June 2018 – she'swanderfullylost

I have to admit that I have done very little traveling within Canada. I know…shame on me right? Canada is my backyard and I can count on 1 hand the amount of cities I’ve truly had the opportunity to experience. Of that small list, Vancouver (or Van City as I call it) is at the top.

I have been to Vancouver several times. I have family there so it’s been a cheap vacation destination for quite some time. And something about the city will ALWAYS have me coming back. I can’t quite put my finger on why though…but let’s be honest, do I really need a reason? Probably not, but let me explain a few of the things that I think make Van City a true Canadian Gem.

The Food

By now you should know that I’m a foodie. Lots of my days revolve around where I’ll be eating next and Vancouver’s Food Scene is off the charts.

Salt Tasting Room

Canada has a plethora of incredible dining experiences, and Van City is no exception. The food scene in this city is AMAZING. You can find any and every type of cuisine, and it will blow your mind. There are hidden gems around every corner, and I urge you to find a place where you leave dissatisfied.

Paul and I have recently discovered Charcuterie, and are obsessed. Maybe me more so that him, but still. I love it. I mean hello…cured meat? Yes please. Cheese? Yasssssss. Truffle Honey? Hell to the yeah. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. So I took to Google to find the best charcuterie in Van City and The Salt Tasting Room was one of the top places. We were NOT disappointed.

Walking in the door, you’re immediately hit with a laid back and calm vibe. Maybe it was the subdued lighting, low music and the hum of people talking. But I was instantly at ease. We were seated by the window and tucked into a corner. Perfect. Paul and I love being in our own little world, and this was just the right spot. Sitting on our tiny table were our menus, topped with a blue piggy bank. While a small touch, and maybe a little out of place, I smiled. Our server quickly went to take away our little dining buddy, but not before I snapped a picture. I love thoughts like this one at a restaurant. While the menu explained the concept the real decisions were made with the chalkboards on the wall. These displayed the variety of meat, cheese and condiments to choose from. You had the ability to choose your own, or you could go with one of their pre-determined plates. We decided to choose our own, and let me tell you. It. Was. DELICIOUS.

The Flying Pig

Ahhh, The Flying Pig. This little gem is located in the heart of Gastown and tends to be a celebrity hot spot. Specifically for the cast of Riverdale (my new favorite guilty pleasure). Paul was here with the his guy friends in June of last year and saw KJ Apa (Archie), Cole Sprouse (Jughead) and Casey Cott (Kevin) from the popular series. I think Paul had a mini stroke, because while in the bathroom, he came face to face with Casey Cott…..and didn’t…say….a word. Just stared at him like a dumbfounded school girl. I still get a kick out of that story.

Anyways, while celebrities are always cool, there is more to this restaurant than just that. While we only had drinks here, I loved the vibe, not to mention, the people beside us had the pulled pork poutine and it took all my self control not to lean over and steal a fry.

Jam Café

You can’t talk about the food scene in Van City and not mention Jam Café. I swear this is one of the busiest brunch spots in the whole of Van City. There was a line up down the block, and we waited for at least an hour to get a table. Was it worth it? Absolutely. I would wait again to have that bacon one more time. My mouth is watering again…

Food Tours

Our new favorite thing to do when exploring a city, is a Food Tour. We got this idea in New York, and it will definitely be a traveling tradition moving forward. We did two tours in Vancouver. First we did the Gastown Food Tour hosted by Taste Vancouver Food Tours (https://tastevancouverfoodtours.com/gastown-food-tour/). Highly recommend this one. It was awesome. I think we had about 8 stops and they were all amazing. My all time favorite stop was Bao Down Snack Bar. Here we had the Bao Chicka Bao Bao, which are basically dough pockets of goodness. I had one and was craving it for the rest of the weekend. No joke.

Our next Food Tour was the Granville Island Market Tour and one that I had first done with my Mom back in May. Granville Island is one of my favorite places to visit while in Vancouver. I love walking the market, looking at the various vendors, maneuvering the chaos and inhaling the smells of absolutely everything. The tour was so good the first time, I knew Paul and I would do it as well. This one was hosted by Vancouver Foodie Tours (https://foodietours.ca/granville-island-market-tour/), and it was just as good the second time around. We stopped at 8 different vendors throughout the market and tasted some of their best sellers. My favorite stop here had to be the doughnut from Lee’s Donuts. I’m a sucker for sweets, and this definitely hit the spot.

The Outdoors

When it comes to the outdoors, Vancouver has it all. I’m not kidding. You can go hiking on one of the MANY trails that surround the city. You can go scuba diving off the coast, bike riding through Stanley Park, go for a walk along the Seawall, or have a picnic on the beach. Maybe because it’s right on the water, but the amount of outdoor activities always blew me away. I don’t think you can ever be bored in Vancouver.

While Paul and I are NOT hikers (not even a little bit), we did 2 hikes while we visited. One was to Lynn Canyon. This was the cheaper version of the Capilano Suspension Bridge (and when I say cheaper, I mean free). I wanted to go to the Suspension Bridge, but the price was ridiculous. One of our tour guides recommended that we check out Lynn Canyon instead and it was just what we needed to satisfy the desire.

The second hike we did was at the Sea to Sky Gondola. Now this hike, I didn’t plan. I asked Paul to plan one day in Vancouver. One day that I didn’t have any part of. Little did I know that he had plans…big plans.

Our day started early and Paul told me to wear longer pants and t-shirt. Again, I had no idea what we were doing. I listened and we made our way to Canada Place. This was where I found out we were going to the Sea to Sky Gondola. I bring up again that Paul and I are not hikers. And we just hiked the day before. Really all there is up at the top of the Gondola is more hiking. And it was hot. Needless to say, I was a little grumpy. Paul, being the forever positive person he is tried to make everything seem awesome, and I wasn’t having any of it.

On his suggestion, we hiked to the lookout, which was supposed to have a very pretty view. I huffed and pouted the entire way and once we got to the lookout (which was swarming with people) walked over to him and said “I’m sorry I’m not having a good time.” I later found out that his heart just sunk when I said this. Ooooopppppssss.

We quickly decided to start heading back to the main chalet. Just down the path and off to the side there was a bench, shaded with trees and quiet. We sat for a few minutes, not saying anything, and then Paul turned to me and said “So there’s something I have to ask you…”

The rest is really a blur. I just remember one line ” You’re the Mary-Jane to my Peter Parker and the Black Cat to my Spider-Man, Alysha Ann Theresa Evans, will you marry me?” If you know Paul, you know how much of a Spider-Man fan he is, and I thought this was super cute. And of course I said YES! While the hike wasn’t my cup of tea, the end of the hike was something truly amazing that I most certainly didn’t expect.