vc/bc

Well, now that I've started playing catch up I JUST CAN'T STOP. So here are some more old pictures to share.

We took a trip a couple weekends ago to Vancouver (the Canadian one) to celebrate Robbie's birthday! There's nothing we love more than celebrating each other's birthdays in America's Hat (we went to Montreal right after my birthday in 2012). After a late start and maybe setting off a siren at the border when we drove away when we weren't supposed to, we finally made it to our hotel around 11 pm and promptly passed out. We woke up early(ish) the next morning to drive to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is in the north part of the city. My birthday gift to Robbie was that he wouldn't have to plan anything for the weekend (I was about 90% successful there) but he did mention he wanted to go see the bridge. It was pretty cool and in a beautiful forest, but it did have some tones of National Parks Service meets Disneyland. It costs about $35 each for adults and there are lots of attractions in the park like birds of prey (on leashes, not just flying around), bands playing old-timey music, and plenty of suspension bridges to get freaked out on. I'm glad we went early because the main bridge was flooded with people by the time we left and it's hard to get excited about pretty views when you feel like you're going to fly over a bridge into the river below.

(the end of the photos from my non-phone camera)

Don't look too closely, Robbie's closing his eyes

We totally look like gold prospectors

Rhoda's gotten really good at saying "totem pole"

With our certificate of completion, which we got after getting stamps at a bunch of points in the park (this is what I mean about nature Disneyland)

Can't get mad about a little rain when you're in a drought! Thanks for taking one for the team, Rhoda.

After the park we drove back into town for a bowl of freaking delicious ramen. I'm always craving ramen but the rain and gloomy weather made it especially appropriate. Most of the food scene in Vancouver is of the Asian variety so we really didn't have much of a choice anyway. Post-lunch and post-naps we took a little walk over to Stanley Park, which was just across the bay from our hotel.

Post-ramen partying

I'm serious about the totem poles

The next day, after we went to church, we stopped by Granville Island for lunch and a little exploring. It was probably my favorite part of the trip! We got there before the lunch rush and got to meander through the market without too many crowds. There was so much good food to choose from that it got a little overwhelming so we ended up eating... lots of food. No biggie.

Cool art installation on some old silos

Rhoda probably being excited about birds/ferries/bridges

Our drive back was uneventful and we didn't accidentally try to illegally rush over the border again. Thanks, Canada, for continuing to be my favorite country!

metrograms

You thought I was done talking about Canada, didn't you? Never fear—I still have my phone pictures to sift through.

One of the things that I really loved about Montreal was the metro system. I was actually a tiny bit torn when we started biking everywhere—it was great to be outside and experience the city from the street, but the metro was so cool! The stations were built in the 1960s and 70s and the decor hasn't really changed much since then. Robbie said that as a missionary, he often thought to himself that the 70s probably felt like being in a Montreal metro station. Each station had artwork that made it stand out, which was really nice, since it's often hard to figure out where you are in, say, the DC metro. I wish we had a little more flair in our system.

Also—super cool station names to match the super cool artwork. Good job, Montreal.

ottawa

And now... Ottawa.

Ottawa seemed like a weird choice to me at first, but Robbie spent quite a bit of time here as a missionary and claimed it was beautiful and we couldn't miss it. Good call, Robbie—because I loved Ottawa! It reminds me a little bit of DC. The main draw, really, is that it's the capital of Canada. Other than that it's just a pretty place with random statues all over. 

When we drove into Ottawa (about two hours west of Montreal), it was overcast and drizzling. And then it turned into a full-blown downpour for most of the afternoon. So we spent most of the evening in the mall attached to our hotel and then attempting sight-seeing, but we were both wet and miserable after an hour or so and decided to head back to the hotel and enjoy the best thing about staying in hotels—cable TV and a hot tub.

Ottawa redeemed itself the next day, though. It was clear and sunny—perfect for a bike ride (Bixi strikes again!), though it was a touch too humid for me. There's a nice canal and bike path that runs through town, so we rode around for a few hours and enjoyed the sun. In the winter, the canal freezes over and people ice skate to work! That kills me. Quebec province is across the river so we rode around over there for a bit too.

We headed into Parliament to poke around, which was really nice. We went up into the Peace Tower, where the clock and carillon bells are, and you get a great view of the city. There's also a memorial room for the Canadian soldiers who have fought and died in various wars. I'm currently obsessed with Maisie Dobbs and Downton Abbey and I always get a little teary when I see remembrances of World War I. I feel like US history doesn't talk much about WWI but the European and Canadian tributes are really nice. In the memorial room they have books with the soldiers' names and they change the pages every day so that everyone can be honored.

(This one's for Granny Babs, who loves this poem)

We ended the day with a great picnic over at the Arboretum before we headed back to Montreal. Robbie has a good long-term memory and remembered an awesome Italian deli with amazing pasta and sandwiches (map here), so we grabbed our food and sat over by the water and defended our food from the ducks. Too close, ducks.

 

I totally recommend Ottawa to anyone who is visiting the great white north. If only for the reason that their grocery store chain is called Loblaws:

quebec kitty

Montreal was sort of our home base for our trip, and we took a couple of day trips to nearby cities. Quebec City is about two hours out of Montreal so we rented a car (well, we were actually "upgraded" to a minivan because they gave away our more fuel-efficient option...) and headed to QC early Sunday evening. Again, we were blessed with beautiful weather, which made for a nice jaunt about town to enjoy the European-ish charm and cobblestone streets.

Most of the interesting stuff in QC is within the old city walls, so that made it easy to plan our day. The main point of interest is the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac, which is a giant, fancy hotel overlooking the St. Lawrence River and not actually a historic castle like you might think. Instead of blowing hundreds of dollars on a fancy hotel room, Robbie opted for a much better option:

A CAT-THEMED B&B. Judging by the website I'm not exactly sure how Robbie found out that the owner loves cats, but every room has paintings of cats and cat cross-stitch as decor. Plus, there are two cats that live in the B&B so it was pretty much my dream come true.

Moving on.

One of the highlights of our QC trip was the food. We really didn't eat out that much (see food map here) but when we did... holy mother. We had the best meal of my life, at a new place called Le Chic Shack. We had our reservations at first (it was kind of empty, there weren't very many reviews on Yelp or TripAdvisor) but it turned out to be amazing. They had amazing burgers and a delicious rendition of poutine that I can't stop dreaming about, as well as homemade sodas and ice cream sandwiches. And, go figure, it was started by an American. But who cares? It was the bomb. You should go to QC just to eat at Le Chic Shack.

Quebec City—charming, and worth the day trip! If only for the poutine, and for these views: