Vancouver Fun

Cupcakes

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Restaurant | "Who doesn't love cupcakes?"

Cupcakes....get your cupcakes! Photo - Cupcakes, Vancouver, British Columbia

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Being from the U.K. cupcakes are something that are seen as quintessentially from North America. They have only just reached out shores and short of living in London are still something of a novelty. You can imagine my delight when in Vancouver I noticed a tv program about a couple of women callled Lori and Heather who started the very first concept cupcake bakery and that, that bakery is in Vancouver on Denman Street. Well after marching around the seawall of Stanley Park I then marched my Mum to find this bakery.When we walked in the shop, the sheer range of cupcakes was pretty staggering, they all looked amazing and choosing which we wanted was a challenge in itself. In the end I decide...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 12, 2011

Cupcakes
1116 Denman Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 2M8
604/974-1300

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Granville Island Public Market

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Attraction | "The Jewel in Granville Island's Crown"

Granville Island Public Market Photo - Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver, British Columbia

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Only being in Vancouver for three-days we attempted to zoom round and take in as much as we could of the major attractions. One of these is Granville Island's Public Market, which as the name suggests is on the peninsula known as Granville Island. The island can be walked to from downtown Vancouver, but we decided to wander down the waters edge and get a ferry across from downtown Vancouver right to the Public Market.We visited on a Saturday, so there were plenty of buskers and live entertainment, meaning that even if you didn't fancy doing any shopping you could buy a coffee and sit in the sun watching the world go by and listening to some really talented musicians. We did this for about ...Read More

Only being in Vancouver for three-days we attempted to zoom round and take in as much as we could of the major attractions. One of these is Granville Island's Public Market, which as the name suggests is on the peninsula known as Granville Island. The island can be walked to from downtown Vancouver, but we decided to wander down the waters edge and get a ferry across from downtown Vancouver right to the Public Market.

We visited on a Saturday, so there were plenty of buskers and live entertainment, meaning that even if you didn't fancy doing any shopping you could buy a coffee and sit in the sun watching the world go by and listening to some really talented musicians. We did this for about half an hour and then decided that we wanted to have a proper look around the market stalls. The market has a nice mixture of day vendors, artists and a farmers market, so you can find some pretty souvenirs or gifts for family back home as well as get some really fresh, delicious food for lunch or dinner.

Like all farmers markets this one was a hive of activity and was mainly covered. I love wandering around these sort of markets so was really in my element absorbing all of the sights, sounds and smells. We bought lots of fruit to snack on and were quite amazed at the range of different fruit and veg available as compared to back home. If you're feeling particularly confident you can get chatting with some of the vendors and they might even let you try samples of their produce.

In addition to the farmer's market there are a whole host of day vendors that sell artisan foods and arts and crafts. These day vendors operate on a rotating schedule, so any one visit to the Public Market will show up different vendors, meaning you can visit the area several times and always find something new to look at and buy.

Overall we had a really enjoyable afternoon exploring the various stalls, having lots of nice food to eat and relaxing whilst listening to the buskers. I think this is one of the unique shopping experiences that everyone should try when they are in Vancouver, even if it is only for a couple of hours. You can get lots of nice food to cook for your dinner or to make up a lovely picnic for heading elsewhere (such as Stanley Park) for the rest of day. A real jewel in Vancouver's crown! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 12, 2011

Granville Island Public Market
1689 Johnston Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
(604) 666-5784

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Museum of Anthropology at UBC

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Attraction | "A fantastic background to pre-European Vancouver!"

