Monday, May 12, 2014

Vacation Recap - Vancouver

 
 















We had a wonderful time on our vacation over the past 2 weeks!

We wanted to do something a bit larger/different for our 10 year anniversary, which is towards the end of May and we decided on an Alaskan cruise and it did not disappoint! The scenery and wildlife was absolutely breathtaking. Like nothing we've ever seen.

Since the ship left out of Vancouver, Canada and came back through Seattle, WA, we decided to add 2 nights on at the beginning and end, since we hadn't been to either city before and heard good things about both.

I'll do a few separate posts detailing some of the main activities from each of the locations we went to, in order to break things up a bit.

We started out the trip by flying most of the day on a Saturday and arrived late at night. We stayed at the L'Hermitage hotel and it was great! They upgraded us to a full on suite, which was more like an apartment/condo, complete with full kitchen, huge balcony and washer/dryer. That was great, because my mom was joining us for the trip, so we had plenty of room.

The staff was incredibly, genuinely friendly. It was more of a boutique hotel/private residence facility and we just couldn't get over how great everyone was, from the front desk, to the bell man, to the concierge. They referred to me by name each time we came in and out.

We also can't say enough about Vancouver, Canada. We heard the city is vibrant and super clean/safe and it really was! Everyone was so nice and the city was so clean and there was a lot going on. Actually more than there normally would be, there was a huge running event, the Vancouver Sun Run Sunday and we didn't know about that ahead of time.

It actually didn't change our plans too much, we were going to be taking a hop on/off tour bus to do a full loop around and see the main sights around the city. We also decided to go check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge, a narrow, hanging walkway, 231 feet above the valley floor below.

I'm not a huge fan of heights and the fact that the bridge sways didn't help, but we all made it! Then you can also wander on other smaller bridges and paths through their temperate rain forest on the other side. Way cool place!


When we got back, we had lunch on the waterfront and then planned to jump on the bus tour a little afterwards. It was a wee bit chilly/windy right on the water on that particular side of the building they seated us. All the sunny warm spots on the other side were taken, but the wifey was determined to eat outside to get the full experience.


Then we jumped on the tour bus and got to take a full 2 hour loop around the city and to Stanley Park. Unfortunately we didn't have time to jump off and check out the Granville Island Market like we had planned, but that was ok. We got to see most of the city and main landmarks in about 2 hours.

We then went back to the hotel and headed out to dinner at the Kingston Tap House, which was right across from the hotel. We had some good micro-brews, great food and again, the staff was so genuinely friendly!


The wifey had some Maple Black Pepper wings there and she said they were the best wings she's ever had! That is saying something for someone from Buffalo, the home of the Chicken Wing! She liked them so much, she had to go to Whole Foods to get some true Maple Syrup to try and reproduce them.


If you ever have the opportunity to visit Vancouver, I'd highly recommend it. It is a very walkable, safe, happening place and we could have spend a bunch more time there. The weather was great as long as you were in the sun, but summer is when they really have the best weather.

It is great city, on the water that also has snow-capped mountains as a backdrop and the people really help to give it a fun, homey feel.

2 comments :

Crystal said...

Looks like so much fun!!! What beautiful city to visit!

Jen said...

Looks and sounds like a great city! Glad you were able to tour around for a bit.

 
Design by Free WordPress Themes | Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premium Blogger Themes