Monday in Vancouver

We had one full day in Vancouver to enjoy with Courtney and Robert.  Both of them had been to the city before, but Robert had never really seen it outside of the confines of a conference center or perhaps, IIRC, UBC.  We didn't have a car, but the weather was fine for being on foot, and we each had a transit card to use.  That made things easy.  A day lay ahead with moderate adventure to enjoy.

But I did get time alone as usual in the morning, arising before everyone else and heading out for a walk.  Passing through the northern edge of downtown to Coal Harbour where I watched the last moments of a Disney cruise ship coming in to dock, then headed past various art pieces and seaplanes, getting my steps in.  Nice, quiet time to myself, and I appreciated such a glorious morning for it.  Vancouver in the summer sunshine is exquisite.  So, a photodump of scenes from that walk, and then on with the rest of the day....

Our first plan for the day:  walk a nice mile to False Creek and hop a ferry

(well, an Aquabus)

and cross over to Granville Island.  Lunch (with margarita) at Alimentaria Mexicana,

and a mission to find postcards for Courtney and Nanaimo bars and butter tarts for Robert.  We successfully did all of those and more, poking around in a few stores and galleries on the Island, including stopping in to shop from and say hello to Hilary Morris, and then partaking of a spirits tasting at Liberty Distillery. 

I liked a couple of the gins enough that I bought a small bottle of one to bring home.  Robert was less enthused about the brown spirits, but he enjoyed doing a tasting.

Eventually we wandered past the marina

and under the bridge

and off-island so that Conrad could show them the Waterfall Building.  We poked in a gallery nearby, then caught a bus back to the hotel so that we could all get a naptime in before our evening plans began.

I should add that all of us, save Van, popped over to the Club for a drink late afternoon.  It was a boozy Monday, as you'll see!  But neither Courtney nor Robert had been to the Club, and I thought it would be nice to take them there. 

That Monday night, friends, it was a long-awaited return to The Shameful Tiki Room. 

With my sister, Chris, and Allister in tow, we had every intention of getting the Volcano Bowl.  And friends, we did! 

And then we each got our own drinks.  The Rum Barrel

and then the Three Dots and a Dash for me. 

We grazed through the various shared plates on their menu and had a really terrific time together.  Sated, it was outside

to wait for the bus - all of us sharing the same route at least at first

- and back to the hotel.  Courtney and Robert were due to leave the next afternoon, but I think we managed to have some fun in Vancouver with them.

ling cod

Yes, yes, this is an overdue post. I'll catch up on things later, I promise. It is, after all, vacation time. Conrad and I have a week ahead in Vancouver, and I should be able to squeeze out an entry or two in that time.

OK, given my recent history, maybe I shouldn't promise.

No matter: an entry for tonight at least. We're all post-dinner and relaxing on a fine Saturday night on the west coast. Much walking today, and some much-needed napping behind us, too. Vacation truly is when I get caught up on my sleep. We were home from shopping/errands/lunch at 2ish, and somewhere in between that and dinner there were a good two hours of dozing. Heaven!

Also nice? Ling cod. It's a fish I can't recall seeing on Chicago menus, nor in stores in Chicago. A shame, really. It's a lovely fish. On rare occasion we would catch them while staying with Grandma on the Sunshine Coast. Rock cod were more common, and though Marie says that we considered them garbage fish, my recollection is that they were a special catch. The flesh of the fish is often bluish, and not in an unappealing way. A diet of crabs, supposedly, and that just makes them sound more delicious somehow.

We'd had a couple of errands on and around Granville Island today, and I was determined to look for dinner items there. With over a week in town and fine weather in the forecast, not using the balcony would be a crime. After a good brunch at Edible Canada, we browsed the market, and I came upon the fish. I'd seen some halibut cheeks earlier, but no, this was a better option.

Some quick shopping later, and we had some cheese and bread and quince paste for before dinner, chocolates for dessert, and the fixings for a meal. I sauteed the fish, covering it to aid the cooking of the thick pieces. Alongside were some little nugget potatoes, corn "cobettes", and gai lan. I made up a quick batch of Szechuan butter to use for a sauce.

We sat outside and talked of wedding plans and past meals and travel we've enjoyed. A happy trio with a big plate of food. I hope to pick up more of that Church and State Merlot later this week.

More photos are already up on Flickr. For now, I'll grab a book and wind the post-cod evening down contentedly....

raclette

Encountering a new and delightful food experience is one of those perfect little things in life for me. Even fast food can count. Yes, I'm easily pleased, aren't I?

Two days ago (gosh, TWO days ago - this vacation went so darn fast!), Conrad and I were wandering around with Brian, mostly on Granville Island. We walked the perimeter (more or less),





stopped in at art installations, watched some singing and dancing, shopped and posed in Railspur Alley,
stood in lines. All of this was quite fun, truly, especially given the sunny weather. Ah, glorious sun in Vancouver.

The highlight, hands down, was the raclette. The Swiss have taken over Bridges Restaurant (which is kind of where I envision my wedding rehearsal dinner one day taking place), and while the line to get in was a good 30 minutes long (a paltry wait by the standards of many of the popular venues and pavilions at these Games), we noticed that there was almost no one in line for some food stations right around the corner. Well, ok.

$8 got us either raclette or bratwurst. Oh come on, I live in the Midwest - I can get bratwurst all the time. Raclette? Melted cheese all crusty from the broiling? yes please. Within minutes we had food.

My sister was once married to a man with Swiss roots, so raclette is not new to her. I have heard her mention it many times. I had no idea this was what it was. This enormous hunk of cheese gets shoved under a broiler. The gooey part and crust then gets shaved onto rye bread before the cheese goes back under the heat for the next person.




Awesome! Fun to watch, fast, and oh so tasty. We sat in the sunshine near a group of singing Swiss and munched away contentedly.


And then, of course, off to get some beer!