Totem poles in the great hall Photo - Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Vancouver, British Columbia

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Although Vancouver is the heart of all things outdoorsy and energetic this museum is a must visit for anyone who is even remotely interested in the pre-European history of the area. The museum itself is located on the University of British Columbia's campus. You can catch a bus from Granville Street (just outside Templeton's if you wanted to copy our itinerary) that passes through the pretty district of Kitsilano and takes your right up to UBC. From there you can pretend to be a student and stroll across the campus to the museum itself.We spent a full day in the museum and even then we had to skip over some bits at the end, it doesn't feel like a huge sprawling building, but there is somet...Read More

Although Vancouver is the heart of all things outdoorsy and energetic this museum is a must visit for anyone who is even remotely interested in the pre-European history of the area. The museum itself is located on the University of British Columbia's campus. You can catch a bus from Granville Street (just outside Templeton's if you wanted to copy our itinerary) that passes through the pretty district of Kitsilano and takes your right up to UBC. From there you can pretend to be a student and stroll across the campus to the museum itself.

We spent a full day in the museum and even then we had to skip over some bits at the end, it doesn't feel like a huge sprawling building, but there is something to look at as you turn every corner. There are tours that you can join that give you lots of information about various exhibits, but we didn't join one in the end and just took ourselves around.

The first section that you will enter is called the Great Hall and has a massive collection of totem poles from the Haida and other First Nations from along the British Columbia coastline. We managed to spend a good hour just wandering around this hall a reading about the various totem poles and sculptures. I found a whole wall of stories about First Nations as written by them. I got quite emotional reading about how pot-latches were banned by the European Candians and how they were such an important part of First Nations Culture.

After exhausting the Great Hall we wandered down to what is probably the most iconic object of the MOA, the yellow cedar sculpture by Bill Read of the Raven and the First Men. This sculpture encapsulates the First Nation story of the origins of man, which is explained on the walls around the sculpture.

We then had a look around a temporary exhibition of Musquem carvings and jewellery, which included a video of one of the artists story.

Thinking we had managed to look at most things we wandered across a hall to an exhibition of other nations from around the world and were astounded to find that there was as much to see (if not more) again. We spent lots of time looking at fabrics, outfits and carvings from Asia and Oceania. The MOA has so many pieces in it's collection that many are held in drawers underneath the glass cabinets that you can pull out and look at. I found this a much more interactive way to look at displays than just wandering around the museum aimlessly.

To finish off the whole visit we headed outside to explore the Haida houses that were carved under direction of Bill Reid. The setting is absolutely breathtaking, with the snow-covered mountains in the distance and the houses surrounded by toten poles that are reflected in the pond in front of them. An almost magical experience.

All in all a fantastically interesting museum that is well worth a day out of the vigorous outdoor activites that you can do in Vancouver! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 12, 2011

Museum of Anthropology at UBC
6393 North West Marine Drive
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z2
(604) 822-5087

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The Templeton

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Restaurant | "Fantastic retro eating in the heart of Vancouver!"

The jukebox and I! Photo - The Templeton, Vancouver, British Columbia

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We decided to have a diner breakfast on our last day in Vancouver before heading to the Museum of Anthropology and our guidebook recommended The Templeton. We had nice walk down Granville Street past a whole load of quirky shops and after passing a sex shop (which made my Mum blush) we arrived at the Templeton. It's got a very small, unassuming frontage, which I think could be easily missed. Once inside, however it feels a bit like a tardis and is actually quite big. You can sit at the long counter that runs the length of the eating area or you can choose a booth like we did and sit in the retro leather chairs and entertain yourself with all the old pictures under the table tops. Our table...Read More

We decided to have a diner breakfast on our last day in Vancouver before heading to the Museum of Anthropology and our guidebook recommended The Templeton. We had nice walk down Granville Street past a whole load of quirky shops and after passing a sex shop (which made my Mum blush) we arrived at the Templeton. It's got a very small, unassuming frontage, which I think could be easily missed. Once inside, however it feels a bit like a tardis and is actually quite big.

You can sit at the long counter that runs the length of the eating area or you can choose a booth like we did and sit in the retro leather chairs and entertain yourself with all the old pictures under the table tops. Our table had lots of pictures of camper vans from the 60s and kept us amused for the few minutes it took the waitress to finish up with her previous customer.

