Vancouver: Hotels, Food & Shopping

Hotels:
We stayed at the Seattle Pan Pacific and Vancouver Pan Pacific and I was more than pleased with both hotels. They were elegant, comfortable, cozy and both provided great views. Once we get all our photos uploaded I'll post some for you! I was also impressed with the service at both hotels. The staff were always friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

One thing that was really cool was the amount of Olympic stuff in Vancouver. As a matter of fact, our hotel seemed to be gearing up to be what looked like the Olympic Base Camp. Some sort of registration booth was set up in the lower level of the hotel and we also saw a room filled with people, tables and computers labeled "NBC Staging Area." It was cool to think that in just a couple of weeks Olympic athletes from all over the globe would be filling the Pan Pacific as well as the rest of the Vancouver area.

Food:
Even though we were "on vacation" for 48 hours, much of that was spent traveling and we only got to eat at one "real" restaurant in Vancouver. Before the game we had a late lunch at The Cactus Club Cafe in downtown Vancouver. It was only a few blocks away from the hotel so we walked there and continued to walk around and do some shopping after lunch. The Cactus Club was great! The atmosphere was a kind of hybrid modern restaurant/wine bar/sports bar (very little emphasis on sports bar -- there were hockey games on the TVs, and that's about the only reason I included it as a descriptor). The overall atmosphere was nice, but they did put us in a corner underneath some stairs. I tried to imagine it as the VIP area and we were just too cool to sit out in the open, but I also worried that we would be forgotten back there.

Jerry and I started out with Thai wings as an appetizer. I'm not a huge wing fan -- mostly because I'm pretty picky about chicken -- but they were quite tasty and came with celery that actually tasted good! Jerry and I think celery usually tastes like dirt and this stuff didn't! For our entrees, I had a the Gardenburger, which was really good. It came topped with sauteed mushrooms and melted cheddar. I'm usually not a fan of mushrooms but these were really good and complimented the burger really well. The burger came with a side of sea-salted fries. To be honest, I was kind of expecting more out of the fries. They were good, but next to the burger they were a disappointment.

I THINK Jerry got a regular burger, which I THINK he enjoyed. I do remember that it came with a side of sweet potato fries which were really, really good. They came with a side of garlic aioli, which was yummmmmmy! I also had a glass of Grey Monk, a Pinot Grigio made in British Columbia (2007). I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I thought it was a very nice drink. The waitress recommended it and I was quite pleased!

Shopping:
As we were driving from Seattle to Vancouver we passed through Bellingham, Wash. I kept thinking the whole time, "Why does Bellingham sound so familiar?" And then it hit me: There's a soap store/supply store/soap making bar called Otion Soaps. I just recently got into soap making so I made Jerry turn to car around and drive back to Otion where I was like a kid in a candy store. They have tons of scents, pigments, bases, molds and other accessories for making soaps. The gal helping me was so friendly and sweet. I got a bunch of things to bring home to play with. If you're at all into soap making I'd definitely recommend stopping by Otion if you're ever in the area. Or, check out their Web site.

My all-time favorite place to shop anytime I'm in Canada is........ Roots!! I absolutely ADORE Roots! I wish we had one a little closer, although I would wind up spending way too much money there. Ha! Of course, right now they have ton of Olympic gear and other items that say "Right to Play." Pretty cool stuff. I got some shirts, Jerry got some sweatshirts and a couple cool hats.

We also stopped at L'Occitane, a bath and beauty store with soaps and lotions that are all made in France. I've seen the products before and have used the hand cream (which is AMAZING, by the way) but I'd never been in a store or seen the whole line of products. I got some of the hand cream I'd used before. It's relatively spendy... ok, it's expensive. $30 for a tube of hand lotion. But the product is great so I'm willing to spend a little more for a quality product.

That was really all the shopping we did because we had to run back to the hotel and get to the game in time. Overall, Vancouver was GREAT and I can't wait to go back someday.