The BIG 50th Vancouver Vacation Sept/Oct 2021 - Day 1 - Cycling around the city and cocktails!

[smithlane]

Day 1 - Thursday 30th September 2021

Woke up at a fairly reasonable time of 5.30. Jim had been awake a while so he’ll be tired later

Helen and Nick were up so we decided to get showered and dressed then go and find some breakfast.
We got down to the lobby first so grabbed a coffee from the cafe they have here at the hotel. It’s like a little newsagent that sells all sorts of things you might need.

I had us down for breakfast at a Tim Hortons but everyone wanted something a bit more substantial so had a quick look on Google maps and found a place not far from where we’ll be hiring bikes from.

Cora’s breakfast & lunch was about a 15 min walk, straight down Robson Street, which is 2 mins from our hotel. The Sutton Place really is in a fab location.

I'll be coming back here!

The weather was grey and drizzly but the Accuweather app said it should be on and off and then brighten up later on so as we are hardy Brits we thought we’d just get on with it!

Found it no problem.
Forgot to mention last night but in EVERY food and drink establishment here in Vancouver you have to show your photo ID and vaccine certificate. It took some getting used to but it became second nature after a day or two.

As it was still fairly early we got seated no problem then had the huge task of figuring out what we wanted to eat from this huge menu!

I fancied an omelette so went with a cheddar cheese one which came with potatoes and toast then I added on a side of bacon and one chocolate chip pancake. I also got a hot chocolate and a water. Jim got the western omelette.

Food soon came out and was delicious, just what I needed! Sorry no photos, we wolfed it down
The bill came to about $65CAD per couple.

After a quick loo break we took the 5 min walk up to Spokes Cycle rentals.

Very friendly staff in here including a girl who came from Epsom, Surrey which is only about 10 miles from where we live, small world! She had moved out last year and was hoping to get permanent residency, she loves it here.

We hired cruiser bikes for us girls and mountain bikes for the boys. The seats were nice and wide so hoping we don’t have sore bums later

They take a credit card swipe but you don't actually pay until you return the bikes. They gave us some maps and told us the rough route to do to see the best of Stanley park as well as going over to Granville island.

We wanted to get some drinks so stopped at a Safeway round the corner first.
I picked up some drinks, a Party mix of crisps and cinnamon bun Oreos. Ooh so good
They also had a shelf of pre packaged goods for the food bank for $8 so I picked one of those up too.

We’ve noticed quite a lot of homeless people which I suppose is to be expected in a city but I know the winters are rough here so I’m glad they have schemes like this. I hope they’re looked after.

Once done we made our way towards Stanley Park doing an anti clockwise route round. It’s very bike friendly here with a dedicated cycle path all the way round.

We stopped off at various points taking in the fabulous views. It was such a shame the weather was grey and cloudy as I can imagine it would be stunning on a sunny day.
We found the famous totem poles, they’re very impressive! We had a quick look in the gift shop but surprisingly nothing was bought

We wanted to see the view from Prospect Point so took the very steep road up. Holy hell this was hard and very reminiscent of our cycle ride going up to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran

The leaves were just starting to change colour, they were gorgeous

Finally made it and took in the views, again beautiful but would be better on a good day. We might drive back here if the sun comes out tomorrow.

Onwards towards Third Beach which was frankly quite disappointing and English Bay which was lovely!

The most Canadian thing I’ve seen so far

Saw black squirrel which I didn't even know existed!

We needed to cross the bridge over to Granville Island but struggled to find the beginning. It was very busy with cars but got there in the end.
There was only one sidewalk for pedestrians and cyclists so we walked our bikes over then when there was no one walking we cycled the last half.

Found some bike racks then went in search of a drink.

The market area is very much like Covent Garden or Chelsea Market with small independent shops and fresh produce to buy. They also have various different fresh food options on offer.

I wasn’t particularly hungry so got a portion of chips and salsa with a cookie from the bakery next door.

Jim got a bbq chicken and bacon sandwich from the German place as well as a German dark ale to try. They were trying to get me to try one but I'm strictly a cocktail kinda gal!
We found some seating outside under a covered area, it was nice to rest our weary feet.

Once we were rehydrated and full we made our way back to the bikes. Popped into a couple of shops first.
A charming gift shop that sold lots of homemade items. Then into a gift shop and bought Hope a Vancouver hoody, her favourite clothing item at the moment, and the obligatory magnets.

We decided to not cycle back over the bridge but to follow the sea wall back round into the city.
This was a lovely ride, again very bike friendly.

Asked a Canadian couple to take a group photo for us, they loved our accents!

Went past the Science Village that looked great fun for kids then BC place which is home of the Whitecaps Soccer team and the BC Lions football team.

Next door is the Rogers Arena where the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team play so lots of great sport to see right in the centre of Downtown Vancouver.
Jim and Nick had a quick look in the gift shop.

From here we had a quick loo stop in the Marriott hotel then made our way north to find the famous Gastown Steam Clock

There were film crews everywhere so stopped and asked what was filming and it is for the series Madeline so one to keep an eye out for.

