Day 13: More Vancouver

We stayed in a cute little hotel for a great price (thank you Tablet for a great recommendation)

Outside of hotel- felt a little dodgy with the 7-11 and homeless people- at first glance. This is before we realized that all neighborhoods in Vancouver seem to have a large population of mentally ill aggressive panhandlers. 

Great interior- had the vibe of the Standard without the affected clientele. 

We left our hotel in search of an amazing breakfast. It was 8:45am. We walked to the number one rated breakfast spot in Vancouver. It was closed. What time do these people wake up?? We instead settled for a small joint called Blue Mountain

Not what I was expecting. I should have known we were in trouble when the waitress asked if we wanted white or brown toast. The chocolate milk was a cold version of swiss miss and water. It was an asian interpretation of an american breakfast. 

Let me talk for a moment about the demographics of Vancouver to explain the strange meal. 49% of the population are Caucasian, 30% Chinese with the balance as other. For all of you that have traveled in Asia, I know you understand this strange sandwich and drink. 

The city has european toilets, chinese buildings, but people sound american (there are a few exceptions to talk a-boat). Sometimes the combination works out well (last night's dinner), sometimes it misses the mark. 

We decided to head over to Granville Island for the day. We heard it is amazing.

View from the ferry dock

Tiny ferry to Granville Island. It only seats about 18 people. It was cute. 

Self portrait on ferry

Market on Granville Island. It looked like it had great fresh bread, fruits, veggies , meats and cheeses. It would be a great place for a local to do their grocery shopping. 

After checking out Granville Island, we wanted to get a feeling for the rest of Vancouver. We hop on the ferry again and head to a neighborhood called Yaletown. It has lots of salons, bars and restaurants. There are quite a few converted warehouses.

We stopped for a bite at the Flying Pig

Fancy Canadian Poutine- NikiBu said we must have it!

From Yaletown, we took the train to Gastown. Gastown is the oldest section of Vancouver. The highlight was the old clock.

This was built over a steam vent and is powered by the steam. The clock chimes every 15 minutes with the steam. 

We head back to the hotel for a short rest and decide on Indian for dinner. The number one Indian place was too far a walk, so we settle on the number 2 Indian restaurant in Vancouver- Sutra.

Nice masala, but the highlight was the garlic naan

James had the vindaloo. For future reference, you should not eat indian food the night before a 6 hour drive. 

The largest glass of wine we have ever seen. James tried King Fisher. Our waiter said it was one of the mos popular beers in India and they sponsor the formula one race car team. How could James resist?

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow- Portland, OR.