canadian shopping haul (aka i love maple)

(Vancouver, Canada).  I didn't really expect to buy anything on my trip to Vancouver other than maple candy.  I know they are basically glorified sugar cubes, but I have a soft spot in my heart for them.  It's very difficult to find maple candy in Los Angeles (other than at specialty stores around Christmas) and have you noticed how expensive real maple syrup is lately?

Anyways, so there I was roaming around for something uniquely Canadian to purchase.  For the first day or so, I failed miserably.  Most of the retail shops I saw were the same as those in Los Angeles.  Actually for the most part, being in Vancouver was a bit like being in the financial district of San Francisco or Seattle... It really didn't feel like I was out of the U.S.

But ultimately I saw a few items that caught my eye.  What were they?

Maple products of course!  Maple cookies, maple candies, maple tea, maple chocolates and maple syrup.  I will be on a sugar high for weeks when I return home.  Pancakes here I come!

And for those wondering, yes - real maple does taste different.  

Then there were ice wine related products.  I am not a huge fan of ice wines because I typically don't enjoy sweet wines, but ice wine cookies - that is a totally different story - yum!

In Gastown there was a store - Oak and Fort - which was having a big sale.  I got this comfortable hoodie for 25 CAD (marked down from 88 CAD).  It's so cozy!  And it's a bargain!  Double bonus!

Then at an asian grocery store, I got some TonyMoly and other Korean beauty products because I needed some eye makeup remover and then got sucked into buying a bunch of sheet masks.  The eye makeup remover pads are effective but they sting my eyes a little (cute panda packaging though).  So far I've tried the red wine mask and that felt really nice.  I know I can probably get this on Sawtelle or Little Tokyo or Koreatown in Los Angeles, but it was more fun to buy them while traveling.

I also purchased some beautifully designed cards, but I can't show them because they are presents.  Oh, and I almost forgot, I got a Christmas ornament to commemorate my first trip to Vancouver.  I like buying Christmas ornaments when I'm traveling and I've been starting up a collection.  It'll be fun hanging the Vancouver ornament on my tree next year!

And that was it!  This was the tamest shopping haul for me on an international trip.  What do you like to buy when you are in Canada?  I'll probably have to go back on business so any tips would be appreciated!