Back in Vancouver for a Day

We woke to cloudy, damp weather in Whistler again on Wednesday morning and decided we were ready to head back to Vancouver, hoping there would be sun once we left the mountains.  On our way back along the Sea to Sky Highway, the clouds broke a bit and we got to see some blue skies and pockets of sun.  The drive between Whistler and Vancouver really is picturesque.

One of the many beautiful views on the Sea to Sky Highway

Back in Vancouver, we visited a few places that we did not see while on bikes. One of these places was the Gastown district, the historic area of the city. There was a steam clock that drew a great deal of attention with the steam and whistles that announced the passage of 15 minutes.  We parked ourselves in the Starbucks across the street for a bit to use the free wi-fi and while seated there, I managed to get a photo of the clock when the steam was visible.

The Gastown steam clock steaming and whistling every 15 minutes.

View of the cruise ship docked at Canada Place with 

North Vancouver in the distance and dark clouds looming overhead

After a leisure stroll through Gastown and a quick walk through the seedy Chinatown district, we found a small gem of a restaurant at La Taqueria.  Colin really wanted to try beef tongue, so we ordered a Taco "De Lengua."  And, since the tacos were so small, and a better deal to get 4, we also tried the pork "Carnitas," the fish "Pescado," and chicken, "Tinga de Pollo."

Eating beef tongue tacos from La Taqueria was the highlight for Colin

We made our way out of the city to the suburbs in southeastern Vancouver to check into our airbnb accommodations  Our very friendly host spent a lot of time getting to know us and sharing some of her travel adventures with us. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do with the afternoon, and had thought taking a ferry to Vancouver Island would be fun.  By the time we arrived, it was almost 4pm.  The rain had mostly stayed away, but on the boat we did experience showers on and off that kept us moving in and out of the boat for the hour and a half ride.  We kept our eyes focused on the water, looking for the pods of orca that make their home in the waters along our ride, but we never managed to see any.  

Another British Columbia Ferry coming through the small channel

One of the moments of clear skies

A sea plane landing nearby

In hindsight, we wished we had made plans to take an early ferry so we could have taken the bus to Victoria on Vancouver Island.  By the time we arrived at the ferry terminal, it would have been too late to catch a bus back for the last ferry back to Vancouver.  Instead, we got off the boat and turned right back around to come back.  The rain was more prevalent on the ride back and we found out the ship crew typically made announcements to alert people to wildlife near the ship. So, we stayed warm inside the boat, trying desperately to get a good wi-fi signal on our phones.

It was nice to be on the water, though I prefer sunny skies and warmer temperatures.  We also met a really interesting couple from Canada. The female was from an eastern island off the coast of Newfoundland and he was from Vancouver Island, the two farthest points from each other and they lived near the center of the country in Ottawa.  Working for the federal government, they had a significant amount of vacation time they were able to use together and decided to make a cross country trip on the train. I loved hearing about their hometowns and the experience of traveling cross country on a train.

Arriving back at the ferry terminal around 7:30pm, we decided to head back near the downtown area for dinner.  One of our favorite food journalists, Mark Bittman, had endorsed Vij's Indian Restaurant just south of Granville Island. Knowing the menu was more expensive than we cared to pay, and having read that Vij's sister restaurant was just as good, we went to the less expensive Vij's Rangoli next door.

The 30 minute wait was more manageable, thanks to some appetizers made available to the people not yet seated.  It was also worth it once we got our delicious meals, which we devoured!  We both left the small, simply decorated restaurant with fully satisfied appetites.

A vegetarian dish with chickpeas

The lamb in cumin

Back at the airbnb, we were able to get some laundry done while our hostess cooked us a delicious egg/peach quiche for breakfast.  We enjoyed getting to know another "renter," a woman from Montreal, who had lived in San Diego for the past few years and had recently quit her job to move back to Canada.  She was taking about 2 months off before starting to look for a new job, and had traveled from San Diego to Vancouver and still had plans to see Whistler and Banff.  Colin and I asked a lot of questions about how she managed to find work in a new location, and were completely in awe of this woman who was taking such a risk.  Her experience in the past had always turned out fine, and we wished her luck before we parted.

I can't imagine just quitting my job and driving to a new location to find work upon arrival. I know several people who have done it and it usually seems to work out for them.  In this economy, it seems like a huge risk, which I'm not sure I could ever take.  I no longer recall the woman's profession, but maybe it is easier in certain industries. 

