The main drag right near where we stayed: Commercial Drive, known for its hip/boho vibe
Chinatown gate
First meal: dim sum. It was quite serendipitous, as we sat next to the local founders of food blog Foodists.ca. They instructed us, with diagrams, on where to eat.
Vancouver's oldest neighborhood, Gastown. This is the historic steam clock. Away from its touristy parts, Gastown is really cool.
Gastown
Street art/mural near Gastown
Harbour Centre, downtown Vancouver
Gay-friendly Davie Street
The start of the seawall around Stanley Park, Vancouver's great green space
Totem pole collection near east side of Stanley Park
Totem pole, Stanley Park
I liked this guy. He's supporting the whole damn pole.
Pausing under Lions Gate Bridge, along the seawall. We rented a tandem bike (remember my two broken toes?).
Lions Gate Bridge, connecting downtown to North Vancouver
My view from the back of the bike
A little play area off the seawall route
Curves ahead: approaching Siwash Rock, Stanley Park
We were lucky to do this ride on a weekday; it wasn't obscenely crowded.
Third Beach, the first one we passed on our route
English Bay. Nicer, bigger beach off the park--it was pretty crowded late in the day for some fireworks extravaganza happening that night.
Quick swing break
Vine-laden building near English Bay
Science World, one of the many museums we skipped in favor of beaches/food/beer (oops)
The masters of the tandem
Seawall extension. We kept going around False Creek.
Harbor near Granville Island
Crossing the Burrard Bridge back into downtown, still on the bike
Dinner at Vij's, a highly acclaimed creative-Indian restaurant. The lamb lollipops in cream curry (right) were to die for.
Our couchsurfing setup in Vancouver. Very comfy futon.
An unexpected (and really yummy) panini "breakfast" on Commercial Drive
Down-on-his-luck dude on Granville Island
The Granville Island Public Market is an incredible one. Too bad for the locals it's become popular with visitors too.
The produce section
Local berries
Local goodies
These were deeelish.
We liked this stand.
Local cheeses
First local beer tasting: Granville Island Brewing. It was a good one.
Also on Granville Island: Dockside Brewing Co., inside a hotel
Not as tasty as Granville Island Brewing, but a respectable effort. And no one seemed to even know about this place.
Ridiculous housemade pork-filled pan-fried dumplings at Sha-Lin Noodle House
And other yummy hand-pulled noodles at Sha-Lin
A legendary breakfast in Gastown: scrambled eggs with sausage, sausage gravy over homemade biscuits, and crispy homemade hash browns. 100% worth the artery clog.
To the west of town, near the UBC campus, is Wreck Beach--celebrated for being Vancouver's only nude beach, and supposedly attracting hippies, gays, and drug pushers.
It's also huge and gorgeous, backed by leafy cliffs.
