Capilano Suspension Bridge

On our last day in Vancouver we picked up our rental car and drove out to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

This was probably the most touristy thing we did the entire trip, and I can't say it was worth the price for the amount of time we spent there, but it was still pretty cool. And stepping out on to that shaky bridge for the first time is pretty scary.

They also have a new Tree Walk open, with walkways attached to the rock face over looking the valley. Pretty cool, but way too crowded to be enjoyed properly.

Vancouver

Next stop on our whirlwind tour of BC was a couple of days in the great city of Vancouver.



First order of business was lunch at Japadog, for some Japanese inspired street meat. Those hotdogs fueled our very long walk over the Granville St. bridge to Granville Island.



After looking around the craft and food markets we took the water taxi back and walked up through English Bay. If only Paris Plage could be more like that....




For dinner on our first night we did an Izakaya crawl. Izakaya are Japanese restaurants that serve small dishes traditionally eaten while drinking beer. To stretch out our stomachs between stops we walked around Coal Harbour to the Olympic Torch cauldron.



Day two started off with a bike ride around the sea wall of Stanely Park.





Then we went into the park and biked around Beaver Lake, where we stopped to eat the picnic we had picked up at the Whole Foods before starting (what a great grocery store!! I want one in Paris).




We spent the rest of the day wandering around Gastown and Chinatown, and had a delicious early dinner at Bao Bei a Chinese 'brasserie' in Chinatown.

Saltspring Part 3

We happened to be on Saltspring during the full moon in August, so we signed up for a full moon kayak tour with Tracy and Ed. We had a great time paddling out to one of the private islands near Saltspring for tea and cookies, and on the way back we were able to see some phosphorescent plankton.








Erik and I also hiked up Mount Maxwell, the highest point on the island. We were rewarded with great views of Fulford Harbour, and of the other Gulf Islands.




We made it!

Western Canada Part 2--Saltspring

The reason we planned this whole trip was to visit my grandma, who will be turning 90 years old this fall. She lives on Saltspring Island, a little gulf island off the coast of Victoria. My mom, my brother and I used to go out there every summer and I have great memories of the place, but hadn't been in far too long. It was great to be back.



My cousin Tracy, her husband Ed and their son Liam were also visiting which made things all the more exciting. We hadn't seen any of them since our wedding, and it was great to meet little Liam. He was too cute!



Turns out that Saltspring has three wineries. We visited all of them, and were pleasantly surprised by the wines.






Tracy and Ed had us over for dinner at their campsite one night. And there might have been smores another night... Yummy!



We drove out to Beddis Beach one morning when the tide was low so that we could walk around the point to bay where my grandparents used to live.




The tide pool that we used to poke our fingers into when we were kids was still there.

Tracy and I were looking for moonshells, but didn't find any. The scenery was lovely and hadn't changed and it made for a great walk.



To complete the walk down memory lane, we had ice cream at Glad's





And ate fish and chips at the Seaside Kitchen in Vesuvius, while watching the ferry head to Crofton.



But Saltspring isn't just ice cream and fish and chips! There is more to come, but it will have to wait for another post. Stay tuned!

Western Canada Part 1

It's hard to know where to start with this trip. We were only gone for two weeks, but it felt like so much longer, in a good way.

The trip started off once again with separate flights for Erik and I. I had a longish layover in Toronto, and was happy to meet up with my friend Nancy for a quick bite to eat.

Erik was waiting for me at the airport in Vancouver, and after a quick stop at the hotel we went straight out for dinner. We were staying in Richmond, and it is apparently the place to go for good Chinese food, something we don't get much of here in Paris. I had a place lined up and we had a delicious meal where I ordered way too much food. It just all sounded so good!


Soup dumplings, dan dan noodles, hot and sour wonton soup and stir fried rice cake at Chen's Shanghai Noodle House.





The next day we were up bright and early to catch the ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria to meet Steve and Yoshimi. We were so happy that we were able to connect with them on this trip.



We spent two days wandering around the city. We ate ice cream, visited the Legislative Buildings and walked through Beacon Hill Park.



Maybe they weren't so happy to see us?

And we finished it all off with an excellent dinner at Linda Birdsall's house, a family friend of Howard and Joan. It was the best meal we had in Victoria!




Erik did this drawing when he was 8 and gave it to Linda who still has it hanging in her house.

Guess Who's Here?

Christy's here! (with her friend Meeta)



We've been busy eating...



and visiting the gardens at Versailles, among other things.



The sun finally came out!