The highlights of our second time in Vancouver mostly came in getting to meet people - on the ferry, our airbnb hostess, and a fellow traveler.  The Indian food at Vij's was also very memorable. During the 24 hours back in Vancouver, we did not do quite as much sightseeing as we had been used to, but it was nice to talk with people, get laundry done, and just hang out for a bit.  It's a good thing we did because once we left Vancouver and arrived back in the U.S., we were back on full sightseeing mode!

Stay tuned for a recap of our final days in the Pacific Northwest, making our way back through Seattle to Olympic National Park, Cannon Beach, Mt. Hood, and wrapping up in Portland.

What do you think about leaving a job for a new location when you don't already have a job lined up? Would you ever do it? If you have already done it, how did it work out for you??

"Chillin'" in Whistler, British Columbia

The cold, damp weather we've been having here in Raleigh the past two days reminded me of our time in Whistler.  Though we did have a mostly sunny evening when we arrived in Whistler, dusk and cool air arrived too quickly.

Checking out the Olympic rings in Whistler Village

The village was very cute and all the hotels had a modern alpine cottage look to them. There were lots of cute shops (mostly outdoor apparel), a few Starbucks (we used their wi-fi a lot!), and some decent restaurants.  We really enjoyed walking around the village.

One of the many hotels in Whistler Village

For dinner, we made our way to the Irish Pub, Dubh Linn Gate. The evening special was "buy one, get one free" fish and chips with any beverage.  I ordered a cup of tea as my beverage so we could get the special, and Colin also ordered the Steak and Guinness Pie.  Since we planned to spend two nights in Whistler, we figured we could keep some leftovers.

Our small bar table filled with two orders of fish and chips, 

a steak and Guinness pie, two waters, and a cup of tea

When we stayed at the Hostel International in Vancouver (and before we really took stock of the terrible conditions in our room), we had made reservations at the Hostel International in Whistler.  We reserved 2 bunks in a 4 person coed dorm room for $73.  During our stays at the hostel in both Vancouver and Whistler, we kept comparing the Canadian experience to the experiences we had staying in Hostel International rooms in Australia and New Zealand.  To give you the summary, the hostels in Canada were 2-3 times more expensive, the Whistler hostel came close to being among the best ones we stayed in on our previous trip (if you factor out the cost), and the hostel in Vancouver was probably the worst hostel we've ever stayed in.

The clean and modern Hostel International in Whistler

The forecast had predicted that the weather would be favorable on Tuesday, and we made plans to be there for the sun. Unfortunately, we woke to cloudy skies and damp, cool air, which did not go away for the rest of our time visiting the Olympic mountain.  It all turned out just fine because Colin's foot was hurting and it would have been tough for him to do a lot of hiking. Instead, we decided to ride on all the gondolas all day, including the famous (and impressive!) Peak-to-Peak Gondola.

If you visit Whistler, and want to ride the gondolas, I highly recommend starting your day by 10am.  We were up early, but tried to hold out to see if the weather would get better. Instead, it got worse, and when we purchased our tickets, we learned that the last ride down the mountain was at 5pm!  Tickets were a bit pricey, at $45 each, but if we got to the top of the mountain early in the day, and were able to hike some of the trails on a nice day, it would have been worth it!

During our 4-5 hours "exploring" Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains by gondola, we rode four different gondolas for a total of 7 "rides." Not surprisingly, the highlight was riding the Peak-to-Peak Gondola between the Roundhouse Lodge (on Whistler Mountain) and Rendevous Lodge (on Blackcomb Mountain) in each direction.  According to Wikipedia, the Peak to Peak  is 1.88 miles and 1430 feet above the valley.  There were literally four towers supporting the gondolas, with two on each mountain. For the rest of the ride - a solid mile - there was no tower holding us above the valley. I'm not a fan of heights and thought I would freak out, but even to Colin's surprise, I was fine.

Looking down on Whistler Village as we ride the enclosed

Whistler Village Gondola up Whistler Mountain

View from the Roundhouse Lodge towards the 

summit of Whistler (still farther up the mountain)

Making our way up to the top of Whistler Mountain 

on the open-air Peak Express Gondola

Very foggy at the summit of Whistler Mountain, it's a 

good thing there are bright orange warning signs!

We caught glimpses of the mountains 

and the sun throughout the day

Getting ready to board the Peak-to-Peak Gondola

Suspended 1400 feet above the 

valley with no towers in sight!

Warming up with some lentil soup in the Rendezvous Lodge

Looking for bears, enjoying the flowers, and trying 

not to freeze on the Solar Coastal Express Gondola

The enclosed gondolas (Peak-to-Peak and Whistler Village Gondola) were a tad bit warmer than the "open chair" gondolas, but it was much harder to take pictures through the glass with the rain drops on the window.  After riding a few open chairs, I was ready to get back down the mountain and into a hot shower.  That seems to be the best way to warm back up after being outdoors in cold, damp weather.

