After a great trip to Oregon in 2022 for Juneteenth holiday, we decided to repeat it this year. With a new destination this time: Vancouver. We expanded it from Hiking for wine in Oregon. to a weekend of hiking and culinary adventures in Vancouver.
Shannon waterfalls and Sea to the Sky trail
Stawamus Chief provincial park is less than an hour north of Vancouver. After picking up the rental car on Saturday morning, we are on our way to the trail. The drive to the parking lot at the bottom of the Shannon Falls is beautiful and in itself worth it. It takes you along the beautiful Howe Sound. Emerald green colors contrast with dark green trees, islands and dramatic mountains. Initially there is still overcast, but slowly the sun is starting to break through the clouds. Considering that the forecast had rain for all three days, we feel lucky. In less than an hour, we park and are ready to start our hike. Our goal today is to hike up to the top of the Sea-to-Sky Gondola from the bottom of the Shannon waterfalls, the third largest in B.C.
Sea to the Sky Trail
Stairs and rocks
Ropes and boulders
Cables to get to the top
Capilano Suspension Bridge
On our way back, we decide to stop at the famous Capilano Suspension Bridge, just North of Vancouver. We find one of the last parking spots, an indication that it is busy. And it is busy, and very touristy. However we feel we have to experience it. After a well deserved hot chocolate, we walk to the bridge. The bridge, 230 feet long, can hold the weight of a fully loaded 747 plane or 75 full-grown elephants. We walk, or should a say sway, to the other side. There we decide we might as well go for the full experience and do the Treetopes adventure. This is a network of bridges between the trees, 33 meters above the ground.
Granville Island
The next morning, it is expected to rain, so we decide to have breakfast at Granville Island, at the Granville Island Public Market. It is a 15 minute walk to the waterfront, from where we hop on the aquabus, that brings us in 5 minutes to the island. Breakfast is one of the freshest muffins I have ever tasted. After breakfast we explore the market. A big part are food stalls, with a variety of fresh vegetables, meats, fish. Some stalls have hand made jewelry and artwork. After the market we explore some of the shops and galleries, before taking the waterbus back.
Twin Falls Trail
The weather has cleared up so we decide to go for another hike. We find one in a local park only 20 minutes from Vancouver. The Twin Falls trail is listed as moderate, but we had not counted on a lot of stairs again. However, the hike is beautiful, through a lush and green forest, next to the river. We hike up to the twin falls bridge and decide we can go up further, to another suspension bridge. On the other side of the bridge is a cafe and we decide we deserve an ice cream. The trail back is partially through a neighborhood and by the time we get to the car, we have logged another 6 miles. We have earned our meal.
Culinary adventures
Talking about meals and food, Vancouver did not disappoint. On the contrary, we had 3 very different, but great dinners.
Friday night – American
We have an afternoon flight and by the time we have checked into our hotel it is already 7.30. So we decide to walk around the hotel to see if there is anything close by. We stumble upon Earls Test Kitchen. After checking the reviews on TripAdvisor and being hungry, we decide we will try it. We start with wine and fresh oysters. The oysters are smooth and tasty. For the main course, we are intrigued by the unusual combination of Truffle + Steak Tortellini, so we both decide we have to try it. And it is absolutely delicious. Food-wise, we are of to a good start.
Saturday night – Pacific Northwest meets Asia
I had made reservations for Saturday night at PidGin, a restaurant with very good reviews and a Michelin 2022 recommendation. Although the neighborhood is a bit dodgy, with a lot of homeless, the restaurant is very nice. We decide that after the hike of the Sea to Sky Trail that morning, we are going to treat ourselves. There is a seven course tasting menu that looks intriguing and delicious.
Seven courses of deliciousness
We start of with scallop tartare; light and covered with salmon caviar. This is followed by a salad of greens with shaved white asparagus, fennel, ricotta, hazelnuts and drizzled with a orange sake vinaigrette. Although it tastes delicious, I am a bit disappointed by the (lack of) white asparagus. Or maybe it is because they are shaved and they get lost in all the other ingredients. Our next course is Hamachi crudo. I love Hamachi, but this is probably the best Hamachi is have had (outside Japan). The secret ingredient: fried onions. I will have to do this next time I have Hamachi sashimi. The Hamachi is followed by morel tempura. We are lucky we are here when it is morel season. It is fantastic, the batter so light that it does not overpower the delicate taste of the morel mushrooms. Our next course is a cioppino, a seafood stew with white fish, mussels, clams and shrimp. The bavette steak that follows is tender and melts in your mouth, although we both don’t care for the sticky rice that comes with it. The final course is a rhubarb mouse with a spiced crumble. I am not a big fan of rhubarb, but the combination with the crumble is perfect. This seven course meal was absolutely outstanding.
Sunday – dinner with a view
For Sunday night I made reservations at Five Sails Restaurant, as I searched for a restaurant with views of the water. Either we are lucky, or look like we deserve it (we did dress up after our hike), but we end up with one of the best seats. The sun is about to set and we have a clear view of the water and harbor. We start with an amuse bouche , followed by oysters. We couldn’t helps ourselves, as they were so good on Friday night, that we had to “revisit”. For the main course, Vanessa decides on Halibut, while I decide to have scallops. Both are very good. We enjoy another great dinner, while watching the sun go down.
Vancouver had been on my list for a long time and I am glad I finally visited. It is a small city and easy to get around. We couldn’t get an Uber or Lyft at the airport, so we took the train and we were downtown in half an hour. There are a lot of hiking trails within 20-45 minutes from downtown. There are plenty of nice restaurants and some good shopping options. We only made it to Water street and Granville Island. And we did not even make it to Stanly Park, Vancouver Island and Victoria so we will have to come back for more hiking and culinary adventures in Vancouver.
