AndrewDavid

annetti, glad u r having fun in Van. i don't get over much from Victoria but plan on being in town for a week at international filmfest end of september. I'm spoiled as i stau w/ a friend in Coal harbour overlooking tghe houseboats and just have to jog along the seawall to Stanley Park

btw, there is a very good japanese restaurant on Robson a few blocks downtown side of Denman ( someone help me w/ the name) They serve bar , small plates that we survived on whilst travelling in Japan. Excellent food imho


u certainly brought us some nice California weather after our miserable spring
cheers
AndrewDavid

ps r u coming over to Victoria? the ferry ride is awesome through the Gulf Islands

Toucan2

I'm still reading! You aren't writing in a vacuum

Carmanah

You're definitely not in a vaccuum.

You might find Queen Elizabeth Park a little underwhelming, especially if you compare it to Stanley Park... but if you don't mind landscaped flowers and consider it used to be an old rock quarry, it has its own charm. It's the highest point in the city of Vancouver proper, and having dinner on the patio of the Season's Hilltop Bistro can be rather enjoyable on a beautiful day. Across the street is Nat Bailey Stadium, an old school baseball stadium home to the Vancouver Canadians AAA baseball team.

A few blocks east of Queen Elizabeth Park along Main Street (Main between E 30th or so all the way down to E 7th) is home to Strathcona/Mount Pleasant, home to an East Van community where there are a lot of vintage clothing stores, independent clothing boutiques and the whole indie art school student scene in Vancouver. Not that I'd necessarily recommend both of you to visit, but it's just yet another community in Vancouver.

BTW - you're not the only one who finds Westminster Quay or Lonsdale underwhelming (compared to Granville Island).

I just hope that you get to Steveston before you leave... it's quite the different scene than anywhere you've been so far, and I'm sure it won't underwhelm.

Carmanah

Ooops - that area's Mount Pleasant, not Strathcona. Don't know why I wrote that.

Pippy1

We live in Kitsilano and have really enjoyed reading about how you are enjoying our city. If you are looking for a taste of Europe,
we highly recommend Mistral Bistro. http://www.mistralbistro.ca/index-en.htm

llamalady

.....Bistro Bistro at 1961 W 4th
is also a nice French-ified place
to eat - we were there on Saturday
night and enjoyed the food and
ambience. Prices similar to Mistral.

If weather is an indicator, you did
make a wise decision to skip Europe
this summer - we were there for 5
weeks and in total we may have had
a week without pelting rain/nasty
cold....all that and having to speak
in another language!

annetti

AndewDavid, I'm happy we brought you some California sun, however I wish it would rain -- just a couple hours -- during the night. I don't want my home exchangers' beautiful lawn to turn yellow. They have an enormous amount of flowers and I am trying my best to keep them watered, but I am having trouble figuring out how to do the entire lawn! We will have to ring some doorbells soon to get some answers. I don't want them to have yellow grass when they return.

We went to a very good Japanese restaurant for sushi yesterday on Robson, but the chance that it would be your recommendation is not likely. I keep exclaiming how good the Asian food and the seafood, too, is here. We will not be able to eat sushi in California when we reutrn for at least 6 months without boring our friends and telling them how good it is in Vanvouver! I feel that I should eat it everyday and we just about do!

AndrewDavid, we do have a trip planned to Victoria next week. I have to start thinking how to get there and what to do with our three days besides see Butchard Gardens and I understand there is a very good museum there, too.

annetti

Thank you, Toucan2 for your kind comment.

Carmanah: Steveston is definitely on my list, but for some reason, my husband is dragging his feet. He is starting to warm up to the idea. He kept thinking that it is just a shopping area near Richmond. I reread him your comments again and slowly he is coming around!

Pipp1 and llamalady, thanks for the restaurant ideas on Fourth St. I think we read the outdoor menu on one French place , but it was closed when we looked. We like French food, but I wonder if I can be torn away from the Sushi!!!

5alive

annetti, I have been enjoying your trip report. We went to Canada for our honeymoon years ago and loved it. (We also went to Victoria.)

I would suggest visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery, especially all of its works by Emily Carr. I had not known of her work before, and I found her lifefascinating as well.

