Vancouver
Another wonderful city we could see ourselves moving to. We were there in February, so it snowed, A LOT. Everyone we talked to told said it is a “year round city”. There is always something to do whether it’s snowing or sunny and warm. We could definitely see that and would love to go back during the summer to experience some of the other outdoor activities put on hold during the winter.
We rented a car for 3 out of the 7 days we were there so we could explore outside of the city. I’ve listed only favorites from this trip below. We stayed in Mt. Pleasant, so the majority of the restaurants and breweries we visited were in that area.
Mt Pleasant
FOOD
La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop
We loooove tacos. This place had an amazing selection of unique tacos and the staff was very friendly. Definitely check them out if you love tacos as much as we do. We had Taco de Lengua, Taco Hongos Kale, and Taco Calabacitas, and Burrito Tinga Pollo.
Earnest Ice Cream
We stopped here at least 3 times….it was right around the corner from our Airbnb and they had pints….holy ice cream, I never wanted to leave. The salted caramel was our favorite.
Rosemary & Rock Salt
This was another place we went to multiple times. We even bought 2 dozen Rosemary & Rock salt bagels to take back to Hawaii with us to share with our offices. That’s how good their bagels are. We bought half a dozen at the beginning of our trip, some of their cream cheese, and smoked salmon to put together for breakfast a couple mornings.
Fable Diner
We stumbled on this place when we were cold and starving. Luckily they have a something for everyone on their menu and we ended up with a Mushroom “LT” and a chickpea burger. The food was really hit the spot for us that day, but if you aren’t on this side of town I wouldn’t make a special trip.
Tacofina Food Truck
If you haven’t noticed by now we really love tacos and burritos. Arthur followed them on twitter all week to see if they were posted up anywhere near us. Luckily on one of our last days they were a street over from our apartment. It was well worth the wait! We had a Fish Burrito with pacific cod. Oh yes.
Yolk
If you’re a breakfast person, DON’T MISS YOLK! We were bummed we ate here on our last day….if we had found this place sooner we would have visited multiple mornings! I had Smoked Salmon Benedict with Lemon Truffle Oil Hash Browns (so good I wanted to cry). Arthur had Chicken and Waffles, also very good.
BEER
Main Street Brewing
Laid back atmosphere with good beer. It seemed like they could get crowded but we went on a week night and were one of 4 tables. We enjoyed some hot wings and a rosemary rock salt pretzel. If we lived here this would definitely be a spot we would hang out at often.
Brassneck Brewing
What a fun atmosphere! Somewhat of a small space but a really unique bar set up. We really enjoyed it here. My favorite was the Farmhouse Funky Ale and Bison beef stick.
33 Acres
We had a flight and moved on. It was VERY crowded and a bit noisy the night we went and we felt slightly underdressed. I had on nice jeans, boots, and a sweater. Arthur was wearing jeans and a flannel button up. It was a little too upscale for us but it was a nice setting. I think we would have enjoyed it more maybe during the day before the night crowd rolls in. It's also possible that everyone was together after a nice event. We would give them another shot if we're back in the area again.
Lighthouse Park
Don’t miss this! It was so beautiful and peaceful here! We would definitely go back again to do more exploring. There were hiking trails and a small beach close to the lighthouse. We saw seals, dolphins and bald eagles!
Deep Cove
This is one of the towns we used the car to get to. It wasn’t far from Vancouver and there were buses that would take you here, but we decided we wanted to take our time and not worry about the bus schedule. What really brought us here was the Quarry Rock hike. We were pleasantly surprised that there was a cute little town to explore as well. There were a couple shops and restaurants on the main street. It was pretty windy the day we were there, but it was so beautiful we didn’t mind.
Quarry Rock Hike
This hike was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! We would definitely do this again. It wasn’t a difficult hike, some steep steps at first but after that it was an easy incline from there. The trail to the top was lush and the trees were full of snow so every time the wind blew it felt like we had stepped into a fairytale. The view from the top was breathtaking. You need to do this hike if you’re in the area!
Honey
Best cup of coffee I had on the entire trip. I’m not sure if the coffee was actually that good or if I was so cold anything warm was going to be the best at that moment. They also had a nice selection of baked goods on display and a food menu that we unfortunately didn't get a good look at.
