A Couple of Days in Vancouver, Canada

To try something a bit different, we booked the Amtrak Cascades train from Seattle to Vancouver.  Our train departed the Seattle train station at 7:30 am for the almost 4 hour scenic trip to Vancouver.  We grabbed a cab from the hotel to the train station and were the first in line, getting there before the train station even opened!  There were 6 of us hearty souls who arrived around 6:30 am.   Seats are assigned once you get there as you can't get assignments in advance.  We purchased business class seats (the additional charge to upgrade was not much) so we had nice seats.  It was a scenic and leisurely trip & quite relaxing.  We had breakfast onboard.  The menu was limited but it was fun going to the dining car!

Upon arrival in Vancouver, we disembarked the train and went through Immigration.  I didn't think the immigration officials were very welcoming but I guess they were just doing their job!  We hailed a cab to our hotel, Hyatt Regency Vancouver.  Our rooms were not ready, so we checked our luggage and grabbed a soft drink in the club lounge before heading out to find a lunch spot.  The Hyatt Regency is nicely located on Burrard Street and within a couple of blocks of Robson Street where we found a nice place for lunch, with outdoor seating.  We chose Abode.  The chef's pulled chicken sandwich with dried  vine ripened tomatoes, house made dijon aioli, and fresh baby arugula on ciabatta was beautifully presented but needed just a tad more of the dijon aioli or such to give it some pizazz.  Our glasses of wine hit the spot after a day of train travel!

We wandered and explored a bit and then went back to our hotel (our rooms were ready!) for some r&r before meeting for cocktails in the Club Lounge.  Our room was large and beautiful and being located on the 30th floor we had expansive views of Vancouver's skyline and waterfront.  The bathroom was quite lovely too... large with black tile and even a rain shower fixture (and oh yes Aveda toiletries, tres bien)!
Here's a photo of the view from our hotel room

Cocktails & appetizers in the lounge were nice and then we headed off to Coast, where we had made dinner reservations.  Coast got great reviews on tripadvisor and we were not disappointed!  Coast is quite a hip and happening restaurant with a modern, dark and romantic ambiance and superb seafood.  As you may have guessed, I ordered the halibut fish & chips... as I am now in love with halibut and am quite the fish & chips connaisseur!  It was divine! 

We enjoyed a late dinner and, being quite exhausted from our cross country travels, we retired after a nice walk back to the hotel.  The next morning we were up bright and early to do some sightseeing, shopping, and dining in Vancouver!  Following another lovely light breakfast in the club lounge, we hit the streets in search of the False Creek ferry boats for some hop-on/hop-off fun.  One of our stops was Granville Island, which was one of the TO DOs on my list.  I will say that I was a bit disappointed in what we found there... some touristy shops, a few restaurants, and brew pubs.  We had lunch on the waterfront at Bridges Bistro & Bar and enjoyed a dungeness crab & halibut cake burger (YUM!) and a glass of wine.  The view of False Creek and English Bay was especially beautiful on our warm (hot - 80 degrees F) & sunny day.  This little guy waited beside our table in  hopes of some crumbs!  You can't really tell it from this photo, but he was quite a large sea gull!

We then hopped back on the ferry boat for more scenic views from the water.  We got off at Yale Town and headed back toward our hotel with a couple of shopping stops on the way.  As I mentioned, the temperature was record breaking for mid-September in Vancouver and we had brought mostly long sleeved shirts.  Hubby especially had not planned for the layering technique of dressing so we were in search of some short sleeve golf shirts and tee shirts to get him through the weather!  Success at Pacific Place Mall made for a smile or two.

Dinner reservations had been made for our group of six for Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House.  Located just a few blocks away we arrived in time for our 7:30 reservation and were promptly seated.  Joe's is not used to the high temperatures we were experiencing and does not have air conditioning!  The restaurant is a popular one and was packed so it was indeed a little "close" and warm for the duration of our dinner.  My steak was divine but I was ready to get out of there and get some fresh air by the time our meal was finished... no dessert for me!

We had a nice walk back to the hotel and went up to the club lounge for an after dinner glass of wine and sat on the verandah and enjoyed the view from the 29th floor of Vancouver.  Lovely way to end an evening with good friends.