Today, we flew Alaska Airlines Flight #327 from San Jose, California, to Seattle, Washington.
When we landed in Seattle, we learned that a section of the bridge over the Skagit River (I-5) collapsed. Luckily, we were not on the bridge when it collapsed. Many of the cars driving over the bridge ended up in the cold water of the Skagit River.
Upon landing, we boarded an airport car rental shuttle to our car rental facility. We rented a red Nissan Altima from Alamo and began our drive to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
We were unsure how long it would take us to route around the bridge. Luckily, there was not much traffic on I-5, and we checked in La Grande Residence at Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver at around 1:30 a.m.
We were unsure how long it would take us to route around the bridge. Luckily, there was not much traffic on I-5, and we checked in La Grande Residence at Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver at around 1:30 a.m.
The hotel room was lovely, with a great view of downtown Vancouver. The view from the balcony was delightful.
Friday, May 24, 2013
After waking up, we ate breakfast at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe in Vancouver. Thierry Cafe had terrific, freshly baked croissants, which we ordered along with cappuccinos. This is our favorite Vancouver shop for pastries, cakes, London Fogs, and cappuccinos. The pastries and desserts looked fantastic; we were back in Paris!
Since the weather was sunny and warm, we decided to rent bicycles and ride around Stanley Park. Inna wanted an electric bike, but Ezee Riders Bike shop had no full-size electrics to rent. We ended up renting two mountain bicycles with helmets. My bike had a charming basket for storing miscellaneous items (i.e., bike locks).
We rode all over Stanley Park, stopping to take photos and enjoying the fantastic, sunny weather.
We saw some beautiful Totem Poles from the First Peoples of North America.
The beautiful Lions Gate Bridge was nearby. We rode underneath it.
There is a beautiful bronze statue of a mermaid on the trail.
As lunchtime approached, we decided to eat lunch at the Teahouse at Stanley Park.
After lunch, we explored the nearby beach. We saw a few people swimming in the cold water!
After the beach, we headed for Beaver Lake, following biking/walking trails. There were many trails, and we had to stop and review our map to ensure we did not take the wrong trail.
We finally arrived at the beautiful Beaver Lake.
The ride to Beaver Lake was quite scenic (through beautiful trails in Stanley Park), and I recorded a small portion for fun.
Beaver Lake was covered with green plants (it didn't look like a lake at first). As Inna wanted to visit the Stanley Park Aquarium, we headed there. However, the Aquarium closes at 5:30 p.m., and we decided to postpone it, as it was 4:30 p.m. and a bit too late. We returned to the Ezee Riders Bike shop, dropped off our bikes, and explored the waterfront.
We also stopped by at the Rose Gardens, but the roses were not blooming yet.
Vancouver's Coal Harbor Waterfront had a few cruise ships departing.
At the waterfront, we saw a few seaplanes taking off and then stopped by Bella Gelateria to try out the best gelato in North America.
We tried a couple of flavors we also make at home - Hazelnut, Vanilla, and Matcha Green Tea.
We also met the owner, James Coleridge, who talked about his experience with Bella Gelateria. James was against using egg yolks in gelato and used none in Bella Gelateria's recipes. He used guar - instead of egg yolks - to stabilize the mixture. James does not like the extra calories and cholesterol from egg yolks. In terms of flavor, Bella's recipes or our own, based on Ciao Bella's Cookbook, were superior. Both tasted equally delicious to us and had the same creaminess.
Using guar gum simplifies gelato production and removes the need to buy lots of eggs. Some people feel that using guar is inferior and was mainly done to reduce production costs (see the Italian Snow Job).
After sampling a few more flavors of gelato - especially the Chocolate sorbet, we decided to explore the nearby Gastown neighborhood. Gastown has a lot of fascinating lamps and a steam-powered clock. As we had dinner reservations in Chinatown, we headed there next.
Chinatown was busy, and we eventually found our restaurant - Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie. It was noisy and crowded inside, but the food was intriguing/unique, and delicious.
We especially enjoyed the Humboldt Squid and the Steamed Prawns.
After dinner, we returned to our hotel, stopping by the nearby Chapters Bookstore to browse the latest books. Chapters are far superior to Barnes & Noble bookstores; it was nice to browse a well-stocked store. The nearby Starbucks had free Wi-Fi, so I could read all my email updates.
Chapters had some excellent Kobo e-readers on display. I liked the Kobo readers but are more expensive than the Amazon Kindles I've been using.
The nighttime view of Vancouver (from the balcony of our Sutton Place Hotel) was fantastic.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
After another mandatory stop at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, we decided to explore the shops at Granville Island while it was raining and head to Capilano Suspension Bridge afterward.
Granville Island is a public market with many shops, restaurants, and art galleries. There was a lot of fresh produce, and we sampled a few local cookies and other delicacies.
After coffee, we drove to Capilano Suspension Bridge, north of Vancouver. We walked over the bridge and explored the beautiful cedars and other trees.
Afterward, we returned to the Vancouver waterfront for more gelato and the Bella Gelateria, followed by dinner at West Restaurant. West is a reasonably upscale fusion restaurant. We liked all of the food and the exceptional service.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
We drove to Tsawwassen ferry terminal and took the 9:00 a.m. BC Ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. We spent the day in Butchart Gardens and Victoria.
Monday, May 27, 2013
We drove from Sidney to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and took the 9:00 p.m. BC Ferry to Tsawwassen, near Vancouver.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
After breakfast at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, we headed to the Bill Reid Museum. Although Bill Reid Museum was closed, we were allowed in for a small donation. We saw lots of interesting carvings and totem poles.