Grouse Mountain
In case you didn't know, there is some pretty great skiing right outside of Vancouver, including Whistler, the host mountain of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games just 2 hours north. But being beginner-level skiers, we didn't want to spend a fortune at a world class ski resort just to ride the bunny slope a couple dozen times. Grouse Mountain is right outside the city, and there was plenty to do that didn't require skis or a snowboard. We went in the afternoon to get a half day discount and stayed until 10pm. I did not have a good first skiing experience but Arthur was really enjoying the snow boarding. I left him on the slopes and spent a good bit of time in the lodge and walking around the light trail. If you don’t want to go far from the city for skiing this is a great spot. After I pouted about not being very good at skiing, I had a hot chocolate and ended up really enjoying the view and light trail. We did get double charged for our rentals, but the young girl at the help desk was very kind and patient and got it all figured out and refunded us. There was also a movie theatre in the lodge, snow shoe trails around the mountain, skating, and the light trail (see photo at right).
Gastown
This area is a lot of fun. We came here twice just to walk around and pop in and out of shops and restaurants. You can easily spend an entire day here.
Lamplighter Public House
This was probably our favorite bar for two reasons. 1. They had an incredible selection of beers on tap. I’m a sour beer kind of girl, and nowhere had any sours because they’re usually seasonal during the warmer months and we were there in the winter. WELL, this place had two great sours on tap! 2. They have pinball machines. Oh yea. We drank beer and played pinball for hours one rainy afternoon. This is what vacation is supposed to look like, right?
Pourhouse
This was one of the pricier places we stopped BUT we went at Happy Hour and felt it was very reasonable. We sat at the bar and had a great conversation with the bartender, very friendly. We had Rabbit Terrine and a Scotch Egg. SO GOOD!
bao down
All we had to read was "Asian Fusion" and we knew we had to try this place. Overall the food was good. Unfortunately the service was terrible. They were out of a lot of things on the menu, the waitress got our order incorrect, she barely checked on us, and then the kitchen staff occupied both bathrooms the entire time we were there. Maybe take out would have been a better option.
Guilt & Co.
We wanted to listen to some live music and Arthur read that this place had exactly that. When we went the cover charge was “pay what you want”. There was an AMAZING jazz band and LOTS of people swing dancing. It was a really fun atmosphere.
Granville Island
We walked around the island a little bit, but we were really there for the market. It is indoors and has a nice selection of vendors. Everything we read prior to our trip said we couldn’t miss this spot! We were expecting something along the lines of Pike’s Place in Seattle. It was much smaller, but cleaner and more organized than Pike's. Items we would buy again: Sockeye salmon stick, chai latte from Granville Tea Company, blueberry tart and cinnamon disc from Stewarts, and raw pasta and gorgonzola sauce from Duso's.
Squamish
Do you want to see something beautiful? Go to Squamish. The mountains and scenery will blow your mind. If you’re there during the winter like we were, PLEASE check road conditions before you go. There are signs that you need snow tires...our rental did not have snow tires and we made it there and back ok. BUT, we checked with the rental company first and it was sunny and relatively warm the day we went. The next day people got snowed in and we would have been in big trouble if we had gone just a day later.
Mt Garibaldi at sunset.
The Chief
We tried to hike the mighty Chief but the trail was too icy for us. We didn’t even make it to the first peak. If we had spikes on our shoes we probably would have gotten a little further. Luckily we pack for every occasion and had some meat, cheese, and bread on hand. We found a less icy spot by a river and had a picnic. We were super bummed we didn’t make it to the top. BUT, we’ll be back and this will be on our “must hike” list.
Shannon Falls
I've got a thing for waterfalls and this one knocked my socks off. It's a tiny park but the area is beautiful! It's easy to access, so you should stop and check this one out. Trust me, it's worth it.
Sea-to-Sky Gondola
I will say this was a little outside of our price range, but we didn’t make it to the top of the Chief and we really wanted to get a bird’s eye view of this area. They have a few activities at top including tubing and snowshoeing. I really wanted to go tubing but it was too icy and they had it closed down. We hiked a couple trails without snow shoes and had no problem. It really was beautiful at the top. We decided after spending a couple hours up there it was worth the ticket price for the view.
Howe Sound Brewing
So great! We had some of the BEST food here! Smoked trout salad, fried pickles, and seafood chowder. Don’t miss Howe Sound Brewing if you’re in Squamish!