I Miss Vancouver

 As a middle-of-the-country gal surrounded by rolling hills and no visible landmarks (besides our local waterpark and dump hill), I imagine myself roaming around Granville Island and waking up in a room at the Inn at the Quay weekly, if not daily. Most of my family lives in Vancouver and if it hadn't been for COVID, I would've already flown over there this year. Hell, at the start of the year we said 'I wonder when we should fly out to The Van'. Sucks to suck.

But I recognize how lucky I am that I get to fly out there as much as I have in the first place. I've been travelling to The Van almost every year since 2014. I've been missing Vancouver slightly more than usual (which is already a large amount) so here I am, uploading pictures from past trips and compensating for the travel post I would've uploaded this year. I know this sounds super mopey but it's just bittersweet. 

Inn at the Quay

For starters, here is the stunning view we get from our hotel room every single time we go. This view has become my second home. I love waking up to the sound of the air conditioner and the *gorgeous* sunset. Vancouver sunsets definitely hit different. Below the hotel is an indoor market and next to it, a path that takes you all the way down to that bridge on the horizon. 

Science World → Granville Island

Part of our Vancouver trip traditions is taking the SkyTrain from our hotel all the way to The Van's Science World museum (basically Canada's Epcot ball). We do love the museum but we especially love the 30 minute walk you can take from the museum all the way to a quaint little market/entertainment area called Granville Island.

These dudes have been catching up for coffee in front of Science World since the dawn of time!

Mom got a candid shot of me admiring my future home ;)

Granville Island

Dude, words cannot describe how much I love Granville Island. They have everything from a toy store to donuts to perogies to a print shop to a chocolatier and fresh fruit. Along the 'epic Granville walk' is a small island to explore, street art and dog parks. Not to mention the views are incredible the entire way there.

Spooky Suspension Bridge

One of Vancouver's beautiful and very terrifying attractions is Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. We went there in December 2016 so they had booths set up in the park that sold mini donuts and hot chocolate. It was very magical walking through the park admiring the millions of twinkling lights...until we reached the bridge. This fricken bridge is suspended *high* above the forest below. Thank god it was dark out because I probably wouldn't have went across had I seen how far down the drop was. And not only that but there were also walkways attached to the sides of the cliffs and honestly, walking on that was worse than the bridge. That experience left a permanent memory in my mind though of clinging onto my cousin's fiancée for dear life so I can definitely appreciate it now. But look, pretty lights~!

Lonsdale Quay

Another favourite tradition of mine is taking the SkyTrain all the way down to the SeaBus and crossing the water to Lonsdale Quay, another quaint shopping area with vintage market warehouses, a mall, and many shop streets to explore. Honestly my favourite part of going to Lonsdale is the view from and riding the SeaBus.

The Polar Express Experience

On one of our trips, my aunt surprised me with tickets to a Polar Express themed train ride out by Whistler! Polar Express is my second favourite xmas movie so needless to say I was a kid in a candy store. They had a whole back area themed to the movie including Billy's House and walk-around characters such as the 'King of the North Pole' and the Tom Hanks conductor. I swear to god this conductor could've been Tom Hanks himself. I got a picture with him and nearly fangirled to death.

On the train the author of the Polar Express (Chris Van Allsburg) read the book out loud over the speakers while the employees handed out hot chocolate and cookies. They even got some kid actors to walk down the aisle dressed as the main characters - I remember the know-it-all kid had Cheeto dust on his face.

Stanley Park

We also got to experience the xmas light display at Stanley Park and man was it beautiful. I have never seen so many Christmas lights in one place in my entire life. Actually, the entire park is a blur to me because there were so many lights. All I remember is the light tunnel, the singing tree and the creepy robotic Santa.

Coldplay

On our 2017 trip, we went to Coldplay's A Head Full of Dreams concert and it had to be one of the best nights of my entire life. Undoubtedly the best concert I've ever been to. It felt like a giant bouncy castle in there - the energy, the lights, Chris Martin, the crowd, that night honestly felt like a kickass dream. I'll never forget the sheer tearjerking joy I felt when our bracelets began to glow and the confetti went off. It felt like all of my problems, worries, and the real world had melted away. Incredible.

White Rock

On the last day of our 2017 trip, we drove over to White Rock and stopped by Moby Dick's for lunch. I honestly like the kitschy theming in there more than the food itself. And we of course walked up and down the boardwalk. One summer, we even found a cluster purple starfish and spotted a whale there.

New West

Our 2018 trip started off with Grinch iHop pancakes! Our plane ended up touching down in The Van too early so we spent the morning with my aunt admiring the gorgeous view from her balcony, pancakes, and New West bridge walks. The cinnamon hearts on those pancakes made my throat feel like a sizzling pan, lol!

My goofy brother <3

Lafarge Lights

Later that evening, we rode the SkyTrain in a completely different direction to the christmas lights display at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam! Man was it beautiful. Picture a massive round lake with big light displays on either side of the path. It was quite an impressive end to our first day.

The Pixar Exhibit

The next day was the best day ever because nearly the entire family woke up and rode the train to Science World to see the Science Behind Pixar exhibit! I felt like I was at Canada's Disneyland, again, a kid in a candy shop. They displayed everything from lighting techniques to step-by-step animation frames, the digital insertion of extras, how they render hair, it was an animator's paradise. After we'd walked out, mum turned to me and said, "oh you have to work at Pixar~!"

German Christmas Market

On every trip we try to do at least one new thing because my aunt is always saying, "why do you guys always wanna do the same thing?" I'm a simple creature, I like reliving memories, what can I say? Anyway, our new thing for this trip was going to the german Vancouver Christmas Market! I was in heaven. They had it all from borderline art piece/sculpted soaps, chips on a stick, live entertainment, hot chocolate, and vintage Christmas ornament tents. I was definitely in my element at that market, despite it being surprisingly nippy for Vancouver.

The Wedding~!

Now our 2019 was extremely special, and definitely the most important, because we were there for my cousin's wedding! It was my very first time being a bridesmaid so I wanted to make a great impression. My cousin and his wife are total tattoo addicts so I brought my Sesame Street tattoos with me and tatted myself up in honour of them. They absolutely loved it.

My dress is also said dress worn by a certain dark side OC of mine...👀

Needless to say, that day was filled with lots of stomach butterflies, lots of tears and lots of wholehearted joy.

At the end of our trip, the *entire* family got together for a big breakfast at the River Market before the newlyweds took off on their Disneyland honeymoon.

And that about covers it~ I think about these past trips, these past experiences all the time and I cannot tell you how much I wish I was living there. I know they say that once you move to your favourite place it loses its magic but I really don't believe that could ever happen to me with Vancouver. I have never felt more at home anywhere else than I do in Vancouver. So catch me crossing my fingers, toes and eyes that we're able to go back in the new year.

And if you made it this far, you're awesome.