We parked the bikes up and went for a wander. Found another gift shop but this one was huge with a great range of North Face clothing at the back.
I picked up a huge bottle of Canadian maple syrup and some maple biscuits.

Jim then treated me to a North Face rain jacket and a hand painted Christmas decoration.

I was having problems with my Caxton card saying the PIN number was wrong even though it was the one on my app! I managed to use contactless but have emailed and tweeted them to get it sorted as I have £500 on there

It was absolutely pouring down with rain so we took cover in a bar round the corner hoping it eases off by the time we need to ride our bikes back! Saw the clock whistling and shooting steam which it does every quarter hour

The boys went with a Guinness while Helen and I went with a sex on the beach!

These were good! So good in fact we got another one

By the time we’d finished the rain had thankfully stopped and the sun was even coming out. It was heating up now so needed to strip down a layer.

It was a very straight ride back to the bike shop. It was now nearly 4pm so we’d been out for almost 7 hours! My legs certainly felt it Thankfully no sore bum though

We paid up and with a 10% discount it came to $79.20 per couple so good value for the length of time we were out for. I’m sure it was $20 for 2 hours per bike in Santa Monica!

We now made the walk back to the hotel, again straight up Robson Street.

Up to the room to dump our bags and have a quick wash and change we went straight back out over the road to Joey Burrard’s for some cocktails! The plan was to have a few drinks, go back to the hotel to get showered and dressed then head out for dinner.

We got a table for 4 in the bar area. It’s quite a fancy place and we felt seriously underdressed still in our leggings and hoodies but oh well!

I went for my absolute favourite cocktail of a cosmopolitan while the others all had mojitos

Next I tried a passion fruit martini but this was unbelievably strong, almost pure vodka so our lovely server Laura brought me out some more passionfruit mixed with soda water. Much better!
Another Cosmo followed then Helen’s pick of a Moscow mule. This was lovely, nice and zingy.

Jim’s pick was a raspberry vodka with cloudy lemonade, ooh this was good! Very refreshing.

It was becoming increasingly clear we weren’t going to make it back to the hotel to get changed so we decided to just eat here
I got a Bombay Butter chicken and rice whilst the other 3 went with hot wings and fries. You may see a pattern forming here with the amount of chicken wings that get eaten this holiday!

The food was amazing, I got a Diet Coke as I needed something non alcoholic to drink with my dinner.

It was Nick’s cocktail pick next and he chose a dark rum with coke and lime. I had a very bad experience with Captain Morgan’s in my youth so I sat this one out. I’d drunk far more than I normally do so was quite happy to end the night with my Diet Coke!

It was now nearly 11pm and we’d been on the go all day so we got the bill which was a very hefty $200 per couple . I suppose we had drunk loads
I left a $30 tip as Laura had been great fun all night.

We made the 2 minute walk across the road back to the hotel and literally crashed out in bed as soon as our heads hit the pillow

[anji]

Fabulous first day and I can't believe how much you did on those bikes! Bet you ached the next day. I'm worried about falling off early in the holiday as I've not ridden a bike for years and can be 'accident prone'!

The cocktails look wonderful - good move there

We saw black squirrels in Niagara, also brown, tan and patchy ones! There are actually black squirrels in Hertfordshire - my daughter had a baby, followed by mum chasing it, come into her kitchen in Hitchin once!

[Melbatb]

What a lovely day- you did so well with all that cycling! Bought back lots of memories!

I hope you weren’t aching the following day!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by anji

Fabulous first day and I can't believe how much you did on those bikes! Bet you ached the next day. I'm worried about falling off early in the holiday as I've not ridden a bike for years and can be 'accident prone'!

The cocktails look wonderful - good move there

We saw black squirrels in Niagara, also brown, tan and patchy ones! There are actually black squirrels in Hertfordshire - my daughter had a baby, followed by mum chasing it, come into her kitchen in Hitchin once!

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Haha I was close a few times to falling off! The only 2 times I’ve ridden a bike in the last 2 decades was in Vancouver and San Francisco 😂

They were excellent cocktails!

Are there really? I would never have known! Jim’s parents live in Stevenage, I’m going to ask them if they get any in their garden. We only get the boring grey ones in London 🤣

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Melbatb

What a lovely day- you did so well with all that cycling! Bought back lots of memories!

I hope you weren’t aching the following day!

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Thanks Mel, it was a fantastic first day! Vancouver is definitely up there as one of my favourite cities!

[Beaker's Fluff]

Wow what a day…. Amazing

[CrispyA]

Wow, that’s a super busy day! Looks like great fun and well done on your bike ride

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Beaker's Fluff

Wow what a day…. Amazing

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It was such a fab day, an amazing start to the holiday!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by CrispyA

Wow, that’s a super busy day! Looks like great fun and well done on your bike ride

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We couldn’t believe we managed to keep going the whole day without an afternoon nap 😂. It really is a lovely city that is small enough to see everything very easily by bike

[JoS]

What a great day and you did so much. Well done on the bike riding. What a great way to see everything. Cocktails sounded lovely. Sorry the weather wasn't at its best. Thanks for sharing this with us.