The breakfast menu was everything we expected and we both went for a full breakfast with eggs, hash browns, bacon, pancakes (with maple syrup) and sausage. All the eggs are organic and free-range, there was plenty to choose from for vegetarians as well as meat eaters. We both had coffees to go alongside our breakfast and it was like the drink of the Gods....well ok perhaps we had not had a coffee yet this morning and were both suffering from caffeine withdrawl, but it was lovely coffee. I also had some freshly squeezed orange juide, which was yummy! When the breakfasts came we were not disappointed, everything was so tasty that I wish we had come here on our first day and then we could have had two visits.

In terms of price everything was very reasonable for the amount we got to eat and to be honest we would have paid more just to sit in the wonderful chrome retro diner. Everything seemed authentic and I had since read that this is the oldest classic Canadian diner in the Vancouver area, so on those grounds alone it is worth a visit.

We had a quick look at the lunchtime and evening menus and there seemed to be all sorts to choose from, from the modern (such as Portobello mushroom burger with roasted garlic and asiago) to the classic (666 burger with pickled beets). Next time I am in Vancouver, this is going to be my first stop for food and it should be yours too! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 12, 2011

The Templeton
1087 Granville Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
(604) 685-4612

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YWCA Hotel Vancouver

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Hotel | "Small rooms right in the heart of the city!"

Front of the hotel at night Photo - YWCA Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia

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We arrived in Vancouver by bus and managed to get from the station to this hostel using public transport and a bit of walking. The hotel/hostel is located right near Rogers Arena, home to the Canucks ice hockey team, so if you are into hockey it would be a great place to stay. When we were there it was the end of the season and the Canucks were in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup, so a couple of nights we had a bit of a struggle to move through the crowds just before and after the games. Having said that it wasn't loud in our room like being near a UK football stadium, so really there wasn't a problem with this.Arriving at the hotel, it's a pretty hideous piece of architecture (looked like...Read More

We arrived in Vancouver by bus and managed to get from the station to this hostel using public transport and a bit of walking. The hotel/hostel is located right near Rogers Arena, home to the Canucks ice hockey team, so if you are into hockey it would be a great place to stay. When we were there it was the end of the season and the Canucks were in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup, so a couple of nights we had a bit of a struggle to move through the crowds just before and after the games. Having said that it wasn't loud in our room like being near a UK football stadium, so really there wasn't a problem with this.

Arriving at the hotel, it's a pretty hideous piece of architecture (looked like it was from the 70s/80s), and the area around it leaves a bit to be desired for. It's located walking distance from Gastown and the multitude of bars, but also the hotel is a few blocks from an area of Gastown that your really don't want to be walking around on your own at night, especially if you are a woman. Having said all that we didn't feel unsafe while we were staying there for 3 nights and we walked everywhere. I just think it is something you perhaps need to think about a bit if you're travelling on your own before booking.

As for cost, I don't think that the hotel is bad value, but I found all across Canada that the hostels were not as budget as ones I have stayed in in the States or other parts of the world. The good thing about this hotel is that a lot of the money you are spending is used to support women of Vancouver and it is known as a social enterprise hotel. It supports a whole host of projects including a Single Mother's Support Service and giving meals out to women and children in the Crabtree program. I personally thnk that it's a fantastic way to support local charities whilst on holiday and spending money on something you have to spend it one i.e. a hotel room.

The staff that checked us in were very helpful and we were heading up to our private twin room in no time at all. We had a room that shared a bathroom with a connecting room, so we had to remember to lock the door while we were in the room, but we had no problem with that and it was certainly nicer than sharing a big communal bathroom. The room was a nice size and came with a tv (which we didn't really use) and big windows looking out over the city. On every other floor (as the bulding is a big tower block) there are laundry facilities and on alternate floors there are kitchens if you want to cook for yourselves. Despite being a budget hotel our rooms were cleaned and beds turned down each day, which was more than we were expecting. The hotel itself was quiet and we were high enough about street level to not be disturbed by street noise.

All in all a good budget hotel in downtown Vancouver, that not only helps women in the local area but is a comfortable place to stay. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 12, 2011

YWCA Hotel Vancouver
733 Beatty Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2M4
(604) 895-5830

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