#bffandredtakeyvr - Favourites

I could post so many more moments, and memories from this trip, but I thought I would close it out with my favourites.

I am a beachcomber at heart. This sight makes my heart sing.

BFF likes dead-people-benches. Some of the benches in Stanley Park are advertisements for when you have a dead person who needs a bench.

I have a version of this very photo from about 4 years ago with mine and Dude's feet.

Rose garden in Stanley Park. The light and shadows were perfection.

Historic buildings covered in ivy with old neon signs are my jam.

 This sculpture outside of Stanley Park made me smile!

The view from our balcony was a happy surprise. English Bay on the left, Stanley Park at the end, and rainbows everywhere. I took loads of photos from this spot.

The bright white dot that appears to be floating above the buildings in the centre of the frame is this glorious tree atop a residential building. And the floating dot to the right is a ski hill!

 This store was full of expensive "chic" items (boring), but at the back there were all these beautiful drool worthy succulents and they all had names!

This is where the cruise ships come. There weren't any, but it's still neat-o.

 MacLeod's Bookstore. Not for the faint of heart. But if you are a fan of used bookstores, you must stop in. Be warned, they have no Le Guin.

The Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. We got the rundown on the train and the history of the neighbourhood from a gentleman born in Wetaskiwin. Alberta Represent.

xo

#bffandredtakeyvr - Obligatory Food Post

BFF & I spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC for a little rest and relaxation....and food. To be very honest, I had nothing planned for this trip other than our hotel, and a Distillery Tour (see below), but I had high hopes to eat a lot of tasty food over the weekend.

We arrived at Brunch Time on Friday morning, and headed straight for The Twisted Fork, on Granville.This was a place I found on the internet when I googled "best brunch in Vancouver." And it was a gem. So warm in there though, holy doodle! Our coffee came in a french press, my veggies and eggs were done just right. And the whole thing was served with giant pieces of sourdough bread and homemade jam. Yum.

We literally spent almost the entire rest of the day wandering around Stanley Park. It was glorious, but we were exhausted and famished when we finished up, and didn't want to make a big deal over dinner. Essentially, we wanted quick food that was close by. Enter The Capital. This little pub was about a block away from our hotel, and advertised "all food on the menu is $4.95". Now, you might be cringing at that number, thinking what on earth would be worth eating for that measly amount, but it was delicious! I mean, truly scrumptious, and good portion sizes too! I had the veggie burger with added beets. Any place that offers beets as an addition to your meal is A+ in my books!

We found ourselves near the waterfront around lunch time on Saturday, so we started watching out for somewhere to eat. Steamworks is a brew pub in what appears to be a historic building neighbouring the main train station downtown. There is a restaurant (minors allowed) upstairs, and pub downstairs, which is where we were seated. Varied menu, with their craft beers on tap. I tried their Golden Coconut Ale, and it was flipping amazing! I cannot fully explain to you how surprised and delighted I was at how the coconut complimented the brew...I am on the lookout for a six-pack in town now! We started with this enormous pretzel covered in melted cheddar and served with some sort of horseradish mustard dipping sauce. My veggie burger was nothing special, but the patty was stuffed with cheese, so they get bonus points there.

As I mentioned above, the only activity I really planned for this trip was an afternoon distillery tour on Saturday. And while it wasn't precisely what I was expecting, it was still a lot of fun! We stopped at three different distilleries around Vancouver, and sampled whatever they happened to have for us. There was no real talk about what we were drinking, which was slightly disappointing, but we did learn more about the distilling process. And tasted some fine fine alcohol. So fine. Who knew aged vodka was a thing?!

Bruch (again), this time at The Distillery Bar + Kitchen in Yaletown. Voted best distillery kitchen in the world or something? Whatever. We heard they had bottomless mimosas for $10, so we were ready to deal with whatever they were serving for food. And let me just say, we got our money's worth and more in mimosas! There was a football game on (loud...) and 90% of the tables had reserved signs on them, which was really lame, but we were in and out in an hour.

Overall, lots of tasty experiences had that weekend. I forgot to mention the late night pizza delivery we got on Saturday night! We passed a couple of Goldie's Pizzas on our wanderings, and BFF took down their number just in case. We ordered a LARGE vegetarian, and it was possibly the most perfect pizza. Thin and crispy crust, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese, and enormous! And they delivered right to our door!

I have simple tastes. If you bring a perfect, thin crust, vegetarian pizza right to my door, I'm yours forever.
xo

#bffandredtakeyvr - Obligatory Fashion Post

Must haves on a YVR vacation in Janary:
- Blundstones, for all the walking
- Alpaca socks, see above
- Adventure Hat, because "Adventure" (duh)
- Easy layers (probably some plaid in there)
- Alpaca socks!

Vancouver is a weird fashion city. SO MUCH ACTIVE WEAR! And since the weather is cold but also not cold, people are wearing sneakers and capris with bare legs, but they've got their parka, scarf and toque on as well.

We stumbled upon this amazing hat store in Yaletown. Goorin Brothers has been around for ages, and goodness me I just googled them and see they have a store in Calgary. Eeep! Sorry, got sidetracked (again) by the cute hats.

Oh man, you guys, I have had a thing for hats ever since elementary school. I have a history of buying hats as souvenirs on trips. But not on this trip. BFF could find a hat in there for cheap, but no luck for me. I tried on as many as possible, and I ooohd and aaaahd over all of them, before putting them back on their cute little stands and walking out empty handed.

Another must have for a vacation to YVR is an Adventure Buddy!

BFF got a lot of "take a photo of me in front of that _________ " on this trip.

He doesn't flinch anymore when I ask him to take a photo of me. Actually, I don't know if he ever has. He might chuckle, but that usually just means he is taking more photos than I asked for...

BFF rarely takes photos on his phone, but he bought a fancy Instax last year for special occasions. Turns out that means taking photos of me looking beautiful...not because I asked him too, but because he wanted to. [heart-eyed-emoji]

xo