Let's Go Places: Vancouver, British Columbia

 

Picking it up from last time, it's time to lead the Big City life for a few days.  Today we're going to Vancouver, which is the 3rd largest city in Canada (after Toronto and Montreal).

Where?

Here's the big picture of the city, and the red marker is my home away from home.

And here is a close up of my adopted neighborhood.  We're in a place called False Creek, and the Airbnb was right on the seawall.

Let's Rate the Airbnb!

In order to rate the Airbnb, we need to grade on a curve.  I picked the unit primarily for the waterfront location, and could tell from the listing that there were a few downsides.

The Good

• Right on the waterfront.
• Location, location, location.  This unit was convenient to everything
• Dedicated parking space
• A nice porch where I could people watch without being seen.

• Generally quiet
• Comfy bed
• Clean
• Felt safe
• Plenty of space for one person.  Not too big and not too small.
• The unit generally had everything that a person could want: decently stocked kitchen, plenty of towels, and a washer and dryer.

The Mid

• Several reviews mentioned that the furnishings were worn and dated.  There was nothing outrageously bad or out of the norm for your typical Airbnb, but it was also true.
• Uncomfortable layout: in order to use the microwave I had to bend backwards over the counter.
• Light switches in weird locations, but this was offset by the host labeling all of the switches and including explanations of where everything was.

The Silly

• You haven't lived until you've had a wood paneled fridge and dishwasher.

That knife block tho...where can I get one like that?

The Bad

• Not practical for remote work.  There was a wifi dead spot in the kitchen, so it didn't work to sit at the table.  I made do by setting up my laptop on the counter between the kitchen and the bedroom.

The "We're Grading on a Curve" Issue

• Um yeah, this.  There was a shower nozzle on the bathtub, but no shower.  I'm always on the alert for the dreaded "tiny shower" situation that I encountered in Sacramento, so of course I noticed the "there isn't really a shower" situation here.  I read every single review in the listing and determined that the situation was not ideal, but workable.
• The tub had a very slow drain, so every shower ended up being a bath to some extent.

Look, I'm assuming there is a reason why the owner didn't install a shower - maybe they had restrictions on what they were allowed to do with the space, maybe it was cost prohibitive, or maybe there's another reason that I'm not thinking about.  The real drawback is that there was no shower curtain, so water got everywhere.  Anyway, I was able to meet my showering needs for the three nights that I was there, and I mopped up as best as I could afterwards.  Note my earlier comment about the unit having plenty of towels.

If there had been a better option I would not have rented this unit, but I put off making my reservations until a bit later in the game, so the supply was limited.  The price was not a steal but it was fair, and there simply was not a better location out there.  So in spite of the silly non-shower situation, this was a 5 star stay.

Let's Explore Vancouver!

My first order of business on Monday was dinner.  I walked to a fancy Ramen place.  The picture looks dreadful but it was delicious.

Afterwards I went in search of a grocery store for breakfast fixings.  I got half and half for coffee, cut fruit, and an Amy's breakfast burrito.  I had never had one before, and while they are a little pricey they are also delicious.

Tuesday - a little work and then a lot of play

I was still waking up around 4:00, so I had a nice early start on the day.  I brewed up some coffee from home with my pour over filter.

At 6:00 I went out for a run/walk on the seapath.

And then I showered, nuked up breakfast, and hit the work stuff for a few hours.

Mid morning I went back into vacation mode.  In my mind there were three "must do's" for Vancouver: the Capilano suspension bridge, the Roedde House, and a bike ride around the sea wall.  Since the weather was perfect but there was a chance of rain the next day, I knew that Tuesday was my Capilano day.

Even though I had a car, my goal was not to drive in Vancouver.  In retrospect, the traffic wasn't horrible and it looked like there was ample parking most places, but it's not enjoyable to drive in a big city.  I was going to get a Lyft, but I knew that the driver would have trouble finding the condo so I walked a few blocks away where I knew that the pickup would be easier.  I noticed that the address for my location in the app was a little off.  It said that I was at 751 7th Ave, and I was standing in front of 750.  I didn't want to cross the street, so I changed it to 750 7th Ave.  The ride got picked up right away and the driver was two minutes out.

And then I happened to glance up and see that I was not on 7th Ave, I was on 6th Ave.  I didn't know how to change my location when the ride was already on its way, so I walked in another block to 6th Ave...oops there was a long and giant San Fransisco sized hill waiting for me.  I got my second workout of the day.  But things worked out so no harm no foul.

So what is the Capilano suspension bridge you may ask?  If you don't know the answer, then you haven't been to Vancouver.  The simple answer is that it is a suspension bridge...a very long and very high suspension bridge.

When I arrived I was given a map, so I could see that there was a lot to the park, but it was overwhelming and I wasn't sure where to start so I headed straight for the bridge.  When in doubt, go for the Big Wow thing.

I am someone who likes to climb moderately tall structures (example: lighthouses), and I've been on lower to the ground suspension bridges (example: Mohican state park and the Holden Arboretum back home).  That does not mean that I am a thrill seeker or someone who loves heights and being on big swingy structures.  The bridge was on the outer edge of my comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, I adored it, but it was on the edge.  It was huge, and there were a ton of people on it.  This is one of the few times that I looked down.

I couldn't decide if the evidence of repairs was comforting or terrifying.