For our second night in Whistler, we had tried to get a good deal on a "name your own price" hotel in Whistler Village, but were unsuccessful. Instead, we found an inexpensive airbnb room not far from the main area.  The private bath had plenty of hot water (thankfully!), and the small room (with it's own thermostat) was comfortable enough to enjoy a good night's sleep. We were able to leave our leftovers in the fridge before heading out the the gondolas, and it was nice to step out of the hot shower and have a warm plate of fish and chips ready to eat!

Before turning in for the night, we stayed warm and enjoyed some tea (me) and dessert (me and Colin) at one of the Starbucks in Whistler Village. There, we caught up on e-mails, booked accommodations for our travels back south, and did a little people-watching.

Overall, we made the best of our day in Whistler. We always enjoy sunny skies and warm weather, and we lucked out for most of the trip. We were bound to have a rainy day.  Because Colin wasn't feeling up to hiking, it was probably best that the weather forced us to limit our activities.  It just means we have to go back!  I'm sure it's quite a sight in the winter, with all the tourists and snow on the mountains.  It's no wonder the Olympics were held in one of the cutest villages I've ever experienced - or perhaps hosting the Olympics caused the village to step up to the plate!  Maybe I can get Colin to try snowboarding with me sometime and we can relive the Olympic experience!!

What was your favorite memory of the 2010 Olympics held in Whistler/Vancouver?
Did you see anything about the village (Whistler) or city (Vancouver) that impressed you?

Seeing A Whole Lot of Vancouver in Just Over 24 Hours

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.

,

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! 

Food and Fun Adventures in Seattle

Beware! There are lots of food pictures in the post.  If you are already hungry, you may want to save reading this post until after you eat!  While in Seattle, we did a fair amount of eating. Thankfully, the weather was fantastic, so I justified all the eating because we did a lot of walking.

When we first arrived in Seattle late Friday night, after seeing Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, we made our way to the area known as Capitol Hill.  We used yelp to find someplace to eat and found ourselves at a fast food diner called Dick's Drive-In. At 3.5 stars, it was the best we could find in that area late at night. The place was packed, but the burgers were extremely disappointing.  To me, they tasted a lot like fast food burgers you could find at any chain across the country

Unsatisfied with our burgers, we decided to get a vegetarian meal at HoneyHole, a 4 star restaurant on yelp.  We had never heard of Tomato Field Roast, a meat alternative, and decided to order the vegetarian Emilio Pestovez made up of that ingredient.  Our second sandwich was the vegetable-only sandwich, El Guapo. We were both pleasantly surprised at the Tomato Field Roast, which after investigating the product on the internet, I found to not be made of soy.  I like vegetarian meals, but don't like that most vegetarian meals seem to include a soy-based meat alternative. It's nice to see other products out there that taste good.  After our disappointing burger at Dick's, we were so happy to have a delicious meal at HoneyHole.  If you were wondering, we didn't actually eat our entire meal after each having a burger. We each took half of our sandwiches back "home" with us and ate them for breakfast the next morning.

Our HoneyHole sandwiches, salad, and bean soup.

Our first stop Saturday morning was to the farmers' market in the area of Seattle known as the University District.  There, we gorged on some local berries, and stocked up on a lot of fruit for breakfast and snacks for the upcoming days.  The market was packed with shoppers and musicians, and most vendors still had a lot to choose from at 11am.  

University District Farmers' Market

In the University District, I was also inspired to try a vegetable smoothie, aka "juice."  I recently saw the movie, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, where an Australian guy does a juice fast for 60 days to cure a skin condition and lose weight. He is successful in his endeavor and manages to get others to join him on his journey.  While I don't think juice fasting is a long term solution to an obesity problem and I do think there are other more effective (and enjoyable) ways to get healthy, I like the idea of juicing raw fruits and vegetables into a smoothie as a way to increase intakes of these wonderful foods.  I have tried making two juice recipes at home and neither tasted very good. So, I thought I would try a juice bar in the University District of one of the hippest cities in the country.  The Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe had good reviews on yelp, and the atmosphere was inviting as we approached, so we stopped in.  Unfortunately, the most popular "green cleanse" juice (cucumber, celery, kale, parsley, spinach, and lemon) tasted awful! I really struggled to finish the $6.50 6-oz beverage.

From the University District, we made our way by car to the Queen Anne District, where we could park on the streets for free and make our way downtown by car.  The first stop on our journey was through the Seattle Center, the area that boasts Seattle's most visible feature, the 605-foot-high Seattle Space Needle.  It was a great day to go to the top, and we inquired about buying the City Pass to see several museums and go to the top of the Needle, but with the gorgeous weather, we decided to stay outside and continue exploring.

