Day 1We only had a half day in Vancouver on day one, but we managed to make it count! Upon leaving the airport, we noticed that Granville Island was on our way to our hotel, so we decided to stop, eat some lunch and peruse the Public Market. Apparently we were not alone in our decision to check out Granville - trying to find parking was a mild nightmare and the sidewalks were overflowing with tourists. Details. We wandered through the immense market and selected some lunch from the vendors. They have everything from great butchers to specialty foods to lunch spots offering global cuisine. We had an enjoyable, simple lunch on the water, staring out over to downtown Vancouver. It was a glorious day. We traipsed about the Island a bit after lunch. It’s a lot of kitschy places, but I was excited to try the Artisan Sake Maker boutique - under the guidance of Masa Shiroki. We did a quick sake tasting and snagged a few bottles to take home. The sake was intriguing, a bit rustic, but delish. I would recommend checking them out if you are at all into your sake.
After Granville, we checked into our hotel - The Sutton Place. The Sutton Place is really nice, well-located, and apparently a B-list celebrity magnet. We saw a ton of celebs over our weekend. Our hotel room wasn’t quite ready, so we wandered down the shopping venue, Robson St. It is packed full with stores, most of the familiar to the American eye. I did spy an immense Lululemon and resolved to go back before we left for the States. We walked all the way down to Stanley Park. Stanley Park is huge - larger then NYC’s central park - and it is very wild. I’m used to more manicured city parks, like Central Park, or the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens, or London’s Hyde Park. This is beautiful, but essentially a forested peninsula jutting out from downtown Vancouver. We took a nice stroll along the waterfront, admiring the stunning view of Coal Harbor. Definitely not hard to take - I can understand why everyone is in such good shape.
After, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the Wedding rehearsal dinner.
Day 2
I woke up nice and early - thanks time change - on Day 2. Stephen had to work, so I wandered out to grab some Starbucks - this city loves it some Starbucks. I've been told that the two highest grossing Starbucks are both on Robson St in Vancouver - right across the street from each other! I wandered down the pedestrian only Granville street, checking out all of the stores, including a rather fancy Sears. After I returned, Stephen and I headed across the Lions Gate Bridge to north Vancouver and the Grouse Grind... The Grouse Grind is a hike up Grouse Mountain, the city’s closes ski mountain. At the top there’s supposed to be a great view of the city, etc. The Grind is known as Nature’s Stairmaster. Once you start, you can’t turn around and it should take you an hour and a half to complete. It was the worst decision of the trip. It ended up being an interminable series of roughly hewn steps, tree roots and rock outcroppings at like an 80% grade. Half way through it began to pour on us, ten minutes later it began to hail. Yes hail. By the time we scrambled to the top almost two hours later we were exhausted, soaked to the bone and freezing. Luckily, the ski outpost is stocked with all manner of hiking and outdoors gear. Stephen, who attempted the climb in jeans, purchased a new outfit. We got some hot drinks, tried to see Vancouver through the fog, and ultimately loaded up on the Gondola for the 10 minute ride down. Do not do the Grind unless you are in great shape and you know for sure that the weather is going to be beautiful....
The rest of the day was much better. After cleaning up, we had a lovely lunch at Cafe Medina. The restaurant is on a quiet street and is a tiny oasis to wonderful food. It is Moroccan influenced - I had a delicious rocket salad, Stephen had a mereguez sausage wrap and we enjoyed the signature waffles. Not too pricey, and definitely worth a visit - no reservations though... I hear their brunch is ridiculously good. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through Chinatown, Gastown and Yaletown. In Chinatown we saw the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. It was a beautiful garden, however, I would just go to the public side. It’s free and just as pretty if you’re looking to save some money. We saw all the quirky stores in Gastown as well as the steam clock. Yaletown definitely had a yuppy vibe and its two main streets, Mainland and Hamilton, are a diner’s paradise - two rows of fashionable restaurants with large sidewalk seating.
For dinner we headed over to Vij’s. Vij’s is a very famous, Indian restaurant that is widely considered one of the best restaurants in Vancouver, and has been so since it opened in 1989. They do not take reservations. We arrived at 6 and there was already an hour and a half wait! Vij himself was there entertaining the waiting crowd. We enjoyed their signature ginger drink - reminded me a lot of my favorite tamarind drink from Tamarind Springs in Koh Samui, Thailand - as well as a few cocktails and tons of free apps as we waited in the beautiful weather. When we sat, we ordered the samosas, the marinated beef shortribs (yum!), and the grilled sablefish, as well as a bottle of BC wine made from a somewhat obscure grape, eherenfelser (cross between a riesling and silvaner). The BC wine was quite lovely - a full bouquet of melons, apples, etc. The meal was amazing, but we could not finish. I ended up buying a cook book I enjoyed it so much. If you have the time and the inclination, check out Vij’s. 
We finished our evening at the Sutton Place bar - Gerard Lounge. It was not much - a small space with dark wood paneling and comfy seats. We had two BC beers - which were tasty. We also apparently sat next to the cast of Stargate Universe (I don't watch the show). I didn’t even notice....
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