Vancouver False Creek townhouse and marina; snot quotient obstacle; famously fit Vancouverites; downtown and the skytrain; no dogs allowed, but bring on the coyotes; inukshuk welcome; marathon supporters; A-maze-ing Laughter by Yue Minjin; uber-glam quintet in Morton Park; the club of clubs; the Sandbar never disappoints; Whistler day trip; most scenically situated Lululemon in the world; not just family, but new-found friends – thank you, Brad and Ingrid, for your amazing hospitality!
My cousin Bradley and his lovely wife, Ingrid (scroll down for a great picture of them), have a beautiful townhouse that’s ideally located in Yaletown, right on the False Creek marina where he keeps his boat. They are the same my-cousin-and-his-wife who met us off the HAL Westerdam a few days ago and took us to their home on Gabriola Island. (Click here for that post, Part Two of three on Vancouver.)
If I didn’t have an annoying head-cold, I’d be joining the many people running along the sea wall promenade: Vancouverites are famous for being fit and active. Brad says you can follow this path all the way to the lush greenness of Stanley Park, which is criss-crossed with hiking and biking trails.
That would happen in a day or two, once my snot quotient had abated.
Today, Roy and I found our way by foot to the buzzy downtown area – Pacific Centre is just 1.6km from Marinaside; and came back on the wonderfully convenient skytrain, just one stop on the Canada line. This line also takes you to the airport. What a boon!
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Sunny Sunday Walk
On this lovely morning for a walk-jog – chilly at 9 degrees Centigrade, yet gorgeously sunny – I was out for close on two hours. Turning right from the Marinaside apartment, I followed the sea wall all the way to Stanley Park. There was a special buzz in the air, as the Vancouver Marathon was taking place. (That said, Vancouver host several dozen road races each year.)
What I saw:
- A street hockey game, the players on skates – Brad explains that they do this to train for the winter season of what I might ignorantly have called ice hockey.
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The Aquabus, which takes passengers across to Granville Island and stops at various points around False Creek; there are 17 of these little vessels, and you shouldn’t have to wait more than 15 minutes for one to come along.
- An elderly man tending the gardens at Granville Bridge.
- The Inukshuk, a symbol of Inuit welcome.
- English Bay Beach
- Bewildering public sign on English Bay Beach
- 2025 Vancouver Marathon runners and their supporters – I liked these two messages:
- A-maze-ing Laughter in Morton Park, near English Bay Beach – a fabulous work in bronze by Chinese sculptor Yue Minjin. It’s said to be part of an art movement known as cynical realism, and linked to the events at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
- Five super-glamorous people near the seawall (see how the famous Canadian politeness is rubbing off on me?), who warmly agreed to be photographed by a friendly tourist.
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Wining and Dining in Vancouver City
I’ll start by saying that the grass-fed Australian lamb rack barbecue that Brad and Ingrid treated us to at home one evening was the best meal we had in Canada. Pity I didn’t take photos: too busy feeding my face, no doubt.
Dinner at Vancouver Club
Another amazing treat – which for Roy especially was a highlight: dinner at the Vancouver Club. Purpose-built in 1903 and sympathetically refurbished over the years, this fabulous establishment remains extremely popular, with plenty of high-earning younger members lining up to join the club.
Though it remains relevant by offering all sorts of recreational, sport, wedding, conference and other facilities, it still has all the grandeur, outstanding cuisine and attentive service you’d associate with a traditional club of this stature. Actually, it’s unlikely that there’s a better one anywhere in the world.
We started with cocktails in the members’ only lounge on the fourth level, walls panelled with wooden liquor lockboxes that date back to the beginning. For dinner in the gorgeous dining room (a flickering fire at either end, and massive copper light fixtures overhead), both Roy and I started with the outstanding octopus (sorry, My Teacher fans). We went on the excellent pork belly, as did Ingrid, while Brad ordered the daily special prime rib, complete with Yorkshire pudding et al. I can’t give prices; it’s one of those places where only members can pay.
Again, no photos, sorry… except for this one (below) that Roy took.
Sandbar, Granville Island, Vancouver
We took the Aquabus for the short cruise to Granville Island from the marina stop around a hundred metres from Brad and Ingrid’s front door. Sandbar is an iconic institution that the two of them have been going to for a good 25 years, and they say it never disappoints.
It has charm, lovely water views, a grand pianist and the kind of service that has become rare.
Dinner? We shared two memorable starters of tenderly wok-fried squid with garlic, ginger, chillies and more. Bradley recommended the memorable miso sable-fish, which came with veggies and delicious tiny roast potatoes; Ingrid had the salmon. A couple of bottles of Chablis later, there was still room for a sticky ice wine: Gewurtztraminer for me and a Taylor’s port for Ingrid.
Thai at Zab Zaab, Vancouver
Zab Zaab, a fabulous Thai restaurant in Yaletown, served me the best prawn tom yam and green chicken curry; Brad’s crispy squid was great, too.
Lunch at Provence, Marinaside
Our omelettes were good, yes, but the food was the least important thing about my lunch at Provence, just around the corner from my cousins’ place. It was a reunion with my schoolfriend from Durban Girls’ High, Monica Ferreira – now Monica James. Her family emigrated from South Africa to Vancouver when she (and I) were just 18.
So, it’s been close on half a century since we last saw each other. We’d connected on Facebook and recognised ourselves as kindred spirits.
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Whistler Day Trip
As a non-skier, I honestly never expected to find myself in the famous ski-village of Whistler. But here we are – 1.5 hours from Vancouver in the Range Rover, with a coffee stop at Squamish. Yes, Squamish, though it’s almost impossible not to read it as Squeamish. The local First Nations language, though politely used on directional signs – politeness being the Canadian national virtue, of course – is so impenetrable that I won’t even try to reproduce the translation here.
We’re here at the quietest time of the year, luckily for us. Only later in May will the crowds start pouring in, the huge car parks overflowing and the dozens of restaurants bursting at the seams.
Time for another Lululemon purchase – a bag, this time – from what has to be the most scenically situated Lululemon in the world.
Brewhouse at Whistler
Lunch was Cobb salads for the guys and good fish and chips for the girls at Brewhouse at Whistler. (And a fresh beer for me.)
So much for the Lower Village. You traverse the carpark and cross the bridge over a pretty river, named the River of Golden Dreams, to the Upper Village, where you find the gondola station for Blackcross Mountain and several more eateries. It also claims to have the best ice cream in Canada, which would have been rude not to purchase. Except for me – I’d already taken my carbs in the form of beer.
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The best thing about Vancouver?
Bradley and Ingrid’s wonderful hospitality during our ten days with them… way beyond the call of duty. Thanks, you two!
What’s more, as lovely as Vancouver is, I have to say that the best thing for me was getting to know my cousin again after so many years, and also making friends with Ingrid. I would never have expected us all to have so much in common… not just where we have come from, but where we are now. In fact, we’re already thinking about getting together again before too long.
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Up Next?
Looking for America! While we didn’t exactly board the Greyhound from Pittsburgh, we did board a Cantrail coach in Vancouver headed south to the USA – first stop, Seattle, Washington, before setting off in a rental car to explore the spectacularly scenic Washington coastline.
