I consider myself a good planner, but, my travel itinerary over the past few months has me wondering if I really am. The boy and I had only just arrived from the UK when we set off a few days later to spend a week with his friends in British Columbia. I had never been to the West Coast of Canada but I had heard a lot about Vancouver. Everyone raves about how beautiful it is – the sky scrapers, the culture, the diversity… *clears throat.
I didn’t quite know what to pack. On the one hand, the boy assured me that the weather in Vancouver is “always nice”. On the other hand, the internet warned me to expect rain every waking moment. I think we should all collectively agree on what we mean by “nice weather.”
By the time our flight arrived at 8:30 pm Vancouver time, I was ravenous. Did you know that on a five-hour plus Air Canada flight from Ottawa to Vancouver, you only get complimentary pretzels and a drink? You can buy something to eat on the flight, but I was so surprised by the fact that there was no complimentary service for a flight that long and for the price we paid. As soon as we caught a taxi at the airport, the boy ordered some food to be delivered at our short-term rental on Beach Avenue. For some reason, he ordered wraps and lentil soup. Neither of us has ever expressed a keen desire for lentil soup but OK…. I guess this is how we add some spice to our relationship.
The next morning was the first time I got to see downtown Vancouver. We started the day with a 6:00 am walk to a coffee shop. The city was already abuzz, and I was rather surprised by the queue at the coffee shop. ‘Where is everyone going so early?’ After grabbing coffee and peppermint tea, we walked by the ocean and talked about the most random things – dogs, freight ships, owning a boat, and walking 30 km a day. Like I said, random. I was working remotely so after hitting 10,000 steps, we returned to our rental to fulfill our daily grind.
Later that day, we took a ferry to the Granville Island market. I loved the market. Even though it was busy, it felt good to be surrounded by fresh goods. I love seafood so I was drawn to all the seafood stalls even though I didn’t plan on buying anything. The boy simply had to stand with me and be supportive as I “oohed” and “aahed” about the variety. In it’s own way, it felt like a small village. Outside the market, there was a small section where people ate while musicians in the city serenaded them with music. From there, we took a ferry to see the sights along the coast. It is beautiful by the water… if you can afford it. Last I checked, the median rent price for a one-bedroom apartment in the city is $3,000 CAD.
We were only in Vancouver for a couple of days so we spent most of our time visiting the boy’s friends and enjoying walks by the water. Some of the notable restaurants we visited were:
- OEB Breakfast Co – a delightful restaurant near the Marina. The breakfast was delicious and the portions were really good.
- Cardero’s – I loved the location of this restaurant (on the water) just as much as I loved the food. Even though it was cold, the heaters on the deck kept us warm and they even had blankets available.
- The Tea House in Stanley Park – from what I’ve heard, visiting Vancouver and not going to Stanley Park, is like going to London for the first time and not visiting Leicester Square. The food at the Tea House was the best of all! We started with the croissants which were freshly baked and warm when they arrived at our table. Our mains were so good, I was ready to lay a blanket on the floor and make the restaurant my home. Highly recommend.
- We had some sushi from Osaka sushi. It is not a trip to Vancouver if you don’t get some sushi! We ordered in so this technically was not a visit. But, the sushi was so good, I sometimes dream about it.
My overall thoughts on Downtown Vancouver? Hard to sum it up in one neat take.
- I understand why people love the city. It’s a metropolitan city that is busier than many other cities in Canada and is relatively opulent. To me, the many skyscrapers were dizzying to look at. It felt like someone built the structures with Legos and arranged them all on a small stretch of land. Some of the buildings had me wondering if the developers were in a competition to build the oddest-looking building. This might be because I do not find skyscrapers impressive. I am more of a old city feel type of girl.
- The art around the city is bizarre. I do not consider myself to be art connoisseur but something is weird about the art pieces in the city. Some of them remind me of what Nigerians call ‘money miss road’ – a term for someone who stumbles into money but doesn’t have the charisma to spend it in a classy way. Case in point: There is a chandelier under a bridge in Vancouver. The cost? 8.4 million dollars. 8.4 million dollars sitting under an old bridge for no reason at all. Vancouverites might get it, but I didn’t. Someone please educate me.
- Vancouver is diverse, but also not diverse. The day after we arrived, while we were walking down one of the busy streets in the afternoon, I turned to the boy and asked “are there any black people in this city?” He burst out laughing “erm… I don’t think there are that many”, he said. Throughout our stay there, whenever I made eye contact with anyone, they offered a big smile and a nod. It seemed the boy was invisible to them, while I stuck out like a lit Christmas tree in the middle of a field covered with snow. To be fair, I don’t think the lack of diversity is due to anything malicious. It is probably a location thing.
Overall, it was fun to meet the boy’s friends on his former stomping grounds. It was my first trip to the west coast of Canada and I totally enjoyed myself, despite the brutalist structures and art. Would I go back? Yes! There is obviously more to see beyond downtown Vancouver. Between working remotely in a different time zone and trying to see as much of Vancouver as possible, I was exhausted. But the fun was far from over. After two days in Vancouver, we boarded a bus to Squamish.