We also enjoyed getting a tandem bike and riding around Stanley Park.

annetti

We decided today, once more, to take advantage of the wonderful warm weather. At this rate we will never step inside the Vancouver Art Gallery and see the Emily Carr paintings. Last summer, I read a book (picked up at a library sale) called the Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland, about Emily Carr. I must admit I had not known her name. I read the book last summer in Argentina, and now in Vancouver a year later, I have not seen the paintings. Three young women came up to me yesterday at the Granville Market asking me where they could find Emily Carr. I told them the Vancouver Art Gallery. What a coincidence that I should have read that book. Vancouver was in my destiny.

As usual, we got off to a late start. There had been a slight chance that we might left the house before 11:30am, but discussion, telephoning, checking web sites, all slowed us down. The big decision was where to eat lunch and then the plan was to visit the Queen Elizabeth Park. My husband was intrigued by Fuel on 4th Street, perhaps Pippy1 knows it? But then he decided what he really wanted was to try one of the Greek restaurants, so we opted for Stepho's on Davie Street. It was listed in two of our guide books. It was an easy bus ride without transfers.

We arrived at Stepho's around 1:30 or so and the line was out the door, but people told us it moved quickly. It did. The prices are extremely reasonable and the food fairly good. The atmosphere is pleasant, oil cloth tablecloths that don't match, white stucco walls and an overall bright, light feeling. It felt pleasant and the service was friendly. My husband ordered the lamb (he has had a craving for it lately; I guess too much sushi has created this need), whereas I had the shrimp. The Greek salads were tasty. Side dishes are important to me, so though I liked the potatoes, I had to point my thumb down on the prepared rice. The only downer to a very pleasant meal. I think with tip and tax, the meal came under $30.

We made our way to the Queen Elizabeth Park. I had printed out directions on Translink's website, but it involved three transfers and we did go the wrong direction once for three blocks. However, no great hardship and we arrived at the park around 4:00. We wandered around the rose gardens (very pretty, but where was the delicate rose smell?), visited the conservatory which was enjoyable. We tried to follow the routed tour(they give you a little brochure to follow), but it was difficult for us, either you need to be more perceptive or just lucky to find the small signs on the shrubs. However, this did not distract and I did notice a lot of my former house plants doing very well in the controlled hothouse atmosphere. That explained a lot!

We walked down to a pretty water fall and tried to stay out of the way of a wedding couple posing for photos. They had been taking pictures before we arrived and were still going strong when we left. They looked tired. I wanted to say to them, you will be happy years later to have these pictures in such a beautiful place. I. also wanted to give them some advice not to fret the little things, that it took me a long time to learn and I am still working on it! The waterfall, by the way was dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg who saved hundreds of Jews during the Hallocaust. It was a pretty little memorial. One last comment, it was very uncrowded even on such a beautiful day, so that was a real plus.

With some help from locals, we found our way to Kits, and had sushi for dinner at a place on Fourth near Burrard St and next to an Indian restaurant. At one point on the bus, three people joined in the conversation, giving us the best directions on how to get to Kits. No one back home will believe me when I tell them, they will all think I am exaggerating. And to top it off, when we exited the bus at the end of the day, and I said, "thank you;" the bus driver's response was, "take care."

annetti

5alive: How funny that you were writing about Emily Carr at the same time I was. It is on our list of things to do. Thanks very much.

traveller69

Annetti - when you are in Victoria you can go to the Emily Carr house. It is just a few blocks from your mote (Helm's Inn I think?)

Here is the website

http://www.emilycarr.com/main.html

Pippy1

I agree with a previous post. Bistrot Bistro is good. THe room is noisier than Mistrel, but the food is delicious. We've never been to Fuel but wee have friends who have been there. They found the food to be very good but it is very pricey.
For Greek food, check out Broadway, west of McDonald. There are lots of good Greek restaurants.

llamalady

You really must get DH in the mood
for Steveston - esp. if you have sushi in mind. It's a great little
village w/lots of eating places and
a great atmosphere.

If you want to have a little Chinese
immersion, Richmond is the place to
indulge - there's a couple of malls
that cater to Asians - Yaoyan (sp?)
and Aberdeen Centre. Both are easily reached from the busline that
goes down #3Road.

There's a two level 'dollar' store
that is part of a chain in Japan -
it's so interesting and a great
place to pick up 'stuff'. Then
there's the Chinese supermarket
and the store that sells dried
seahorses......yum. And, natch,
sushi.

