Vancouver Trip 2011: Day 2
My girlfriend had to work for an hour or so that morning so we headed home to Vancouver, the real Vancouver so she could get ready for her facial client. I decided I was hungry so I left her suite in search of some food on Victoria Avenue. Now I am all for trying new things and experimenting with new foods, but sometimes I just want a good plate of scrambled eggs and sausages and nice cup of coffee. Well in the area of Victoria that I was in there was no Starbucks, Tim Horton's or any other familiar landmark in sight so exploring I went.
Along Victoria avenue are many Chinese markets, Chinese Bakeries and then there is a London Drugs and a McDonald's (if you are reading my other blog you will know that I have given up Fast Food for the last 6 months so I was not going to attempt that). I walked passed a coffee shop, that didn't at first look like a coffee shop so I was hesitant to enter. I decided it would be better if I continued onto to a place that looked like what it was advertising. I came across a Chinese Bakery and the smells drifting from the building so I decided I would be brave and see what they had to offer.
There were many varieties of buns and bakery items, it's strange because I can't really explain what they were but there were "Mexican" Rolls, and barbecue buns, sausage rolls, crusty rolls with creams in the middle and then these little banana and mango flavored rolls. I decided because I didn't want to have something that was super carbs I would get the mango and banana rolls, they didn't look like normal buns, but I am sure they were just as full of carbs as anything else, but when on holidays my rule is to eat at places I can't eat at at home. Upon trying them I found that they were pretty good, but the sat really heavy in my stomach so I could only eat one.
After my friend's client we got ready and headed down to Chinatown. We were spending the afternoon there exploring Sen Yat Sun Garden and Chinatown. Sen Yat Sun Garden is the largest Chinese Garden in Canada, it's really a spectacular sight and it's FREE!!! Love it, you can pay to have a tour and meal but really I can look at plants and appreciate them without having to pay $20 to have someone tell me a lot of facts that I couldn't process while on vacation. There were so many beautiful flowers and trees. It was really peaceful in there, and you just got the feeling you were in different time and place. I really enjoyed walking through the garden and taking pictures of the things I saw. |
| The Turtle in the Pond, he was so cute among the fish!! |
The streets that make up Chinatown in Vancouver are very similar to the streets in other towns that house a Chinatown that I have explored. It was so busy that sometimes you almost get the feel that you are on the east side of the Pacific Ocean. It was busy and my friend stated that there are stores and places in Chinatown that will not serve Caucasian people because they do not speak English. Makes it hard to shop sometimes or even order food. I found it interesting that there were some stores that only advertised in Chinese Characters and there was no English or French at all, it got me to thinking if that was legal. I mean don't they have to abide by our language laws? It's fine to have the Chinese Characters but they are in Canada I think they should at least advertise in the language of the country they have entered. It continues the divisions between cultures by not adapting. If I opened a store in a predominantly ethnic area I would hope that I would have the foresight to advertise in that ethnic groups native language as well as the national language of the country.
Before heading home we decided to stop for Gelato at Casa Gelato There were over two hundred flavours at this place. It was FANTASTIC. They had flavours like garlic and chocolate jalapeno. So weird. I stuck with normal flavours and had a blueberry cheesecake. It was a great indulgence!!!
The evening was a veritable girls night out!! I hadn't had a real girls night out in a very long time, but it was a blast. We went to Paramount in New Westminster, it's a dry strip club, we decided we wanted to do something different. And that was different for me as I have never really been in a strip club, but we had a good time. Then we went to a lounge in Burnaby for a drink and some snacks. It was a cute little place. While we were enjoying our meal a guy that had been at the bar came and started talking to us. He was very intoxicated but he was pleasant, not disgusting yet. He told us how beautiful we were, and was saddened to learn we were involved in relationships. After a little while he got over it and went to another table of girls and hit on them.
That was my second day in Vancouver. It was a great day and even though it was drizzling it was warm. I could have done without the rain, but I guess that's par for the course in Vancouver :P
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