Day 7 - Vancouver, British Columbia

Another fantastic day in Vancouver started out with morning coffee with Grandpa on the small patio outside Café Prego. Vone and Lilo joined us this time, and Grandpa had fun introducing us to all of the staff and other regulars at the café. It’s kind of neat to have a regular little place to go to every morning – and with how good the coffee and pastries are, and I can see why Grandpa goes there every morning.

Later around noon, Grandpa and Auntie Pat joined us in Canyonero, and we drove along the coast to Horseshoe Bay. It was nice to have a tour guide to point out some of the features of Vancouver, which certainly is a gorgeous town. I’m not going to play the “which city is better, Toronto or Vancouver?” game. But, if we’re comparing the two guys who hundreds of years ago said “You know what, this looks like a good place to start a town!” the dude for Vancouver beats the dude for Toronto, hands down.

Lunch was delicious fish and chips at Troll’s in Horseshoe Bay, while we watched the huge ferries come in and out of the bay.

Rather than just the standard fish and chips, Vone and I opted for a real treat and split the sampler plate, which included battered halibut, salmon, cod, and snapper. I think the salmon was my favourite, though the halibut was very yummy.

We took the long way home, and drove around Stanley Park and then beside English Bay and Sunset Beach.

With the balmy temperatures this week, the beaches were packed full of people, with some brave souls even venturing into the water (which, even in the summertime, is barely above hypothermic). Vancouver sees these high temperatures so infrequently in fact, that our hotel doesn’t have air conditioning. Neither does Grandpa’s condominium for that matter. Luckily there’s always at least a little bit of a breeze given that we’re on the ocean, and things get considerably cooler at night.

After a lazy afternoon, we joined Grandpa and Auntie Pat for dinner at Grandpa’s apartment. We chatted, ate some great food, and watched the sunset. After dinner, Vone, Lilo and I took a long walk along the seaside path as the last bits of daylight left the sky. The beaches were packed with people, walking along the path and sitting on the giant logs in the sand. We made sure we put our feet in the ocean one last time, even if it felt like ice water. It was a nice way to end our last night in Vancouver.