Vancouver, A Winter Tour

I have a casual Seattle bucket list. Vancouver is on it. I wasn’t planning for a winter visit.. Oh well.

It seems like a lovely city, but more suitable for living than touring. Everywhere are interesting activities, but there are not many glorious attractions on the scale of Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. So it is a charming city to spend time with family venturing around. Perfect.

The famed superb Chinese foods was disappointing. Probably the ones in Richmond are better than those downtown ones we tried. Anyway, lives are too short to experiment average Chinese restaurants, and Vancouver’s culinary scene has a lot more to offer. A Salt Tasting Room, for example, in an intimidating place called Blood Alley, is definitely worth the venture.

Stanley Park requires good weather to enjoy. The Totem Poles area is probably the best vantage point to watch Vancouver across the water. Bring a car. It is way too big to for tourists.

Gastown reminded me of Pioneer Square, back in Seattle. Old buildings, small shops, walk-abouts, curious artifacts that build a unique character. The most famous one is the steam clock: one of the few that is powered by steam. The on-the-clock tune was the exact one that my high-school used to signal recesses. Wow, I was humming it all the way to the annoyance of the family members.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is a made-for-tourists attraction. It is pricy but still worth a couple of hours of exploration, particularly with kids with lots of energy and curiosity. An extra bonus was a bald eagle perching on a tree top, definitely earned many hundred shutter clicks.

On our adventure to Richmond, we raced to Garry Point Kite Field. The temperature plummeted quickly when we hunched against the chill sea wind watching the haunting sunset. It reminded me my college town that were on the delta of the river going into the ocean. Sunset watching was our favorite pass time. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at Granville Island, which is really not an island at all, and tried out Twisted Fork. It was a cozy and lovely French restaurant with an excellent bar tender.

Back home, I appreciated that Seattle being about 4 to 5 degrees warmer. Very nice. A friend insisted that Whistler is a destination, summer or winter. I am putting it down as a good summer weekend get-away destination.

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