annetti

We decided to visit the Roedde House today in Barclay Square, a Queen Anne style home built in the 1890s. Before our visit, we were up in the air about where to have lunch -- it was either veggie burgers at home or sushi. I wanted Indian food, but we did not want a buffet and too many ptions/opinions were offered on dinehere.com which confused us and made it difficult for us to decide. We finally decided to try our luck in Kits since it was on the way to the Roedde House and when the bus (#7)stopped in front of Mandela's Japanese restaurant we decided to try it. We knew it had potential since we could see that the food was being served on square plates (just kidding!). It turned out to be very good and we both enjoyed it. I had the healthy lunch option and my husband had option box C (?). I can't tell you too much, except it was all vegetarian and it was very good. Later we checked out the website. Only one review, but 4 stars, so we felt safe!! Both meals for under $20. A good deal! And the restaurant was clean and attractive.

The Roedde museum is hidden away on a side street. We entered by ringing a bell to gain admission. It was $10 for the two of us. No other visitors appeared to be there. The docent offered us the choice of a self-guided tour or she said she would conduct one for us. We opted to have the personal tour. She was pleasant, knew a great deal about the home and times. Roedde was a German immigrant who came to Canada, and opened a successful book binding business. Not too much of the home are original furnishings, but through donations, many of the objects on display are from the 1890s. It was a pleasant, though not exciting afternoon. The docent remarked that most of the visitors are from overseas and that not too many Vancouverites visit.

Sam_Salmon

First let me point out how proud I am to be poster #100 on this wonderful detailed report Annetti has filed-I've followed each new instalment with bated breath.=D>

&quot;<i>The Roedde museum is hidden away on a side street.....The docent remarked that most of the visitors are from overseas and that not too many Vancouverites visit.</i>&quot;
Lived here all my adult life and never heard of the place-it's probably a 30 minute walk away!

annetti

Thank you, Sam. All compliments are appreciated!

If you decide to break Vancouverite tradition and visit the Roedde House, it might be nice to do it on a Sunday. The docent said they serve cookies and tea and there are often many visitors (from overseas of course!) who sit around and chat. However, the price goes up to $6.00 on Sunday!! Actually, I glanced through the guest book and quite a lot of the visitors are locals, perhaps the overseas' visitors stand out in her mind. See www.roeddehouse.org for times and other information.

AndrewDavid

hi annetti, ur excellent odessey continues. hopoe this means u r feeling better. thanks for keeping us all in the loop. i oly get over to Van from Vic a few times a year
(next opp the film festival at end of september) and am always glad to learn about the obscure corners visitors like u can discover for those of us who live here
cheers
AndrewDavid

annetti

Thank you, Andrew David. It's a nice thought that I am contributing some new insights?!?

Today we began in our usual late fashion, only later around 2:30 or 3:00. We decided we would return to Granville Island, have a late lunch, go home, rest and have a late dinner and hear some Celtic music at the Wolf and Hound as Pippy1 suggested a while back on this thread.

We felt like real pros navigating the bus system and making our way to the Granville Market. We walked from the bus with a former Torontonian who compared the two cities for us. I have the feeling, not directly of course, that she believes (remember this is only one person speaking, so don't be upset) that Torontonians are more sophisticated, similar I think in the way New Yorkers feel about Los Angelenos. Also, she told us quite bluntly how much she hated President Bush, and that Canadians really disliked him. No mystery there, his rating in the US is appalling low. We were not offended, we are not his fans either. But this forthright speech always takes me by surprise, but when I agree there are no hard feelings!

