Vancouver - Where Wild Meets Mild (Weather)

TRIP REPORT

Background:

Living in Chicago, Canada is the closest foreign country to which I can make a quick get away for a weekend of fun. As much traveling as I have done in my life, our friendly neighbor has never made it onto my list of visited destinations. I'd always intended to go, but I'll admit to letting the allure of more exotic destinations ensnare me first. Guilty as charged. It took the wedding of two close friends to finally draw me north of the border, but I'm glad I finally made the trip. Despite having a very limited amount of time on the ground, I truly enjoyed my time in Vancouver and I definitely am planning on making another visit.


Getting There:

Traveling to Vancouver is an adventure in and of itself. You have quite a few options.

All major US and Canadian airlines fly to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which is the 2nd busiest airport in Canada. One of the draw backs of taking a flight north of the border is that there are large taxes applied to air travel into Canada. The ticket I ended up purchasing on American Airlines (AA) ended up including almost $150 in additional taxes. Say what you want about the US, but the $8 fee I pay to fly into New York or Dallas is nothing compared to what you pay flying into Canada. AA recently started a direct flight from Chicago to Vancouver, but the cheapest tickets actually routed through Dallas, so that's what I purchased. Flying to Vancouver through Dallas is more then a little out of the way, but when you look at my travel patterns its pretty par for the course.

Due to the amount of travel I do with AA, I received complimentary upgrades to first class on all four of the flights it took me to get from Vancouver and back. I'm recently took on a membership with American's Admirals Club, which is their lounge service. It provides travelers with a relatively quiet location with free wifi, complimentary non-alcoholic beverages, and light snacks while they wait for their flights. This turned out to be quite useful on the way back from Vancouver when I was delayed in Dallas for almost 8 hours due to thunderstorms.

I left on Friday afternoon and arrived around the same time in Vancouver due to the time difference between the Midwest and the west coast.


Arrival:

My first impression of Vancouver's airport? Very, very nice. As soon as I exited the plane I was surrounded by sunshine streaming in from the glass walkway leading to the arrivals terminal. We were on the 2nd floor and the path to the immigration lines has plenty of signage. The walk is pretty lengthy, but you probably won't mind or notice. The majority of the path is filled with leafy green plants and trickling waterfalls, seemingly a nod to the close affinity Vancouver has with its natural surroundings. As you stroll along the walkway you can take a peek at a few pieces of native artwork placed throughout the building.

Immigration was more.... suspicious of my arrival in Canada then I had been led to believe they would be. Canada has a reputation as a very easy going country, but the immigration official grilled me for a good 5 minutes on my reason for visiting, where I was staying, where I planned on going, and why my visit was only for a few days. Eventually I received another stamp in my passport and moved on to collect my baggage and catch a cab to the bed & breakfast most of the wedding guests were staying at.


Stanley Park:

One of the main attractions in Vancouver is the massive waterfront Stanley Park that sits on an outcropping of land near the Central Business district. With thousands of acres of forested land, this park is one of the largest urban parks in North America. The entire park is lined with a paved path called the Seawall, where Vancouverites can jog, bike, run, and walk along the bay. The park is filled with a variety of public beaches, playgrounds, picnic areas, and cultural art pieces for a wandering visitor to take in.

Our bed & breakfast was only a few blocks walk from the park, so 6 of us met after a late breakfast to go wandering through the park before the wedding that evening. We made our way down streets lined with restaurants of every imaginable type. Greek, Korean, Japanese, Middle Eastern, French. A testament to the diverse population of Vancouver. We entered the park passing through tennis courts and lounging families. The weather was amazing, sitting somewhere in the middle of the 70s temperature wise, with a slight breeze and solid sunshine.

We made our way down toward the seawall and headed east along the coast. The bay was filled with boats of all types. A cluster of small sailboats looked like they might be engaging in a race of some sorts. Industrial tankers floated quietly in the distance. Couples held hands as they waded into the water and skipped over seaweed and slippery, mossy sea plants on rocks. In the distance was always a stretch of water with a shoreline opposite, white washed buildings and modern glass towers resting peacefully at water's edge.

It was amazingly peaceful and beautiful. It was an odd mix of modern city living with wilderness. Towering tree lined hiking paths that were just minutes away from Thai restaurants and the headquarters of the Oneworld airline alliance. Kayakers skimming the water in solitude while cars zip past in the distance. Totem poles and lichen blanketed tree stumps with Indian tourists eating falafel sitting amongst them. Coming from Chicago, I was jealous. While its always nice to have my office in the Loop, there isn't much space where one can get away from it all. Michigan Avenue, State Street, Millennium Park. They're always crammed full of people. Vancouver seems to have the right mix of modern business trappings and green escapism.