And then after a looooong, looooong time, I made it to the other side.  The ground still felt like it was swaying.  So the bridge was a wow, but what else was there here to see?

There was a long pedestrian walkway.

Some very practical advice

Views for days:

And then: another suspension bridge!  I didn't appreciate the scope until I got on it, but it was a very long network of bridges that were much closer to the ground.

Yep, walking suspension bridges like it's NBD.

Finally I'd been to all of the things so it was time to walk back across the main bridge.  The bridge was a little less crowded, which actually made me feel a bit more uncomfortable.  That was when someone decided to be silly and tried to swing the bridge.  A voice boomed from a loudspeaker saying to cut it out.

Back on the other side I followed the signs to the Cliff Walk.  The adventure was not over yet.

The Cliff walk was decently long, and spectacular in its own right.

At this point I had explored the park, and my belly said that it was lunch o'clock.  There was a restaurant on site and obviously I am not going to eat at a lame overpriced theme park restaurant when I'm in a big city where there are epic food options galore.

Except...I kind of wanted to hang out in the park for a bit longer.

I had the poke bowl, and it was the stuff that dreams were made of.  The price was neither a steal nor outrageous.

As an added bonus, the meal included a free postcard.  Remind me to eat at lame theme park restaurants more often.

I tell you what, the trend of shorter videos on Youtube is really helpful for me to give you an extra peek at these places.  The only thing that it "off" is that in the video the park is practically empty.  That was certainly not the case IRL.

It was finally time to move on.  I wasn't sure what my next move was going to be, and the boring thing would have been to get another Lyft and go back to the Airbnb.  But I saw that there was a free shuttle to take folks downtown, so I chose the potentially interesting thing and got in that line.  It wasn't too long of a wait.  The bus was pretty full, and I saw another woman sitting alone, so I asked if the seat next to her was free.  It was, and she was chatty and very fun to talk to.  She was an ER doc who retired in her early 60s, which was miraculously in 2019, and she said that being an ER doc in 2020 was no joke.  As soon as the whole COVID thing cleared up she started traveling.  She was sitting alone because she was with two other friends, and they were going on an Alaskan cruise the next day.  We had a fun chat about travel.

The bus dropped us off at Canada Place, and I realized that it was the perfect time to get my sea wall bike ride in.  I started off on foot.

A little while later I got bored with walking, so I pulled up the Rogers app and found the nearest bike share.  There are a ton of bike rental places on the sea wall, but I went with the one with the most drop off locations.

I can't bike and take pictures at the same time, so you just have to take my word for it that I saw incredible things.

I knew that the sea wall would eventually go past my place, and it did, but it was a lot longer of a distance than I was prepared for.  I wanted a treat after the long ride, so I went a bit further onto Granville Island.

I dropped the bike at the return station on the island, and went in search of ice cream.  It was a letdown after the ice cream that I'd had at Nicole's, but it gave me a chance to relax and people watch.

And then at long last I went back to the Airbnb to rest and then I set out on foot again in search of dinner.  I tried another Ramen place, and my only critique was that there was very little broth.  But it was otherwise quite good.

I was exhausted, and between the workout, the rushed climb to meet my Lyft, the endless walking, and the 11 mile bike ride, the reason was pretty clear.  I went back to my pad and slept like a baby.

Wednesday - less feet, more ferry!

I slept in until after 5:00 on Wednesday.  I don't think that I would have worked out anyway since it was going to be another day with a lot of walking and possibly more bike riding, and it was also pouring rain so that sealed the deal.  I had a leisurely breakfast, and then worked for a few hours.

My top priority for the day was the Roedde house, and I could see that it wasn't that far away, but the devil was in the details because it was on the other side of False Creek.  I could have driven, I could have taken a Lyft, and I could have figured out the bus.  But there was another option that was a lot more fun.  You see, Vancouver is a big city, and there are lots of people who are "on the wrong side of the creek" at any given time.  Where a lot of people have a problem, there will always be a solution.

I got a day pass for the ferry and was across the creek in no time.   There are a couple of ferry companies, and they run frequently.

Then it was a short walk to Roedde House.

So what is the Roedde House and why did I want to go there?  Generally speaking, I like old house tours, and I'd seen it in a Youtube video.  I didn't know exactly what the fuss was about, but my spidey sense told me that I needed to go.

The big deal about the Roedde house is that it's the story of the family who lived there, and the architect is a Big Deal.  Francis Rattenbury would later design some of the most important buildings in Victoria, which is where I was headed the next day.  He didn't normally design houses, but the Roeddes were friends so he helped them out.  Rattenbury's career skyrocketed, and then he decided to play FLW and leave his wife for another woman, which turned out badly for all parties - most notably Rattenbury who was murdered by his new wife's lover.  Isn't your life so much simpler in comparison?

The detail that caught my eye was the man of the house's shaving cups and ewer.  The guide told us the fun fact that back in his day pink was a power color.  Where have we heard that before?  Oh hello Ohio Capitol building!

After the tour I walked back to the ferry and rode it around for a while.

I walked around for a bit more, and then had a non-Ramen dinner, that was the first non-remarkable meal of the trip.  

Later that night I took one last look from my porch and savored the last bit of the city.  I was both very content with my visit and ready to move on to the next stop.  But that's a story for another day.

Thanks for the good times Vancouver!  Who's been there?  Who's been on the Capilano bridge???