We found a wonderful seat at the Granville Market, which I was loathe to give up. Our window faced the Burrard Avenue Bridge and there was a clear view of its lovely friezes. We sat there for quite a while admiring the water, the bridge, and watching the occasional person saunter by. It was probably close to 4 by now and a perfect time to visit the market, not particularly crowded. I had a craving for Indian food and my husband and I ordered some food from the same stand we had bought food from the last time. He liked it better than the first time, I was less enamoured, perhaps because it was cold,and I mean cold, not tepid. My husband took it back to request they warm it up, while I held on to our perfect table. He said they were not too happy to warm it, but in the end they cooperated. Surprising, since there were few customers around at that time. I bought a delicious rustic ginger apple tart for dessert and my husband tried another hamantashen (still no idea how that is spelled) which he enjoyed. I hated to leave our lovely seat, was quite mesmerized by the setting, so we ordered some more drinks and sat and stared contentedly at the scene for quite some time. Ah, the joys of being on holiday are sublime.

annetti

After a rest at home, we boarded the 7 bus to Alma and Broadway. The bus was empty and the bus driver pointed out the clear view of the mountains and water as we drove North. It was a pretty sight at dusk. We planned to eat dinner at Montri's Thai Restaurant www.montri-thai.com and then go to the Wolf and Hound for some Celtic Music.

The restaurant was a bit crowded, not terribly though; we had about a 10 minute wait. The host was incredibly gracious which helped things along. Everyone that we encountered was very solicitious so it made it easy to sit down and enjoy the food. The restaurant is not large, but has a pleasant intimate feeling to it. It also felt very clean and well-maintained. I had the Vegetarian Pad Thai, really excellent, and my husband had some chicken dish which he loved, too. The prices were moderate and I can't remember when I enjoyed a Thai meal more. We have tons of Thai restaurants in our Southern Californian neighborhood, but I don't think they measure up to this very nice Thai restaurant.

We walked two doors down to the Wolf and Hound, but disappointingly they were not playing Celtic Music tonight. We will try again, We walked a few more blocks, saw The Eatery which Poppi1 recommended and enjoyed the pleasant night air. Another very pleasant day spent in this beautiful city.

annetti

It looks like an early night for us today. We received a telephone call very early this morning, which disturbed our sleep and made us feel quite tired all day. So, we took it easy, went to Kits, ate at Mandela's again, enjoyed it again, and wandered around Kits for a couple of hours, browsing some stores, buying a birthday card, talking to friendly people, and trying to decide if either of us felt lively enough for the late night we had planned. The answer must be no since my husband has parked himself in front of the TV where he found a basketball game. I guess it's veggie burgers again or call out for pizza. It might not have been an exciting day, but the surroundings are still new and fresh to us and continue to entertain.

Pippy1

Hi there
Whoops, sorry for not posting sooner. Hopefully you've had better luck tonight (Friday) with the Celtic Music. Usually on Fridays &amp; Saturdays, the musicians show up and sit at the table near the door.We have been there during the week and the musicians arrived and sometimes not. Always on the weekend, someone shows up. It's not a formal band...rather, a group of musicians who get together, whenever, and make music. We have been there when there have been 4-5 musicians or 10-12. It's very spontaneous and fun.

mickrory

annetti

Have you had a meal at Monk McQueens yet?

We stayed near Granville island 2 years ago and this meal was the best we had during a 3 week tour of the Rockies, BC and Vancouver Island.

Also very novel getting there and back in a little boat. Located at Stamps Landing in False Bay.

annetti

Mickrory: Thank you for the suggestion. Have you eaten there recently? Or are your memories from a couple years back? I checked the ratings from dinehere.com and unfortunately it sounds like it has deteriorated since you have been there. Too bad, since the setting sounds so nice. Thanks, anyway.

