After leaving Anchorage/work trip, we decided to go to Vancouver for a week for our real vacation! We were already up there so why not am I right?
We flew from Anchorage to Vancouver and got in really late Thursday night. We stayed at an AirBnb with literally the best location. We had one Airbnb booked months in advance that cancelled on us literally 2 days before we were supposed to head there. AirBnb gave us a credit and we were able to get a little nicer more location friendly option. It was a little more than we expected to pay but all in all it was great.
He so graciously met us late that night, handed over the keys gave a little tour, gave us his laundry card and headed out the door. We were just a half a block from a great location of businesses and restaurants. We ended up eating at Kingyo walking around the area for a bit and heading back to bed.
The next day we woke up early, I signed us up for some free walking tours and these are literally the best. They work for tips and definitely deserve them. Check them out if you go! Well worth it, we went on two! We walked around Downtown and the Waterfront, ate lunch at the Cactus Club Café right across from the Olympic Cauldron from 2010. We went through Canada Place, took the tour and walked the trail. We went up to the Vancouver Lookout/SkyTower and decided to go home for a little nap before heading out to dinner. We decided on this tiny little place called Ask for Luigi in Gastown, and it was by far the cutest most homestyle place ever. We got to meet a celebrity from the show Sons of Anarchy, sitting right behind us. The environment was cool and so relaxing, definitely a recommend.
We walked around a bit but I had a free walking tour already planned the next morning for Gastown. So we woke up Saturday morning and headed that way. We walked around Gastown seeing the oldest part of Vancouver. We hit the most amazing time of Vancouver celebrating their 150 year anniversary so the city was on full blast. We walked down Blood Alley, got to see where they kept prisoners, saw the still working steam clock, it really was a unique part of the city. Brick Roads and old street signs still up.
We got lunch with a guy we actually met on the tour, native to Vancouver which was fun he ended up giving us so many tips and ideas! We at lunch at Chill Winston and walked on over to Chinatown not too far, not that most family friendly walk but it was a quick walk. We bought our tickets to walk through the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden and to kill time a Dragon Boat Race Festival was happening across the interstate. We went to check it out got our all day pass to ride the Aqua Buses, small little ferry boats to get around. Went back to the Gardens for our tour and back to the water afterwards to walk around, jump on the aquabus and tour the city. It was getting to be nightfall at that point so the sun was setting we just decided to ride the whole thing from beginning to end while on the water. We were the only ones on the boat for most of that time. They dropped us off in the Olympic Village area where we ended up eating dinner at Craft Beer Market, which was a lively fun place to be. We walked around the village a bit afterwards, past the Science World, we never got a chance to see but the outside reminded us of epcot of course! After that we caught the bus to Granville Street and walked up and down people watching. It’s a street that’s as old as Vancouver full of neon lights and party goers. Being 18 weeks pregnant I was not in the partying mode.
Where we were staying was just a short walk to English Bay Beach so we decided to relax and catch a few rays there on Sunday morning before heading off to Yaletown, a more fancy uptown vibe. I am so luck to have such a wonderful amazing tribe of women I’ve become friends with so nonetheless I got to meet up with Caitlin of @cinderandhoney eat lunch at Tacofino and had the best time laughing and being awkward and hugging each other. She really is just the best. I feel fortunate to have met and befriended so many amazing ladies on Instagram.
They so graciously dropped us off at the front of the Granville Island, for another tour we had planned. Literally the cutest most fun couple, they make me wish we lived there. We spent the rest of the day walking around and touring Granville Island, which really was the cutest place full of shops, small businesses, artists and so much food. It was really hard not to spend so much money there.
We stayed and ate a few different things around the Island, got dinner at the Granville Brewery and planned out how to get to the Richmond Night Market we had heard so much about. It was a bus ride and a train ride to the outside rim of Vancouver, in the middle of nowhere. Long lines and the weirdest walk to get there but it did not disappoint.
It was pretty much your local Fair but with the largest Asian twist ever! Small booths set up and all the Asian cuisine you could imagine. We couldn’t help but try a good bit of it. I mean whens the next time we would be in a place where its literally Asian inspired everything!! We stayed until the end of the night and then got more food for practically free because they were just giving it away at that point which was so fun. Im pretty sure our stomachs were not pleased with us that night. On the walk home we stopped in the River Rock Casino to use the bathroom and the wifi to figure out how to get home.
The next morning we decided to walk down the road to rent bikes and bike the Seawall. It wraps around Stanley Park and has tons of stops along the way. We got JapaDog for lunch a Japanese inspired Hot Dog stand, mister Anthony Bourdain himself raved about and literally was the best food we had eaten so far and it was just a tiny cart outside the zoo. After biking the whole way around, getting lunch and biking around the zoo and rose gardens of Stanley Park we went back to turn our bikes in and freshen up for dinner. We ate at Scores on Davie, which included the largest poutain French frie platter, the most massive bloody mary’s and the coolest environment a girl could ask for. If I lived near I would probably eat there all the time.
The next morning I made Frank wake up SOOOO early so we could get to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It’s a huge tourist trap, I know but it really is so unique and fun I would highly recommend. We got there practically when it opened, took the bus to another bus and walked a few blocks, easy peezy. Practically walked right on in after getting tickets. We were able to get on the bridge with maybe 10 other people and got some really amazing shots! We then walked around the beginning area before actually even crossing into the other side and by the time we walked through that area to go back across the bridge there was well over 100-150 people walking with us. Not the most fun thing.
On the other side it was like stepping into ewok village, you could definitely imagine little ewoks running around above you, if youre Star Wars fan like we are and have the most childest imagination ever. After the Capilano Bridge we went to Grouse Mountain where I left Frank as he hiked one of the top ten most terrifying hikes in the world. I decided to take a nap and wait for him at the bottom. He took the lift back down. It was a major accomplishment but I knew after Flattop in Anchorage I had no shot of making it far, and once your in, there is no turning back. I got a nice little nap in anyway.
We went to eat lunch at The Meatery, took the bus back to downtown and walked through the Vancouver Art Museum, it was free/donation optional on Tuesday Night. I was able to see the most amazing collection of Claude Monet’s Secret Garden and a collection from Vancouver Artists. Everytime I go to a museum I always buy the book from the show I saw. I feel like it’s the most perfect souvenir to a trip. We stopped in at Roots, bought some cute Canadian style clothes and headed back home where we both were starving again and decided to get Kingyo for the second time before having to pack our bags and catch our flight the next morning.
We were both so worn out from the day we waited until morning to pack and clean up after ourselves, terrible terrible mistake we were so close to missing our taxi and flight. But we still made a point to run to Tim Hortons to get donuts right before meeting our Taxi and getting to the airport. Although I probably could have stayed in Vancouver forever is Frank would have let me.
Vancouver was by far the most friendly, cleanest, gorgeous place I have ever been. Public Transportation was so easy to get around on. Everyone was so nice and friendly. I’ve never been on a bus where kids scream thank you to the bus driver when they get to their stop, I mean COME ON! How Canadian can we be people! I fell hard for Vancouver and would love to bring the little thing growing inside me back.