I had the pleasure of spending my last week in the beautiful west coast of Canada, in Vancouver. Although I was there for work, I had a little bit of time to take in the sights and sounds around me, and of course, enjoy some of the amazing food that the city has to offer. My coworker arrived around 7:30pm at night, and drove through the dark drizzle to the Sheraton downtown, where we would be spending the next 6 nights. Immediately after checking in, we headed out on the hunt for sushi. While trying to locate a sushi restaurant that we had found online, we came across Sushi Osaka on Burrard Street. The prices were right, and we gorged ourselves while chatting about the days to come.
The following day, we spent 13 hours in a personal development with the intention of transforming us into new and improved people. The best part about our 13 hours stuck inside was our breaks next to the amazing healthy, fast food location, Smak. This place was completely gluten free with an assortment of salads, nori wraps, and curries. From breakfast, to lunch, to snacks, this place was good to me the three days that I was learning all about myself. While breakfast and lunch was spent at Smak, I visited Cactus Club, as well as the amazing waterfront sushi restaurant, Miku. This was the type of place where the rolls are expensive, and it’s completely unrealistic to gorge oneself. Rather, this is the type of place where each piece of fish melts in your mouth and the flavours are so divine you don’t even need soy sauce. While much more expensive than Sushi Osaka, Miku sushi leaves your wallet empty and your taste buds wanting more. This may just be the best sushi I’ve ever eaten.
By the time our 4th night in Vancouver came around, we were done with Smak and ready to branch out and eat something other than sushi, and we found ourselves at a little Indian joint called Salam Bombay. The place is on the second level of a building, overlooking Burrard Street, and the portions were perfect and the price was right. I would definitely go back to this place again… if I was in Vancouver longer, that is!
Following the conference, we were greeted with a beautiful blue sky and the perfect day for exploring Vancouver. We wandered through Yaletown, crossing the Cambie Street bridge and making our way over the lululemon lab, which was a pretty cool experience. Shopping was followed by a thorough exploration of Whole Foods, which is always a must on my list. I fell in love with Whole Foods just over 3 years ago when I was staying near to one in London. I’ve had a love affair ever since! I didn’t want to be too full though, because next up was Chipotle! For those of you who have yet to experience Chipotle, get on it!! It is like the Subway of Mexican food, but 100 times better. This place has create your own salads, bowls, burritos and tacos, served with might just be the world’s best guacamole. I love guac, so this is saying a lot! For just over $10 you can get a heaping bowl of Mexican goodies, chips and the amazing guac. You simply can’t go wrong with Chipotle!
I left Chipotle feeling full, yet content, and after digesting made my way to the popular YYoga to sweat it all out. Let me tell you – this yoga studio is nice. It has everything you could ask for, from a separate room for shoes, a room to relax and drink tea, to a sauna for after your practice. Not to mention that the change rooms are spacious with everything you need to sweat and continue on with your day. The yoga itself was pretty good too! After sweating out my Chipotle, I was off to meet friends at Nuba Cafe to enjoy some delicious Lebanese food. If I had been uncertain about Lebanese before (which I was a little), I am no longer. This place was small, cute, and served a well-portioned, and delicious meal.
On my final day in Vancouver, I treated myself to a less than exquisite and over priced room service meal, before heading down to Gas Town for a yoga class at One Yoga. This place was right up my alley, with floor to ceiling brick walls, dark wood walls, and a grassroots feel. The class was intense, but one of the best yoga classes I’ve done in a while, and I left wishing I had more time to practice there. Following yoga, I met another friend and we had lunch at the Flying Pig, a cute little corner location with amazing food. I should probably just stop here… but I’ll confess that that evening consisted of the final segments of my conference, followed by kombucha and take out Chipotle in my room with some TV. Nothing better to end the week!
Having been to Vancouver numerous times before, I have visited the aquarium, biked the sea wall around Stanley Park, and played at the science centre, all of which are must dos, in my opinion. I have also brunched and lunched on Granville Island, at places like Sandbar and Edible Canada. It is amazing to me that each time I visit Vancouver, I find something new to do and explore and somewhere new and amazing to eat at. Each time I return from Vancouver, I am left with the sound of the ocean crashing against the shore, and the beauty that is the west coast of Canada. Flying home to my beautiful mountain town of Canmore, I was greeted with etched peaks of the Rocky Mountains, reminding me that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.