annetti

Our trip is winding down. Just a few more days left. Today, we decided to return to Robson and Denman Streets. We had not spent much time in the area and our Michelin Guide hypes it as a prime people watching, shopping strip. We meandered slowly through the streets and wandered in a few shops. We finally bought our requisite Vancouver t-shirts so we can show everyone we spent our summer vacation in Vancouver. We walked for a while, had gotten a bit hungry, but could not agree on a place to eat. Went into the Legendary Joe Fortes, looked at the menu and surveyed the surroundings. Very attractive, but we were not that hungry. Saw Cafe de Paris that Mandy recommended earlier on the board; It was closed. It was close to 4:00 when my husband decided that gelati would be a good appy (appy, my new Van vocabulary word). A friend from work had recommended Mondo's and I vaguely recalled the name. It's only a few steps from English Bay. My husband and I split the coffee and hazelnut soy gelati (who would believe that!) and I hardly noticed the soy aftertaste. Amazing.
I had been intrigued with Nat's New York Pizza sign(I am a former US north-easterner transplanted to California) and I wanted to see if it measured up. Besides as I remarked earlier, pizza is one of my favorite foods. The feta cheese/spinach pizza was served to us cold, the cheese was not melted. And the crust tasted like crackers. Very disappointing. Did not care for the Cesar Salad we had with it. Kind of tasteless dressing, I guess the location near the beach accounts for its popularity or we just hit an off day.

We walked along English Bay and finally saw the famed Sylvia Hotel. It has an historic landmark plaque on the pretty ivy covered building. The dining room overlooks the Bay. I agree with some of the earlier recommendations on this thread, that it would be a nice place to have a drink and watch the beach scene. It was bad timing for us, since we just had the pizza. We wandered along the sea wall for a while. Such a nice way to spend a beautiful afternoon. The beach was more crowded than I had ever seen it, but by LA standards not very crowded.

We witnessed a very friendly gesture on the bus going home. Two tourists boarded the bus without proper change, AND the bus driver treated them to free tickets and wished them a happy visit to Vancouver. What a nice thing to do! I can't get over how pleasant and helpful the very large majority of bus drivers are.

We made reservations for Montri's Thai restaurant again with the intention of hearing some Celtic music at the Wolf and Hound on Broadway afterwards. Unfortunately, we missed the musicians again, but we did have a very good meal at Montri's. The food has such a nice clean taste with delicate sauces. Also, even though we had only been in once before, the owner remembered us and welcomed us. Very good business sense and also very pleasant for us.

annetti

Another very casual day in Vancouver. Spent some of the morning talking to our home exchangers' neighbor, then took a bus to Kits and tried the Eatery on Broadway for lunch. A recommendation listed earlier by Pippy1. Even if you don't like the food, the papier mache creatures flying overhead provide plenty of entertainment. Enjoyed our meals and later walked around Kits. We were planning on looking in on the Folk Festival in Jericho Beach, but felt exhausted so we retired back to the house with plans to go out for a late dinner, but found we were just too tired. On our walk home from the bus we took some pretty photos of the lovely trees near us --the light was optimum with the late afternoon sun shining through the red Japanese maples. I am fixated on them; they are beautiful. Only a couple of days left before we clean and pack up. . .

Judi

annette, I have enjoyed your report/journal very much.

The time seems to have gone by quickly and I am sorry it is coming to an end ( but probably not as sorry as you!)

Thank you for sharing your stay in Vancouver with us.

llamalady

I second Judi's thank you - I felt I
was reading a blog from a friend!

I'm sorry you have had some iffy food experiences; I know that can
happen in any city but we pride ourselves on our restaurants so it's
a shame you ran into some less-than-
stellar establishments.

I'm heading up the Sunshine Coast today - if you come back to BC this
is an area I know you would enjoy!

Safe travels.

goldwynn

Annetti ....... thoroughly enjoyed your daily posts on your home exchange and nice to hear of your choice of transport....the buses. Great way to really enjoy a city.

Thank you for sharing and hope you do not suffer sushi withdrawl upon your return home.

annetti

Thank you, Judi. I guess my report in some respects is very journal- like; it is not too different than what I would have written in my old travel diaries, minus some of the more personal details.

Thank you,too, llamalady for reading along and commenting. I, do begin to feel (slightly of course) that I am writing to people I know after awhile, since I get such nice responses. I don't think we have been disappointed with Vancouver's restaurant scene, in fact, we have been pretty much impressed. After all, we ate out everyday, sometimes twice a day, and although not every meal was perfect, we had some pretty nice meals, at fairly reasonable prices. Also, if I were to generalize, I think the food here is fresher than what we get at home which should not be the case, meaning that California's produce should be fresher and tastier and at least equal to what one gets in BC considering that California supplies so much food to the world.

