touristy things i did in vancouver (part 1)

Convention Center in Vancouver - right on the water!

(Vancouver, Canada).  I am normally a super planner when I travel, but this time I decided to be spontaneous and go with the flow and not "plan" my trip to Vancouver other than for a few restaurant reservations here and there.  Anyways, it was rather chilly in the city so we couldn't do a lot of the outdoorsy activities.  I figured we would just walk around and explore the city and eat/drink a lot!   So what did we end up doing?


Yaletown

On our first day, after we had lunch at Shu Raku (see blog post here), we took a nice stroll to Yaletown - a former warehouse district in downtown Vancouver that has found a second life as a hip neighborhood filled with restaurants, bars and lots and lots of salons.  (Who knew the Canadians were so "into" beauty and waxing?)
 

Pedestrian friendly streets flanked by restaurants and bars in Yaletown.

Throughout our entire trip we visited Yaletown a few times.  It was only about a 10-15 minute walk from our hotel - the L'Hermitage (review here).  I didn't find the shopping particularly interesting, but I enjoyed the bars and restaurants.  There was also a nice selection of local coffee and tea houses. Our favorites included:
 

Having a little "taste" at the Yaletown Distillery.

• Blue Water Cafe (see sazyrock's review here).  I might do a post at a later date, but in short, it's a wonderful seafood restaurant.  Highly recommended for innovative and super fresh cuisine!  Reservations recommended.
• Yaletown Distillery - This is where I tried tastings of small batch gin and vodka (2 CAD each taste).  I really enjoyed the vodka - it had a pleasant, subtle buttery vanilla note.  The lady running the counter was super sweet and nice, and gave me some recommendations around town.
  
  
•  The Keg - I think this is part of a franchise because I saw another "Keg" in the financial district of Vancouver.  It's a typical trendy bar with fancy cocktails and a nice tiered fireplace.  We enjoyed hanging out here before dinner, but Vancouver was definitely more of a beer place.  They still have a ways to go in terms of mixology.  Most of the cocktails (manhattans, sazeracs, etc.) were just OK.  I'd recommend this place more for the vibe than for anything else.

My husband also spent a lot of time at Phat Bar - a divey, local place that seemed a little out of place at Yaletown - because they were showing the football game on several TV screens.   I didn't really like my food or my cocktail (really mediocre manhattan), but my husband enjoyed the beers and smoked meat sandwich. 

If you like dive bars and beer, this is for you.

  
Waterfront & Stanley Park

Doesn't this look like SF?  There's the lookout tower - you can pay to go up and see amazing views.

From our hotel, we took a nice long walk along the Waterfront to Stanley Park.  It was a beautiful walk through the impressive and modern financial district (which reminded me a lot of San Francisco and Seattle) and then along the water and finally to the lush, green park.
 

You can take a plane tour of the city!

A beautiful, grey day.

Stanley Park is huge (about 400 hectares) and includes various gardens, trails, lawns, beaches and a rainforest!  There were lots of locals jogging, biking and rowing all around us.  Some of them were in teeny tiny shorts and I felt cold just looking at them.  There were also lots of bundled up tourists like me taking loads of pictures.
 

The park seemed so peaceful even with people all around.

We were in the park for a few hours and could only see a tiny portion of it.  We did find the Aquarium within the park and it looked great but we didn't go inside.  We ended up wandering aimlessly and found the Girl in Wetsuit statue, the Lumberman's Arch and the Totem Poles.  
 

Totem poles!

I think since it was the off-season, several of the restrooms were closed which was a problem for small bladdered folks like me.  Fortunately I was able to find one near the Legends of the Moon gift store next to the Totem Poles.  They actually have a nice selection of souvenirs and good, hot coffee.
 

This reminded me of the horror movie - the Ring... creepy, no?

 

View of the financial district from the park.

On our walk back from the park, we stopped by Blackbird for some scotch.  I enjoyed the bar and their selection but their pours are literally measured out into 1 ounce and 2 ounce pours.  Oy!  I don't think I've ever had such tiny drinks before...
 

I discovered I like Highlands scotch.

For dinner we enjoyed an amazing Indian meal at Vij's - review to come!

Next week, I'll continue with Part 2.  Have you been to Yaletown or Stanley Park?  Let me know what your fave places were below!