Canada Roadtrip: Vancouver

(Canada roadtrip, continued) 
We arrived in Vancouver and, of course, Emily's first stop had to be shopping.  She visited the Lululemon Lab where they make unique custom clothes.  She also demanded a stop at the original Lulu store.

Next, we visited Granville Island to check out the local markets:

fresh fruit at the Granville Island market

We spent the rest of the weekend just walking around the city, enjoying the boutiful views and taking advantage of the great diversity of restaurants.  One of our favorite spots was Stanley Park.  It is over 1000 acres and filled with lots of great walking trails.  Here are some of the must-see items in Stanley Park.

 taking a walk in Stanley Park

rhododendron garden in Stanley Park:

blue herons nesting in the park

the view of downtown Vancouver, B.C. from Stanley Park

And, of course, no trip is complete without sampling the local cuisine.  We loved the night markets, which had a variety of unique foods:

calamari and spiral sliced fried potato on a stick

kabobs...always a sure bet at festivals

my favorite: fried tofu with sweet chili sauce

 

glazed fruit - same as the kind we admired in Beijing, but we were too afraid to try it in China due to the uncertainty of food preparation techniques....this time, it was a go, and it was good!

we also found some fried buns which were very close to the kind we loved in Shanghai

It was nice to learn that we can get many of our favorite authentic Chinese foods so close to home (6hr drive instead of an around the world trip).  We thoroughly enjoyed Vancouver and vowed to visit more often.  I am seriously tempted to move there....it has all the amazing outdoor stuff of Portland (mountains, ocean nearby) but with the big city feel that we loved in Chicago.  If you are ever in the Pacific NW, it is worth a visit.