The Wedding:

That afternoon me and my friends enjoyed the celebration of love and devotion that constitutes a wedding. Vancouver was a beautiful backdrop for this event, providing both the scenery and the legal recognition for this occasion. My two friends who were wed that day are both men. While they are US citizens, they were interested in tying the note in a location that would provide the recognition of their commitment that it was due. While some US states do allow for gay marriage, the future of its legality is questionable in the US, so the couple decided that they would make their vows in Canada.

A limousine picked up the grooms and guests at the bed & breakfast we were staying at. Destination weddings tend to be small in size, and our entourage today was 11 people. The ceremony took place at the home of the wedding commissioner. She had a lovely balcony overlooking a well kept garden. Vows were exchanges, smiles were had, tears were shed, and the deed was done. Time to celebrate!

The newlyweds asked the driver to give us a driving tour of the city. We were whisked through the streets of Vancouver with champagne in our hands. Chinatown, Granville Island, Canada Place, Marine Building, Robson Square. These city landmarks were gazed at and commented upon by 11 slightly intoxicated revelers. It would have been much nicer had we had the time to stop at each location and get a proper look, but tonight was reserved for celebration, drinking, and eating.

We were dropped off a few blocks from our restaurant by the limousine. Vancouver was holding a Jazz Festival downtown, so many of the streets were blocked off to vehicular traffic. We made our way through the neighborhood knows as Gastown and sat down at our restaurant: Al Porto. Food had been preset for us on the table and we immediately dug into a very nice spread.

Granville Island & Central Business District:

The next morning, after a night of celebration, we headed out on the exploratory trail again. This time we walked down toward the shore on the opposite end of what we had explored the day before. It was a bit hazy and misty that day, but it was pretty nonetheless. Lots of odd sculptures line the bay area. One reminded me instantly of the giant rack of ribs from the opening of the Flintstones. I read the marker explaining what it was but at the end of the day, it was just a giant iron rack of ribs. Another statue we looked at seemed to be sitting with its legs pulled up toward its chest. The frame of the statue was constructed using letters from various alphabets from all over the world. Again, another monument to the diversity of this Canadian city.

After our slow meandering along the shoreline, we reached a stable of water taxis. After some quick conversation, we agreed to hop on one to venture across the small channel of water and see the Public Market on Granville Island. Despite its name, as far as I can tell Granville Island is not actually an island. The map seemed to indicate it was just an outcropping of land. Perhaps it was an island at one time?

The Public Market was filled to the brim with tourists and shoppers galore. The salty aroma of fresh fish hits your nose as you enter, but its quickly replaced by the sweet smell of fresh picked apples, or the arresting scent of lilacs. The facility itself reminded me of Pike's Place in Seattle, though I suppose this version was much less touristy. We wandered around for awhile, making small purchases of food here and there while ducking into eclectic shops.

Having had our fill of Granville Island, we hopped a water taxi back across the channel. The grumbling in our stomachs told us that it was about time for a proper meal. We headed out for some Canadian grub. I had my first taste of poutine that afternoon, and I must say it was delicious. Being lactose intolerant, the cheese curds were probably not in my best interest, but what is travel without a little culinary adventure?

We wrapped up that day walking north and taking in more of the sites along Stanley Park. It's just so massive in scope it takes awhile to see everything it has to offer. We saw a pretty large Inukshuk statue. This is fairly well known since the Vancouver Winter Olympics this year as it served as the symbol for the games. While I originally thought this was erected for the Olympics, it turns out this was actually constructed much earlier as part of the Expo in 1986.

Having had a full day of hiking around Vancouver, we retired for the day for another round of great food and nightlife.

Grouse Mountain:

Sadly, due to work obligation my visit in Vancouver came to an end. My traveling companions were able to stay longer though, and did get to see a few more sights that they shared with me. They were able to .....

Enjoy another hearty and delicious breakfast at our B&B....

Hike and zip line through the misty Grouse Mountain to get an amazing view of Vancouver......

And they even saw some bears!


Final Thoughts:

Despite the little time I had on the ground, Vancouver really impressed me. The city is fairly clean and easy to navigate. It is very modern in feeling but at the same time manages to maintain some of the "frontier" atmosphere you get when you imagine some of the western cities of North America. The integral mix of wooded space with glass and steel through the city is refreshing and calming, especially to someone who comes from one of the more "concrete jungle" areas in the United States. The varied ethnic makeup of the city means that the culinary offerings in Vancouver are amazing. I've had some good food in my travels around the world but the eats in Vancouver are definitely pretty impressive.

Vancouver isn't perfect though. Public transportation options were available but seemed limited in scope. Most of the locations I needed to get to were not serviced by the train lines and required multiple bus stops. Also, the service level in most of the restaurants reminded me of Argentina. The wait staff only stops by if you make a massive amount of effort to get their attention. While I enjoy being left alone to dine in peace, I do enjoy having a some level of service that makes sure I don't have to set off fireworks to get another glass of water.

All in all, Vancouver gets a big thumbs up, a definite return trip, and has sold me on visiting more of Canada.