And, yes goldwyn, Buses have been a wonderful boon for us. I think there was only one day, I might have said, I wish I had my car, and that was probably around midnight and we were faced with the 2 block walk from the bus stop and I was tired, but that moment passed very quickly! Other than that, it has been wonderful, we have met so many pleasant and helpful people, and it is just terrific not having to deal with driving and parking a car. We just received an e-mail from our home exchangers who are starting their drive back to Vancouver from Southern California. They remarked, that a car was really necessary in my part of the world. It really is and it was a nice breather for us to be away from the driver's seat for a while.

annetti

Definitely on the countdown to home now. Today, we returned to Rangoli's for lunch. (We always intended to go to Vij's for dinner, but we never had the patience to stand in the long line at Vij's for dinner, and often we ate lunch so late, that all we wanted was a very light dinner.) Today, was no exception, we ate lunch around 3:00, and the restaurant was over half empty. We had vegetable samosas with a chickpea curry to start; they were really delicious, but it was hard to finish my meal after eating them. We, also had a very good mango pineapple lassi. I had the portobello mushroom and red bell pepper curry which I enjoyed. My husband, was a little less impressed with his chicken curry. He wished there had been some vegetables mixed in. I got a kick out of the minute Bollywood television screens in the bathrooms.
Speaking of bathrooms, we saw the most impressive bathrooms today, definitely need to be noted on some website (or it may already be!)for outstanding washrooms. The award goes to Moxie Restaurant. The washrooms have the necessary facilities that one expects, but how many washrooms have comfortable leather chairs, a fireplace, (yes a real fireplace, though I don't think it is wood burning!) and above the fire place a large plasma TV?

We walked from Rangoli's to Kits, then took a bus to Aphrodite's for some blackberry apple pie. Also, very good.

We shall miss these leisurely days without any demands on us. Before we know it, we will be back home with the usual day to day obligations. I dread opening the mail that has mounted up!

Just a few more days of reporting to go. . .

Pippy1

I'm glad you enjoyed the Eatery. It is a bit of a 'scene' but the sushi isn't your average and is pretty tasty as well as intersting. Speaking of scenes, yes...Vij's is another scene. We hate standing in line too and will often go to Rangoli and pick up some of their take out food (a whole new meaning to 'boil in a bag')Too bad the Wolf &amp; Hound didn't work out with regards to the music. Guess you'll just have to come back. Their food is also pretty good if you like pub grub.
We loved reading your journal. We think we're pretty lucky to live here but it's nice to be reminded how lucky we are.

safe journey

annetti

The last day of a trip is melancholy. We cleaned the house this morning, packed almost everything, then went out for our last sushi fix, took the last few pictures, and realized that we took our last Vancouver bus ride!

All in all, it has been a wonderful vacation, we discovered a beautiful clean city close to home with friendly people, an excellent transportation system, great restaurants, beautiful gardens and vistas, and only three hours from home. We arrived here over a month ago without jet lag (how wonderful is that!) and not exhausted by almost 20 hours of travel and a dollar on par (at least for now, the US dollar is expected to fall below the Canadian dollar soon) where prices seemed comparable to home.

I think we were especially lucky to stay in a neighborhood and away from downtown. We had the pleasure of walking the streets, seeing the lovely homes and gardens and having relative quiet close by. Also, the extended time of home exchange made it all so relaxing, we never felt rushed or worried about missing some important sight because our vacation time was constricted to four days in a hotel. I like to think that we saw a little more of Vancouver than the average 3-4 day tourist did and with the help of the Fodorites, I think this did happen.

To all the Vancouverites on and off this board, we would like to say thank you for being so helpful and kind to us and giving us some great memories. Thank you again. And for those who actually read this, a double thank you!

Annetti

goldwynn

Nice to have met the both of you........and a pleasure reading your daily reports.

May you have a safe trip. And do keep in touch with the Canada board.