waves. The summer homes spaced along the beach are attractive, it would be fun to stay at one if they are rented out.

It's low tide so there's a wide beach and we can walk all the way out to Frank Island. On the way back I notice a barefoot couple in jackets walking on the beach framed by the trees and snow-capped mountains in the distance. A perfect image of early Spring in Tofino.

Victoria to Tofino

3/21/2017

It's a sunny Sunday for our drive from Victoria to Tofino. William pulls the car out of the parking lot of our hotel at 10 AM. Google Maps says it's a four and one-half hour drive and locals have told us it's five hours if you drive straight through. We're estimating six hours or so with stops.

We drive north and stop 35-40 kilometers later at Split Rock Lookout and the Malahat Summit to view the landscape for a few minutes. Pretty!

On our drive to Victoria we saw the signs for the wine trail, but didn't want to stop. Today we make a point at stopping at Unsworth Winery. I do a tasting while William strolls around the property. Unfortunately they have sold out of their noted Pinot Noir and I am not able to get a taste. Their other wines are okay, but not exceptional.

Past Nanaimo we drive through the small town of Coombs, whose claim to fame is goats on the roof. Somehow the owners of the Old Country Market came up with the idea of putting turf on the roof and keeping a small herd of goats up there. It seems to have worked as a tourist attraction - the Market and surrounding businesses are reasonably busy on this early Sunday afternoon. In the prime of summer it's probably impossible to park anywhere nearby.

180 kilometers from Victoria we make a stop at Cathedral Grove, an ancient fir ecosystem. The Douglass Firs are towering. We take a trail that leads to an 800 year old tree and enjoy walking through the mossy forest. We see some of the trees which have toppled over and better understand the warning to avoid the forest in stiff winds - the root structures are not very deep.

Past Port Alberni the Pacific Rim Highway takes us west near the shores of Sproat Lake and it's tributary river, then turns southwest to go around Adder, the Cats Ears and Triple Peak Mountains. On the other side are Pogo Mountain and Hidden Peak. We once again come near water, this time Kennedy Lake. As we drive we see beautiful nature all around, incredible forests, pristine lakes and rivers and snow-capped mountains. We laugh that it is similar, yet different from several of our New Zealand drives.

Finally the highway makes a right close to the southern shore and takes us through parkland and into Tofino, finishing our 320km drive. We arrive at 4:30 PM and retrieve the keys to our rental condo for the next three nights. It's a nice studio with a small deck and good views of the water. To the left in front of us is a pier housing the Oyster Bar Restaurant and a water taxi service, which should provide some entertainment as we watch people coming and going.

Sampling Victoria

3/21/2017

Late Friday morning we step out from our hotel into the light rain. Our first stop is the British Columbia Parlement Buildings, just a block away. After passing through security we are allowed to meander through much of the first and second floors. We visit the Parliament chambers as well as other points of interest within the building.

Another block away is the British Columbia Museum. We opt to start out with the IMAX with the show "Dream Big: Engineering Our World". Then we walk through the two floors of exhibits. The exhibits largely keep our interest for about two hours.

After a short rest back at our hotel we decide to check out the Empress Hotel, a Victoria and Canada-wide landmark. The Edwardian-style hotel was opened in 1908 and additional wings were added in 1914 and 1928. It underwent a major restoration in the 1980's, keeping true to the original style. The Empress has hosted the royal and the famous.. and us for an hour our so. We had been advised by several people to book an afternoon tea - during the summer they serve up to 800 people in four settings per day. We stop by the Lobby Lounge where tea is being served to a dozen or so tables of guests. We continue exploring the hotel and find the Q Bar where we join some others for a wee nip on this St. Patrick's Day. We enjoy peering out the windows looking at Vancouver's Inner Harbor through the light rain and sipping our drinks.

Dinner this evening is at the Flying Otter which sits on the waters of the Inner Harbor. The building is shared with a seaplane business, and their dock is right outside providing entertainment. My Salmon Wellington and William's paella are tasty and plentiful.

Saturday we do laundry in the morning and wait for the sun to start to appear before venturing out. It's not raining, but the wind is whipping about as the clouds dissipate. We walk over to Fisherman's Wharf and have a look at the houseboats. They are fun to see - not sure it could be my permanent lifestyle though.

Off the dock are a group seals. They come close looking for food and soon one of the tourists buys some from the fresh fish stand on the wharf. It is amazing how they splash to gather attention. One even waves with it's fin.

We catch a water taxi from Fisherman's Wharf up to China Town - a reasonable $6 of entertainment and an opportunity to avoid walking in the wind. We stroll around China Town, eyeing the roasted ducks in some of the windows. If only we were hungry! From China Town we walk by City Hall then make our way through Olde Town. Now we're starting to get hungry, so we stop in at the Irish Times Pub where there are still tents up outside from yesterday's celebrations. We settle into a nice corner for a late lunch.

Following our meal we walk through the harbor area. We spot a fun sign reminding us of how far we have traveled! On back to our hotel. It's been an enjoyable afternoon.

The Butchart Gardens

3/20/2017

The Butchart Gardens is one of the key places I want to visit while in Victoria, so we decide to go there on our first full day. The Butchart Gardens covers 55 acres and is over 100 years old. There are 50 gardeners and we encounter quite a few during our visit.

Everyone we have met in Victoria so far has commented that Spring is late this year. The trees are just starting to form buds, where last year at this time they were in full bloom. That (as well as the intermittent light showers) may explain why there are only 40-50 cars in the parking lot when we arrive. A million visitors see the gardens each year - we feel like we almost have them to ourselves.

We start in the greenhouse with the Spring Prelude special exhibit. It gives us a chance to see many of the flowers in bloom which are just starting to present themselves in the gardens outdoors.

We then meander through the various area: Sunken Garden, Japanese Garden, and Italian Garden. Along the way we see the Ross Fountain with it's dancing water, totem poles, the Dragon and Sturgeon Fountains, Butchart Cove and the Star Pond. We slip by the Rose Garden, since they were all just pruned stalks.

We enjoy our time in the Gardens, but can only imagine how colorful they will be in another month.

Walking around the Gardens helps us justify our choice for dinner - Pagliacci's Restaurant and their lasagna. William orders Dempsey's - beef, mushrooms, ricotta and mozzarella between layers of fresh lasagna noodles. It is topped with a perfect red sauce. I choose Mr. Roberts - Canadian dungeness and rock crab, baby shrimp, spinach and mozzarella between layers of fresh lasagna noodles. It also has the red sauce and a wedge of lemon. William declares his is the best lasagna he has ever had in a restaurant. Mine is darn good as well - I would be happy if I could eat it once a week.

Our waiter asks us if we would like dessert. Although they still serve their cheesecake which was featured in Bon Appetit Magazine several years ago, we resist. The 20 minute walk back to our hotel is a nice finish to a great meal.