Although it was raining, we decided to see Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
After visiting the Chinese Garden, we took the Skytrain back to Burrard Ave and did window shopping on Robson St, downtown Vancouver.
We stopped by for lunch at Bellagio Cafe, where we both enjoyed delicious salads.
Afterward, we stopped for some cappuccinos at Cafe Artigiano, next door - Inna's favorite coffee shop.
Then, we picked up our car and drove to Seattle, Washington, for our return flight home.
Friday, May 24, 2013
After waking up, we ate breakfast at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe in Vancouver. Thierry Cafe had terrific, freshly baked croissants, which we ordered along with cappuccinos. This is our favorite Vancouver shop for pastries, cakes, London Fogs, and cappuccinos. The pastries and desserts looked fantastic; we were back in Paris!
Since the weather was sunny and warm, we decided to rent bicycles and ride around Stanley Park. Inna wanted an electric bike, but Ezee Riders Bike shop had no full-size electrics to rent. We ended up renting two mountain bicycles with helmets. My bike had a charming basket for storing miscellaneous items (i.e., bike locks).
We rode all over Stanley Park, stopping to take photos and enjoying the fantastic, sunny weather.
We saw some beautiful Totem Poles from the First Peoples of North America.
The beautiful Lions Gate Bridge was nearby. We rode underneath it.
There is a beautiful bronze statue of a mermaid on the trail.
As lunchtime approached, we decided to eat lunch at the Teahouse at Stanley Park.
After lunch, we explored the nearby beach. We saw a few people swimming in the cold water!
After the beach, we headed for Beaver Lake, following biking/walking trails. There were many trails, and we had to stop and review our map to ensure we did not take the wrong trail.
We finally arrived at the beautiful Beaver Lake.
The ride to Beaver Lake was quite scenic (through beautiful trails in Stanley Park), and I recorded a small portion for fun.
Beaver Lake was covered with green plants (it didn't look like a lake at first). As Inna wanted to visit the Stanley Park Aquarium, we headed there. However, the Aquarium closes at 5:30 p.m., and we decided to postpone it, as it was 4:30 p.m. and a bit too late. We returned to the Ezee Riders Bike shop, dropped off our bikes, and explored the waterfront.
We also stopped by at the Rose Gardens, but the roses were not blooming yet.
Vancouver's Coal Harbor Waterfront had a few cruise ships departing.
At the waterfront, we saw a few seaplanes taking off and then stopped by Bella Gelateria to try out the best gelato in North America.
We tried a couple of flavors we also make at home - Hazelnut, Vanilla, and Matcha Green Tea.
We also met the owner, James Coleridge, who talked about his experience with Bella Gelateria. James was against using egg yolks in gelato and used none in Bella Gelateria's recipes. He used guar - instead of egg yolks - to stabilize the mixture. James does not like the extra calories and cholesterol from egg yolks. In terms of flavor, Bella's recipes or our own, based on Ciao Bella's Cookbook, were superior. Both tasted equally delicious to us and had the same creaminess.
Using guar gum simplifies gelato production and removes the need to buy lots of eggs. Some people feel that using guar is inferior and was mainly done to reduce production costs (see the Italian Snow Job).
After sampling a few more flavors of gelato - especially the Chocolate sorbet, we decided to explore the nearby Gastown neighborhood. Gastown has a lot of fascinating lamps and a steam-powered clock. As we had dinner reservations in Chinatown, we headed there next.
Chinatown was busy, and we eventually found our restaurant - Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie. It was noisy and crowded inside, but the food was intriguing/unique, and delicious.
We especially enjoyed the Humboldt Squid and the Steamed Prawns.
After dinner, we returned to our hotel, stopping by the nearby Chapters Bookstore to browse the latest books. Chapters are far superior to Barnes & Noble bookstores; it was nice to browse a well-stocked store. The nearby Starbucks had free Wi-Fi, so I could read all my email updates.
Chapters had some excellent Kobo e-readers on display. I liked the Kobo readers but are more expensive than the Amazon Kindles I've been using.
The nighttime view of Vancouver (from the balcony of our Sutton Place Hotel) was fantastic.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
After another mandatory stop at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, we decided to explore the shops at Granville Island while it was raining and head to Capilano Suspension Bridge afterward.
Granville Island is a public market with many shops, restaurants, and art galleries. There was a lot of fresh produce, and we sampled a few local cookies and other delicacies.
After coffee, we drove to Capilano Suspension Bridge, north of Vancouver. We walked over the bridge and explored the beautiful cedars and other trees.
Afterward, we returned to the Vancouver waterfront for more gelato and the Bella Gelateria, followed by dinner at West Restaurant. West is a reasonably upscale fusion restaurant. We liked all of the food and the exceptional service.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
We drove to Tsawwassen ferry terminal and took the 9:00 a.m. BC Ferry to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. We spent the day in Butchart Gardens and Victoria.
Monday, May 27, 2013
We drove from Sidney to Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal and took the 9:00 p.m. BC Ferry to Tsawwassen, near Vancouver.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
After breakfast at Thierry Chocolaterie Patisserie Cafe, we headed to the Bill Reid Museum. Although Bill Reid Museum was closed, we were allowed in for a small donation. We saw lots of interesting carvings and totem poles.
Although it was raining, we decided to see Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
After visiting the Chinese Garden, we took the Skytrain back to Burrard Ave and did window shopping on Robson St, downtown Vancouver.
We stopped by for lunch at Bellagio Cafe, where we both enjoyed delicious salads.
Afterward, we stopped for some cappuccinos at Cafe Artigiano, next door - Inna's favorite coffee shop.
Then, we picked up our car and drove to Seattle, Washington, for our return flight home.
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