- Tuesday 2nd May: Walking tour day
It was a crisp and clear morning so Mark set out early for a bike ride to Stanley Park. I settled for just doing some yoga because we had a big day of walking ahead of us. It was forecast to be sunny and 23° which was pleasing given we had a three hour walking tour from 10 am. We stopped off at Cafe Medina on the way to the tour as this has been recommended to us by a couple of people. It was well worth the visit and Waffles seemed to be a specialty of the house.
Our 3 hr Toonie Tours walking tour started from Canada Place; about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. Our guide for the tour was 27 yr old Andrew and he was a most friendly, entertaining and well informed guide so I would highly recommend this tour if you’re ever in Vancouver.
There was one other Australian couple on this walking tour, from Brisbane, and they were in Canada for their son’s wedding. Interestingly, their journey to Vancouver was via a 32 day Princess cruise travelling via New Zealand, Samoa, Vanuatu and the Hawaiian islands. They had only ever been on one short cruise before, so thought that was a rather ambitious endeavour of theirs, but they loved it. They said they were hardly in their room and they had a fantastic time. They paid just over $6,000 per person, and that covered all food, all alcohol and all day-trips off the boat whenever it docked. One other fun fact for them was that because there was a small fire on board and some slight inconvenience to them both on one day so the cruise company refunded half of their total fare so they ended up getting the whole trip for just $6,000. They were pretty happy. They sort of had me until the fire story 🙁
Our walking tour finished at Waterfront Station, just near Canada Place, and we wound our way home afterwards with a short stops for a sandwich lunch, to Nordstrom to look for some jeans for Mark (no luck) and to IGA for supplies for dinner. Our plan was to have a BBQ dinner on the roof top balcony given the sunshine today. Sunset here is about 8.30 so it’s well suited for roof top dining.
However, as it turned out, best laid plans and all that! We set out at 5pm with the aim of having just one drink before heading home for a BBQ dinner. In reality, we ended up at Mavi for an hour shopping jeans for Mark and then back at Yaletown Brewery, just across the road from Mavi. The girls at Mavi were so delightful and helpful that we ended up with two pairs of jean for Mark and a denim jacket for myself. Two of the girls asked endless questions about Australia and are now planning their visit! So, with our rather large shopping bag, we hopped across the road to Yaletwon brewery. Whereas the place was empty the night before, tonight it was packed and pumping. We lamented that there is nowhere like this back in Bondi and stayed there for one drink, then a second, and then dinner. I guess we will have the rooftop barbecue tomorrow 😞.
Wednesday 3rd May: Granville Island Day
It was another beautiful sunny morning and so Mark set off to Kitsilano for a bike ride. I decided to explore the gym and pool area and was pleased to find a small, but very clean, gym and a lovely large pool under a glass atrium that flooded the pool with loads of natural light. I had been expecting a dismal, dark and dank subterranean pool area and so was rather impressed. I just used one of the walking machines but planned to bring my yoga mat down and cosy next time for some yoga, followed by a walk and then a swim!
Our plan for the day was to explore Granville Island which is about a 30 minute combined walk and ferry trip south of our apartment; or a 10 minute bus ride. We opted for the walk and ferry option and used a walking guide out of Frommer’s online to set our pathway.
Our first stop though was for a coffee for Mark at Co Co Coffee. Mark didn’t even finish it so I wouldn’t bother adding this place to your itinerary. We then set off down to the waterfront part of Yaletown where we caught the False Creek ferry over to Granville Island. They have the cutest little ferry’s that shuttle around the local area covering about five different stops and the one at Granville Island. The ferry journey took about 10 minutes and was a great way to see the waterfront area of this part of Vancouver. I hadn’t found this ferry trip recommended in any of the itineraries I had researched but would put it right up the top of the list for a Vancouver activity. The Quayside Marina and Harbour front area around False Creek is rather spectacular and, if I was ever to return to Vancouver, then this is the part of Yaletown that I would aim to find accommodation. It is pretty highly developed with high rise condominiums but they would have great water views, they’re right in the hear of bustling Yaletown and there is a great walking path around the foreshore that goes for miles!
Granville Island is really more of a ‘protuberance’ or sand spit according to the guide books and used to be home to factories and sawmills. Today it’s a lively area that has undergone significant urban renewal with a huge indoor public market that leaves the likes of Adelaide’s Covered Market sorely lacking. There is also a collection of shops, restaurants, theaters, artists’ workshops, housing, and a hotel. My favourite was the OK Boot Corral that had such a strong Yellowstone vibe that I half expected to see John Dutton, aka Kevin Costner, step out at any moment. The Stetsons were interesting but it was the boots that drew me in the most with their intricate embossed patterns and many colours. Hence the large number of photos.
We browsed through the many different shops for about an hour and then wandered just off the island and across to the commercial Fisherman’s Wharf area and stumbled across a cute waterfront lunch spot, Go Fish, where we decided to stop for lunch. It was pretty much just a small tin shed kitchen, serving a limited menu, and with just a hand full of outside tables so we were lucky the fine weather and low crowd numbers were in our favour. It was just as well that it was a quaint and novel lunch setting though because the food was pretty ordinary.
Our last stop was at the Granville Island Brewery, no surprises there. Mark had a paddle of 4 beers and found one he liked enough to buy to take home before we headed on to catch the ferry and walk back to the apartment. Granville Island was a great outing and, in my opinion, is a must-do activity if you’re ever in Vancouver. Also, catch the ferry there rather than the bus; you won’t be disappointed!
Neither of us had slept very well so we were just going to have a quiet afternoon back at the apartment and dinner at home.
