Vancouver BC overview (another long post)

For our anniversary, we flew to Vancouver for a long weekend. The flight tickets weren’t cheap, but we got a good deal on the hotel, so the overall package wasn’t overwhelmingly expensive. When we lived in Chicago, Vancouver BC was just a tad too far and tickets were always over $800/person. Now it’s only a little over an hour of flight away from Portland. 

We arrived almost 8pm in the evening on a Friday, but it was oh-so-bright outside. Driving towards downtown via BC Hwy 99 in a rental car, the first impression is how clean and well groomed the city is. Trees and plants are thriving here, much like Portland and Seattle, due to the rainfall. But you can’t help but notice the amount of care going into trimming and maintaining the plants so they don’t grow out of control. Another first impression was that there were Asian faces and Asian restaurants and establishments everywhere. Vancouver probably has the largest Asian population outside of Asia.

We booked our stay at Cascadia Hotel and Suites in downtown Vancouver. The hotel is undergoing a massive remodeling. So there’s some inconvenience here and there. But given its central location, its complimentary breakfast buffet and the fact that we would be out doing stuff during the day, we didn’t mind at all.

Hotel exterior undergone remodeling

View from the hotel room window

Complimentary breakfast buffet

We spend three full days in Vancouver. I will write more specifics of each day’s activities in separate posts. Here’s a recap. Day 1, we went out to Grouse Mountain, one of the surrounding peaks in close proximity to Vancouver downtown, for ziplining and a tour of the famous wind turbine called “Eye of the Wind”. Day 2, we took a ferry to Victoria Island for a visit of the renowned Butchart Garden and a quick visit to Victoria downtown. Day 3, we drove up north again to see and experience the Capilano Suspension bridge, an iconic attraction in Vancouver, BC.The rest of the time we spent trekking downtown Vancouver, savoring food and culture. The weather was fantastic, dry and warm. 

Amazing laughter sculpture at English Bay beach park, larger than life

Vancouver really feels like a blend between Chicago and Portland. It’s very metropolitan, much like Chicago, but with more of an international feel to it. Within a 20-block radius of the hotel, there are at least two or three sushi restaurants per block. There are Chinese, Korean, Indian, Middle Eastern, French, Vietnamese cuisines everywhere.  People of all colors, speaking all languages live in harmony. There were Stanley Cup final games going on when we were in town. Vancouver Canucks plays against Boston Bruins. The city felt electric on the days of the game. Everyone was wearing Canucks’ jersey and signs of “Go Canucks Go” were everywhere.  It almost reminded me of the post-game celebration last year when Chicago Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup.

The Portland side of Vancouver is the natural wonders so close to the city center. There’s amazing skiing and outdoor activities within a 30-minute drive. The city itself is lushly green and beautiful. A block away from our hotel, in the midst of all the bustling urban action, there’s a community garden. You’d see parents getting their kids involved in planting herbs.

Vancouver downtown itself also has multiple water-fronts due to its geographical layout. It’s almost like a peninsula. On the north end you have the Vancouver Harbor. On the west the English Bay and to the south an inlet called False Creek. All of them offer different views of the city.

English Bay

Vancouver harbor

A panoramic view of the inlet harbor to the south of downtown

Nearing water also means great seafood. We wanted to visit Go Fish, a tiny hole in the wall place on the dock just south of downtown. Unfortunately it was close that day. We took a stroll around and found this huge public market that rivals Pike’s Place in Seattle. It’s an in-door market that has amazing produce, seafood, meat and cheese vendors. It also has an entire section dedicated to prepared food that made us drool.

Have you seen these before?

Craving seafood, we went into a small place called Tony’s fish and chips, and got their seafood platter for two to share. The deep fried cod was unexpectedly good. Undoubtedly we polished every bit of morsel on the plate. Life is good.