I have such sweet memories of my month-long stay in Vancouver this past May. By the time I left, it had really started to feel like home. I think the thing I miss the most is the incredible beauty that surrounded me wherever I went. And the myriad of outdoor activities. And all of the healthy food options that were available. So yeah, I miss a lot. 🙂 But one thing Vancouver doesn’t have, is my family and friends. So I returned to Florida to be with them. But if I can talk anyone into moving to Vancouver with me…well, see ya later, Sunshine State! 😛

Anyhoo, on to more highlights of my solo time in the province of British Columbia! I’ve highlighted a few things already but still have a few more I want to share.

La Casa Gelato

As I searched online for the best things to see, do and eat in Vancouver, I came across what is touted as one of the best places to get gelato: La Casa Gelato. One of their claims to fame is being the only gelateria in the world to offer 238 different flavors of gelato everyday (they have 588+ total flavors). That’s…a lot of gelato.

So one afternoon I made my way to this gelateria that was established in 1982. I walked inside and was immediately overwhelmed by all of the different flavors! I decided to take my time and see each and every one, taking notes on my phone of those I might want to try.

They have some crazy flavors!! Wasabi, anyone? How about peanut butter curry or wild fennel? Perhaps aged balsamic vinegar or apple cheddar is more up your alley. I sampled pancakes & syrup, lavender, and roasted garlic. Yes, roasted garlic gelato exists. And it tastes like…roasted garlic. With a hint of sweetness.

I ended up getting two scoops: Sicilian cannoli and peach, plum, jasmine (sorry, roasted garlic). I took my scoops outside to a little sitting area across the street and sat in the shade. Both were really good but the Sicilian cannoli was my favorite.

I will definitely return to try some more flavors the next time I’m in Vancouver!

Sunsets

Vancouver offers some amazingly beautiful sunsets nearly every night, especially those viewed from a beach. There were many a night when I went out just to watch the sunset. Sigh…

Foodie Tour

So I’m noticing that probably half of my Vancouver “highlights” have to do with food. This is very typical of me.

I’ve wanted to take a foodie tour ever since I visited Seattle and first heard about them. I was determined to try one while in Vancouver and decided on a tour of the Granville Island Market. I joined a group through Foodie Tours and it was most deserving of a top place in my highlights!

Our group was small, only six of us plus our tour guide, but it was perfect. We met up at Edible Canada then made our way to the indoor market. One thing I loved about this tour, other than the food, was all of the history and information shared that I otherwise would have never known.

For instance, only businesses that originated in Canada are allowed on Granville Island. Hence why you won’t see any chain restaurants or stores. The market is open seven days a week and has 50 permanent vendors and 40 pop-up vendors.

We started at Terra Breads where we were each given a small brown bag with three different kinds of breads: a crispy, fruity one, a walnut bread and a rosemary sourdough (my favorite). We munched on those while we headed to our next stop: Oyama Sausage Co.

Our tour guide was given a tray of charcuterie and we took it outside and each tried one of the six dried and cured meats (including bison and elk!).

Back inside the market we visited Benton Brothers Fine Cheese and sampled a couple of different varieties including a six-year-old cheddar which was very strong but tasty.

On to #1 Orchard and some fresh Pink Lady apples! Then a Masala Chai Latte from Granville Island Tea Company.

Time for something sweet! And what a sweet sweet. 😉 Mr. Lee of Lee’s Donuts has been making his specialties at the market for over thirty years. This is his only location but I would love to talk him into opening up a shop in Orlando…

These donuts are SO GOOD!! We tried the honey-glazed fresh from the fryer/glazer and it was melt-in-your-mouth sweet goodness. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I actually came back to Granville Island on my last full day in Vancouver to get another donut. They are the best donuts on the planet. Don’t even try to argue with me on that one.

We came full-circle and ended where we started: Edible Canada. This is a restaurant focusing on serving local products, with an adjacent artisan retail shop. We sat outside at a large table and were served the Farmers Harvest Salad with Yukon Arctic Char Gravlax. So. Much. Goodness. Just, yum.

Our tour concluded inside the retail shop where we were each given samples of black truffle salt (I do love truffles!), bourbon infused maple syrup, and almond butter crunch milk chocolate.

Such a lovely tour with a very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guide. I was glad we had a small group because we were able to chat and get to know each other. The food was wonderful and I only wish I had been able to go on some more foodie tours while I was in town!

Runs

I was determined to keep up my running after completing the marathon and I really couldn’t have asked for a better place to be to keep my running motivation up! I absolutely loved running while in Vancouver and was seriously motivated by seeing so many people out running and biking every hour of every day.

I would run around Stanley Park or along the shore and beach and it was always so lovely. Take me back!!!!!

So yeah, my “highlight post” is turning into “four highlight posts”. Oh well. Three down and one last one to go! 🙂