Further afield towards Steveston
there is a marvellous Buddhist Temple - it's really quite amazing.
Not sure about bus routes (sorry)
but it is on the main E-W road to
Steveston.

Might be a tad blustery on the dock
at Steveston today - may have to
carry an anchor to stay grounded.

Carmanah

Here's some photos and info I have of Steveston. Should provide some photos that prove it's not just a shopping area next to the uglification that's No 3 Road in Richmond.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1b080/dca7c/

annetti

Steveston was the order of the day, today. On the way there we ran into some problems with the transit system. When we connected to our third bus at Richmond Center, we learned that there was a gap in the schedule and the next one would be in 90 minutes, but with some help from locals and the bus drivers, we rerouted ourselves. (We, again, had gotten off to a late start, but we were trying to protect our home exchangers' front lawn from turning brown. We finally found a hose hidden under some shrubs. That was a relief. I did not want to have any dead grass on my conscience.) But, had we left at a reasonable time, we might have avoided all the bus hassle, but since we are always leaving late, it probably would not have made much difference.

We arrived in Steveston around 3:00 and as llamalady suggested the weather was indeed blustery. We found a little tourist info agency and she kindly loaded us up with a half a tree's worth of paper. We ate at Pajo's recommended by several people and we enjoyed the halibut and decadent fries very much. The fries were a real treat for my husband who is very health conscious; I can't remember the last time he ate them. He would not even sample mine when we ate at Sophie's Cosmic Cafe in Kits. We then walked with the wind up the boardwalk/promenade to the historical sites of the cannery. It was very interesting; again I felt ignorant, having no idea that Steveston had once been the biggest commercial fishery in the world. There was hardly anyone about. I think Christmas Day on Catalina Island in California would have been more crowded; I am not complaining, it was really very pleasant. Perhaps the heavy wind or the midweek kept people away? It's a nice area and I am always glad to see an effort being made to retain an area's history. I also liked that they profiled one family's life and showed their home. I think it is more meaningful when you get a personal glimpse of real people rather than read about numbers. Thanks Carmanah for reinforcing your suggestion that we go. My husband had a pleasant day, too.

By the way, we saw an extraordinary show of kindness by the bus driver on the last leg of our journey to Steveston. Four young boys around 10 or 11 boarded the bus with a computer print out. They were having some difficulty and checked with the bus driver who gave them directions, when they could not follow his directions at their stop, the driver got off the bus, and walked them part way to their new bus stop. I challenge a Californian to come up with a similar story!! That was remarkable.

We were very tired when we arrived "home" at 9:30; I guess fighting the wind exhausted us. We ate some veggie burgers that we had bought a while back. The restaurants are so good here, that we keep saying, we can eat in when we get home, that is California, and have done little more than eat a light breakfast here or once or twice cooked something light for dinner!

to be continued. . .

annetti

Traveller69: You have an excellent memory for details. Thank you for the web site on the Emily Carr house.

annetti

Note to Carmanah: The website pictures were VERY helpful. Thank you.

barbiej

I am a first time post to your forum and read through the entire thing--very interesting. My husband and I will be in Vancouver for a short 3-day stay unfortunately. What would you recommend are your favorite things to do for a short stay?

annetti

Hi barbiej. That's a tough question to answer. Since you have read through my blog (which deserves congratulations and a thank you!), you can see that we travel at a very leisurely pace. We usually only concentrate on one thing a day to see.

Do you feel it is necessary to see the number one tourist spot in an area? If you live in LA, NY, SF, or Phila., you may not find Vancouver's Chinatown to be very different and that may mean you might want to skip it. However, if it bothers you, that when you return home and people ask you if you visited Vancouver's Chinatown and you have to say "no," then maybe you need to include it. I would not bother with it. But, then I have visited all the Chinatowns listed above. I would also forgo Gastown, but it is listed in many books as a "must see." I would include Stanley Park, Granville Island, walking the seawall at some point, the anthropology museum at UBC. eating sushi somewhere, trying some Indian food, eating Halibut or Salmon (it's in season now) because it is far superior to what I get at home. Just strolling this city in the parks or near the beaches (English Bay is nice) is wonderful. The city is beautiful and there are wonderful views to be had almost everywhere. I hope I have helped you, pls feel free to ask again with more specifics in mind.

I know the people on this board have helped me tremendously and they are sure to add their thoughts re your three day stay. By the way, when do you plan to visit? That may make a lot of difference to the answers you will receive.