Since we took some time to download maps and files to our phones Sunday morning in Seattle and then spent almost 3 hours driving to Vancouver, British Columbia, we didn't arrive until mid-afternoon.
Our first stop was the Hostel International Downtown to check into our private room and leave the car. We ended up getting the handicap accessible room on the main floor, right next to the courtyard. Traveling with a mask and earplugs, we were not worried about the noise, but I would have preferred more privacy. The worst part of the room was that the adjacent bathroom did not meet my standards for cleanliness. I will spare you all the details, but I was happy we only stayed one night. I was sure to showered with my flip flops on (which I likely would have done anyway) and my shower was much quicker given the circumstances. Thankfully, the bed ended up being comfortable and we did not experience loud people loitering in the courtyard. The free continental breakfast was limited, and looking around me, it was because most of the backpackers had stacked their plates full leaving us late arrivals with slim pickings. We had trouble finding an airbnb home in the downtown area for the night, which is why we tried the hostel at $100/nt.
Our very basic room at Hostel International Downtown Vancouver
The location of the hostel was the most appealing feature. We were able to take a walking tour of the downtown area Sunday evening and didn't have to worry about the car. Before we set out, we needed food though. Having heard sushi in Vancouver is really good, we found the closest restaurant with good reviews on yelp, which led us to the 4 star Kadoya Sushi restaurant. We started with the unseasoned salmon sashimi as an appetizer and were delighted with our sushi selections. The names of our sushi choices now escape me, but both orders were delicious.
Salmon Sashimi
Our wonderful sushi at Kadoya
From Kadoya, we walked down Davie Street for a little bit, before heading farther into the downtown area and to the waterfront (north and slightly east). Even though the skies were overcast, the temperature was mostly comfortable and with our fueled system, we were able to do a lot of walking.
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Busy Davie Street
One of the many bike lanes in downtown Vancouver
A Latin Festival in downtown Vancouver
Adding some fuel to our system with yummy cheesecake from
Trees Organic Coffee Shop and using their wifi to figure out our next stop
View to North Vancouver from
Vancouver's national symbol Canada Place
Looking back on Canada Place and downtown
Vancouver's Olympic Torch
We walked all over the downtown area well into evening and were absolutely exhausted when we returned the the hostel. My impression of Vancouver was that it appeared to have so many fewer homeless people on the streets (as compared to our recent visits in Seattle and Portland) and there seemed to be quite a bit of diversity in the people we saw and the shops we passed. I wasn't overly impressed with the architecture or the "feel" I got in the city, and Colin shared that he was under-impressed with the city as a whole.
One of the best decisions we made on the trip was to rent bicycles for half a day in Vancouver. We were very lucky to have a nice day, and covered a lot of territory on the road bikes we got. They were more expensive than the mountain bikes, but it was worth the price because we were able to cover over 20 miles in under 4 hours! From downtown, we rode around Stanley Park (northwest of downtown), along the southwestern coast on English Bay, on the bike path around False Creek, into Granville Island for lunch, along English Bay in the neighborhood called Kitsilano, through Jericho Park, and all the way to The University of British Columbia. After climbing the hill to campus, we were ready to make our way back, with a brief stop downtown to try a raw vegan restaurant. It felt great to get some exercise and see so much of the area. Bike riding is by far my favorite way to explore a new city!
A pineapple structure on the west side of Stanley Park
Getting my feet wet in the not-so-cold water of English Bay
Looking northwest to downtown Vancouver and BC Place Stadium
(home of CFL's BC Lions) from Science World (the southeast corner of False Creek)
The Public Market at Granville Island
(and disappointing food options in our opinion)
Splitting an okay lunch in Granville Island - pastrami on a bagel
and glad we had Cliff Bars with us during the ride!
Riding through the Kitsilano neighborhood and
enjoying all the greenery around the houses
Downtown Vancouver from Jericho Park
False Creek from Burrard Bridge
Raw vegan burger and lasagna from from Gorilla Food
Enjoying a guilt-free chocolate rum layer cake from Transylvania Traditions
after turning in our bicycles and before leaving Vancouver
The weather forecast predicted better weather in Whistler on Tuesday than Wednesday, so we cut our time in Vancouver down to just 1 day and made our way up to the mountains via the well-traveled Sea-to-Sky Highway after our bike ride. The hour and a half drive was beautiful, and enhanced by the clear blue skies. In Whistler, we found out that there were great hikes and views of waterfalls in the mountains that we missed on the trip north, so we decided we'd check them out on our way back.
A beautiful view through a not-so-clean windshield
A pit stop to enjoy the view before leaving the "sea" for the "sky"
Stay tuned for the next post detailing our adventures at the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics!!
What is your favorite way to explore a new city?
Have you ever eaten raw vegan food?
We weren't huge fans of the taste, but felt pretty good about eating all those veggies!