The Seattle Space Needle on a clear day

We had a little trouble making our way down to the waterfront, but once we arrived, the views were fantastic.  The area reminded me of the West Side Highway and Hudson River in NYC, except that instead of looking across to more city buildings in NJ, we were looking out onto mountains and more expansive waterways.

Looking north on the waterfront, near Sculpture Park

The views reminded me of NYC's West Side Highway

By the time we reached Pike Place Market, we were ready to eat.  Colin found a place called Pike Place Chowder that had over 1000 reviews claiming that the very small restaurant deserved 4.5 stars.  We miraculously secured a seat in the restaurant, and enjoyed an award-winning clam chowder in a sourdough bowl.  The chowder was really good and I was very impressed that the restaurant won Newport's (RI) chowder festival almost every year in the past 10 years!

Clam Chowder at Pike Place Chowder

We took lots of photos in the market, but let me just hit on the highlights of our experience.

Several people bought fish at the famous Pike Place Fish Market

so we got to see fish being tossed and caught a few times!

The line was too long to go inside the very first Starbucks Coffee

but we did catch a glimpse inside

For dessert, we had a divine brownie at 

Three Girls Bakery

Colin got a kick out of comparing his height

to that of the World's Tallest Man

Once we had enough of the crowds in the market, we decided to get out on the water. The least expensive way ($7.70 r/t each) that we found to do that was to take the commuter ferry across Puget Sound.  We opted for the longest ride, to Bremerton, in the hopes we might see some pods of Orca.  We were not lucky enough to see any whales, but we did enjoy 2 lovely hours on the boat, alternating between being out on the windy, cool deck and enjoying the warmer comforts inside.  The views of Seattle and Mt. Rainier were pretty awesome.

One of the many beautiful views of Mt. Rainier from the boat

Experiencing fantastic views of downtown Seattle from the boat

Of course it was time to have another snack when we got off the boat, so we made our way through downtown to The Chocolate Box for a rich cup of drinking chocolate.  Last winter, my friend in NYC introduced me to The City Bakery in NYC and I in turn introduced the chocolate shop to Colin.  Since that time, he's been obsessed with finding rich drinking chocolate.  We were rewarded in our search at The Chocolate Box with a 4-oz cup of chocolate, split in two cups. I enjoyed mine with whipped cream, while Colin drank his straight.  It was delicious, but not quite as good as The City Bakery.

A 4-oz cup of drinking chocolate for two from The Chocolate Box

From downtown, we tried catching the free bus back towards Seattle Center.  After waiting 15 minutes and not seeing a bus, we decided to walk the mile and a half back through Seattle Center and to our car.  It was nearing sunset, so we rushed to get to the top of one of Seattle's hills to catch a view.

Seattle sunset from atop a Queen Anne hill

Since it was after 8pm, and metered parking no longer required payment, we made our way back into downtown with the car and parked near Pioneer Square, the city's oldest neighborhood.  Here, we decided to find dinner (yes, I told you this post included a lot of food!!).  It was challenging to find a variety of options, but we settled first on a Mediterranean deli to split a falafal and then to Calozzi's for a huge Italian cheese-steak.  A few bites into the cheese-steak and I was done eating for the day! 

Falafal from Mediterranean Mix

Cheese-steak from Calozzi's

Nearing 10pm, we decided that after our full day of exploring, it was time to get back to our airbnb accommodations  located 15 minutes south of downtown in an area called Columbia City.  The "room" we rented was actually a furnished basement with a bedroom, sitting area, and huge bathroom.  The shower was probably the largest I have ever used in my life.  We had tried to stay on east coast time, going to bed early and getting up early, but it proved to be impossible once we were in the cities and had so much we wanted to see!

Sunday morning, we took our time getting up, packing up and getting out the door.  Because Seattle is known for its coffee and coffee shops, I knew I needed to get a cup before we left.  We took the advice from our airbnb host (which was also confirmed by yelp), and went to the Empire Expresso Bar in Columbia City.  As I enjoyed the most beautiful coffee I've ever had, we planned out some things we wanted to do in Vancouver, and used the free wifi to download maps and articles to our phones.  Leaving the U.S., we were unsure what cell phone charges we might incur, so we decided to restrict data on our phones as we neared the border.

My fancy coffee in Seattle

Stay tuned for the next post on our experiences in and around Vancouver!

What is your impression of the meat alternative Tomato Field Roast? 

Was it a mistake to not go to the top of the Space Needle on a clear Seattle day?

Tell me what you think!