The Big Ride

Of all the cities I have been, I think Vancouver is my favorite; although London, England is right up there. Vancouver does not have the long history and historic significance of London, but it makes up for it in other areas. Vancouver is a beautiful city with a very diverse population, surrounded by natural beauty, very welcoming to visitors, and offers so much to see and do.

The best part of Vancouver though is the food. For example, the full day we were in Vancouver, we had Malaysian for breakfast (brunch really), Italian for an afternoon snack, and French-Chinese fusion for dinner, and a British pub for a nightcap. Gotta love it! You can have a full vacation in Vancouver doing nothing but walking around and eating. This was our second trip to Vancouver, the first was in 2006, and unfortunately, we had only time for two nights.

Vancouver has a very efficient mass transit system of buses and trains so it is easy to get around. The downtown is very modern dominated by glass skyscrapers, Vancouver is not for admiring old buildings except for the adjacent “gaslight” district, which is the oldest part of the city. The gaslight district are worth a few minutes to walk around, but it’s really the only place in Vancouver that feels “touristy.” The best place to go is the west end, especially Robson Street, which is a riot of restaurants and stores the stretches from downtown out to the water shore. Vancouver is not on the ocean, but it has a lot of waterfront on a calm bay. There are beaches, marinas and many waterfront parks and restaurants. Stanley Park is an amazing urban park. Imagine New York’s Central Park but on a peninsula and more natural. It’s great for hiking. Not far from the city centre is North Vancouver where just across the bay are high mountains and gorges with fabulous hiking. Just south is the city of Redmond that has a fantastic Chinatown with amazing restaurants. Though it is an an industrial park away from any other attractions, La Casa Gelato is a MUST stop. Yes, they serve gelato, but they have on hand over 200 flavors of gelato at any one time (they rotate among three times that number of flavors) and they have flavors of fruits you have never heard of and spices you never thought of. You get free samples of anything they have. You know you want to try onion or curry gelato. The prices are high but worth it.

Vancouver is a fabulous place. We can’t wait to return. Someone please give us a job there!