SUMMER TRIP - VANCOUVER #1

Hello my little cats! 

I'm back from a trip to Canada in better shape than ever! I was lucky enough to go with sweet Eleonore Bridge for ten days or so, and I honestly didn't know what to expect. Often, when I'm planning a trip, I try not to look too much at the sublime photos of the place I'm going to, for fear of being disappointed if I don't come across the same landscapes... So I set off, with all guns blazing, and I was overwhelmed, surprised, it was sublime! I really want to go back, to Prince Edward Island and the Rockies... For the moment, I'm thinking of writing 3 articles, one on Vancouver, another on Victoria and the last on Tofino and the surrounding area, telling you about an amazing travel app and showing you a few looks... I'm warning you that it's going to be a tedious read, as I have around 2,000 photos... and I love them all! But I'm going to try to keep only the best and share with you my enthusiasm for this destination! 

Part I: Vancouver... It's funny how the subconscious spends its time trying to find similarities in the landscapes we discover, trying to connect the wagons with images we've already come across. For me, Vancouver reminded me a lot of the Australian Gold Coast, and also a lot of New York. Obviously for the ultra-modern architecture, but also for the proximity of the sea, the mountains, the greenery, and above all for the cosmopolitan feel of the city. I'm really under the spell of this big city, which doesn't forget to be very green. In fact, in the three cities we visited, nature is an integral part of urban planning, with everything planted with trees and meticulously flowered.

The first few hours in Vancouver are a bit foggy, as I'm very sensitive to jet lag - who isn't, you may ask? But quite honestly, I can easily fall asleep on my plate when I can't take it anymore... So the first day was quickly dispatched, as I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, and I can tell you that I felt the 10 hours of jet lag fly by, and I still do!

The next two days were devoted to exploring the city, and I have you to thank for all your good addresses and tips, as well as the other things not to be missed! I've put together a real directory for you for the days ahead! Still, here are the things we did: Tours by LocalsA tour of Vancouver with someone who loves the city! This organization exists all over the world, and I think it's really cool to discover a city as if you were visiting a friend. Our "guide" was the charming Jenn, who spoke French with that delicious Canadian accent! 

 

 I found Vancouverites (yes, yes, that's how you say it) to be very concerned and ecologically responsible, hyper respectful of the environment. There's not a piece of garbage to be found in the streets, and I should have taken a photo of a public garbage can so you'd understand how serious this is. Jenn showed us around Yale Town, a sort of Canadian Meatpacking district, full of adorable boutiques: I went crazy in the Goorin Bros hat store and in a decorating boutique right next door called The Cross Decor, on Homer Street, which totally freaked me out! 

• The hat store, Goorin Bros1188 Hamilton Street.
• The sublime decor boutique, The Cross Decor 1198 Homer Street.
• The Herb Bar, for Green smoothies: Living Produce Aisle1168 Hamilton Street.

From Yale Town we took a small "Aquabus" bus, to be exact, which brought us to Granville Island. On this little island, there's a huge covered market housed in a huge dockside hangar... In this market, there are stalls offering cuisine from all over the world, stalls selling the freshest fruit and vegetables, artisan butchers, fishmongers and small stationery stores. I'd love it if you could find blackberries, blueberries and raspberries on every street corner in Paris for next to nothing, as easily as here...

 

Between a rainbow cake and Harry Potter's broom factory, I couldn't resist the call of fresh lemonade... Jenn took us to the hipster district of Mount Pleasant, which is full of hot little addresses, from stripped-down cafés where you can work, to hairdressers and barbers with ingenious merchandising. Everything I love... Go with your eyes closed, each issue is a gift for the eyes.

In the afternoon, we wanted to discover Vancouver in a different way by booking a Foodie Tours. This time it was a tour of a neighborhood to try out the city's best addresses in the company of foodies. I assure you, it's not a question of eating a dish at each address, but rather a delicious bite here, a 5-minute walk there and another little gourmet sin there. It was quite funny to hear Vancouverites boasting about their gastronomic treasures, saying all the time that such-and-such a place won the award for the best Dim Sum in town, or that this ice cream parlour won the Ice Cream World Cup, or that Vancouver has the best sushi on the planet! Still, I don't know if it was the best sushi in the world, but Miku's will always be the best I've had so far.

Addresses tested :

• The best Dim Sum in town: Kirin, 1172 Alberni Street.
• Local cheese tasting at Urban Fare, 1133 Alberni Street.
• Crazy margaritas and samples from the Shangri-La menu, 1128 West Georgia Street.
• French sweets at Café Thierry, 1059 Alberni Street. 
• And the world's best gelato: Bella Gelateria, 1001 West Cordova Street.

The next day, we rented bikes and rode around Vancouver. There are bike paths all around the city, it's very easy and super safe, so no stress. And then with our bikes we went to Stanley Park, just a few minutes from the city, the giant forest, sublime, all green and above all I fell in love with a raccoon. Ok, I know, raccoons aren't nice, they fly all the time and destroy everything, but still, they're way too adorable, aren't they?

In fact, we didn't see one raccoon, but four, the mother and her three cubs. My brain instantly turned to marshmallow, I must have had an emoticon face, hearts for eyes. I've decided to tame a raccoon, by the way, do we have raccoons here?

 

And here's another address for bike rentals: Cycle City Tours and Bike Rental, 1344 Burrard Street. I recommend getting lost in Stanley Park at snack time and buying berries on the way...

 

We also discovered another neighborhood on our own, Kitsilano, adorable with its little painted wooden houses, and a little more residential too. At the end of the road, there's a beach, ideal at the end of the day for an impromptu aperitif in the company of a sunset - I want more! 

We went there at various times during the day, the first time for breakfast in a delicious café/pastry shop called "Beaucoup", whose owner Jackie is really adorable, a former graphic designer who took up pastry-making in Paris. Go and try the passion fruit tartlet, it's a real treat! By the way, Jackie recommended a great restaurant not far from her café, Farmer's Apprentice Restaurant. A unique tasting menu, vegetarian or not, really delicious and deliriously fresh.

• Beaucoup Bakery 2150 Fir Street.
• Farmer's Apprentice 1535 West 6th Avenue

 

On our way back from Tofino, we passed through Vancouver one last time, and this time our hotel was in China Town. We stayed at Skwachays.com, a genuine Aboriginal-style boutique hotel, which was also a great opportunity to discover another neighborhood. We had some nice surprises in Victoria's Chinatown, but more on that soon. While writing this article, I did a bit of research and discovered that Vancouver is the North American city with the highest proportion of Asians... We dined at Bao Bei restaurant, which I can't recommend highly enough, as much for the decor as for the cuisine - a delight! 

 

• Our hotel: Skwachays 31 West Pender Street.
• And this awesome Chinese brewery: Bao Bei163 Keefer Street! And again! 

 

If I ever have to leave France tomorrow, Vancouver will be in my top 3 cities to live in... After all, I may not be very objective, as we didn't have a single day of rain, and the temperatures were fantastic... But it's definitely a great place to live in Vancouver, and I'll see you soon for the rest! 

To read this post in English, click here!