Back from the Westside...

Well - my apologies for not writing over the last week but as everyone is aware I was away but we are back from Vancouver and we made it back in one piece! The trip was probably one of the most interesting I have.....ever taken!

The beginning of the week was all filled with work (and I mean filled) Average 14-16 hour days was not exactly enjoyable but that's ok because it felt like it didn't stop raining the first 6 days I was there!!

Below I have listed some of the things that I loved, liked, and despised about Vancouver.... :)

Start off with the positives of course:

Loved:

The Sushi!!! I ate at a restaurant called Shabusen (no link available) It was an all you can eat Sushi/sashimi/korean bbq (with the grill built into the table) I took some pictures of Andrea and I eating there which I will hopefully post soon... :)
10 cans of XS out of 10

Dinner at my cousins place! (no link available :) Andrea and I were invited to go over to Brad and Jen's place for dinner and we had an awesome time. Now I realize that everyone reading this blog will not have the opportunity to visit this hidden secret of Vancouver (you won't find them in Frommers)...but I had to include them in the things I love about Vancouver :)! The food was absolutely incredible and company even better. It was so cool to travel to the other side of the country and be able to spend time with family. Simply awesome - thanks guys!!
10 cans of XS out of 10!

Lunch at some dutch restaurant in Port Moody with friends Jen & Andrew. To ditto the last post the company was awesome - it was great to spend time with friends. The food was very different, Andrea and I had a pancake dutch style - very large and very good (Andrea's was Perogie and mine Rio Grande)
9.5 cans of XS out of 10! (the food was not quite as good as the first two places...:)

Storyeum (commonly mispelled as Storeyum) - This place was awesome! Located in old Gastown (more on this area of town a little later on) they have managed to build a "living" history of British Columbia under the street! It's basically a live theatre production that takes you through various stages and sets and explains the history of the province. Quite frankly I had never seen anything quite like this (except maybe DisneyWorld) and it was really quite amazing. I highly recommended to tourists or even locals who haven't seen it.
9 cans of XS out of 10! (no food so it obviously can't score a 10!)

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden - This was quite a unique experience for both Andrea and I, having never visited anything like it before. This garden was the first full size Chinese Garden ever built outside of China. It's a scholars garden and was built in 1985 opened in 1986 in time for Expo in Vancouver. We walked around at first by ourselves and thought it looked rather nice but then we took the guided tour and what a treat that was. We learned what the garden actually represents, how it was built and generally lots of information that provided some keen insight and understanding regarding the garden.
9 cans of XS out of 10!

Vancouver Aquarium - We had a lot of fun at the aquarium spending the better part of a day there. The beluga whales and sea lions were of particular interest and were very funny. All around great atmosphere, lots of shows, and a lot of fun.
8 cans of XS out of 10

Capilano Suspension Bridge - This was a neat place that we went with Brad & Jen. Usually it's about $22.00 a person to get in but because it's close to Christams it was free with a donation of 5 non-perishable food items. Quite an amazing sight - A 450 foot suspension bridge 250 feet above the ground. They also had a treetop adventure which was quite nice. We did this attraction at night because they had lights up for the holidays so all in all it was quite beautiful.
7 cans of XS out of 10

Well - that's the list of things I loved - next up the list of things that I liked....