Total number of steps taken/km walked on day 1: 26.6 thousand steps/20km
I had booked a stay at a hotel that would allow us to walk around the city and explore the area on foot as much as possible. And walk, we did! (Flash forward to the end of our 2-week vacation and we’d walked about 150km!)
First Impressions of Vancouver
Anyhow, I’m getting ahead of myself. Bright and early, we got up to start our day, to explore Granville Island and Downtown Vancouver. First thing’s first, I had to take a picture in front of a pharmacy in Vancouver (pharmacist fangirling over different pharmacies here!), fascinated by the different chains and independent pharmacies. Brands we don’t have back in Montreal always fascinate me, as well as different regulations from one province/country to the next. This beautifully designed place, Macdonald’s Prescriptions, was almost 100 years old here in Vancouver, right by our hotel!
We continued our morning stroll (hike??) towards breakfast. The city was beautiful. Everything looked foreign, yet not. It dawned on me much later that the oddity is that everything was written in English whereas I was used to advertisements in French, back in my province. Nonetheless, there were other aspects considered new to me: some flora I could only dream of seeing back in Montreal as well as the breathtaking view of skyscrapers with a background of majestic mountains just beyond the skyline.
Breakfast in Vancouver
Before coming to Vancouver, I knew I would explore food to the extreme when I was there. Montreal has wonderful restaurants, but my excitement for meals in Vancouver couldn’t be contained. Wicked Café was our first stop in this culinary experience. The thing that enticed me the most was definitely the Tom&Jerry cheesecake. Praying that its taste was as good as its looks, I was certainly not disappointed. As my partner so deftly explained, breakfast cannot simply consist of dessert (sadly!). So, we procured ourselves two more delicious items from their menu that morning, both vegetarian. If these pictures don’t make your mouth water, I don’t know what will!
Granville Island
Walking there, we spotted several indigenous arts. Pictures were taken. And taken. And taken. After several minutes (and quite a long walk), we spotted the neon sign signalling our arrival to the island. Everywhere we turned, there was something to see, eat or buy (much to my partner’s dismay). The Granville Giants, massive concrete silos painted by Brazilian artists, are a must-see. Even from our distance, they were breathtaking.
We had intended on getting a tour at the Granville Island Brewing, but it was unavailable due to the COVID19 pandemic. My fascination with alcoholic beverages limits itself to the creation process of the drinks. (And these tours or museums are always the most entertaining to visit!)
Downtown Vancouver
Having had our fill of Granville Island, we made our way to the ferry bringing us to the other side and on our way to explore Downtown Vancouver (and our lunch reservations).
Walking towards the restaurant, we passed a beach (and palm trees! Oh how I love love love palm trees).
Miku Restaurant
Lunchtime much-awaited, we headed to Miku for our reservation. This was by no means a budget trip (as we realized at the end of it all) but eating there for lunch offered an affordable option to try this acclaimed restaurant. Furthermore, they had delicious vegetarian options for my partner. What’s not to love? The vegetarian option, served with miso soup (which is not entirely vegetarian, I believe), consists of seasonal vegetable nigiri, Aburi sushi, seasonal goma-ae and tofu salad. I, myself, did not skimp on this meal, opting for the Lunch Shokai consisting of traditional and Aburi oshi, rolls, and nigiri served with two appetizers and miso soup.
Now, you might be wondering, just what is Aburi sushi? Meaning flame-seared, these are pieces of sushi that almost literally melt in one’s mouth. I hadn’t seen this in Montreal and even after extensive research, I realize that albeit being present here, it is a rare find.
Would I go back to Miku after having been there once already? Yes. Yes. 100 times yes. It is a must-try and I highly recommend it to anyone going to Vancouver.
Canada Place and Other Notable Things
After having eaten, we walked over to Canada Place. Beautiful, serene and by the water, it was an excellent way to give our stomachs the opportunity to digest the work of art of a meal we had just eaten.
Wandering some more, we got to the famous steam clock. A cute stop to be sure, but we continued our exploration after a few minutes of fascinated staring.
We walked (a long way from where we were to be quite honest) and ended up at the Konbiniya. Beautiful treats reminding me of my previous trips to Japan were present inside (as well as some very scrumptious onigiri, a rice ball stuffed with some filling or another, wrapped in nori).
Ending our day with some tempura at Tendon Kohaku, we were stuffed with deep-fried goodness and ready for bed.
Interesting Notes for Day 1:
Raspberries seem to be the weed of choice in Vancouver. Seeing them on the side of almost every road, I like to think the Vancouverites are quite lucky in their weed option.
J.J. McCullough. We spotted him as he was dashing across a street and waved hello! He’s a Canadian Youtuber with political and social commentary videos.
Cars. Vancouver seems to have a plethora of older cars in mint condition. I couldn’t help photographing my favourite ones. To note, my partner makes a good point in saying it’s probably due to the lack of snow in the area compared to our city of Montreal.
Want to know how we got here? See my previous article!
[…] Day 1: We explored Granville Island and Downtown Vancouver, passing by the steam clock and Canada Place. Getting the most of the touristy things to see and do, as well as wandering in the less touristy and more quiet areas of the city. I recommend trying breakfast at the Wicked Cafe (come bright and early, as despite being a small café, it gets busy fast!) and lunch at Miku (supper is definitely an option too, however, that tends to be on the pricier side, so depending on your budget, you may choose). […]