On Saturday morning, A, V and I drove up to Mt Seymour to do some hiking.

We decided to go up Mount Seymour instead of Dog Mountain which came up in a Google search when I was investigating the hiking trails there. Next time!



I love taking pictures of the vegetation and all the sorts of things that people miss unless you take a closer look.



 Look at all this snow! I wasn't expecting to see snow in July! But it was kind of refreshing. We got a little lost around here. There were not signs or anything.






We were rewarded with this view. There were a lot of clouds...We went a little ways further but decided to turn back when other hikers said they couldn't see anything at all because of the clouds. Another day perhaps. We ended up mistakenly going down a ski run instead of the trail back. Oops. It was easier though! lol


As we were leaving, I spotted a raven in the parking lot. It's huge! It didn't like me getting so close though so it flew away. Before I could take more photos of it. =(

It's gonna be a fun-filled weekend with the 2012 London Summer Olympics starting and all the events happening around Vancouver! I wish I can go to them all!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Saturday, July 28, 2012

UBC Blueberry Fest
9:00am - 1:00pm
Triple-O's Patio, Main Mall & Agricultural Road
Blueberry Pancake Breakfast Scones, Muffins, Polenta Cake, Crisp & Tarts by Swirls BC Blueberries by the flat UBC Farm Campus Market, Free Recipes, Music, CiTR, FREE Face Painting and Balloon Art.

A Buzz at the UBC Farm Market
9:00am - 1:00pm
UBC Farm Market, 6182 South Campus Rd.
Come join us for a beethemed market, featuring children’s activities, honey from Jane’s Honey Bees, chef demos, a Queen Bee storyteller and information about what makes pollinators so unBEElievably important. Chef demos from Josh McWilliam of the Point Grill at 10am and 12pm and an exciting pollinator-focused Farm tour at 11am.

Buy fresh produce from local farmers!


Honda Celebration of Light - Vietnam
10:00pm
Sunset beach & English Bay
This will be the first time any of these countries have participated in what is the World's largest offshore international fireworks competition. Expect to see something a little different with each country not only preparing the fireworks but choosing the soundtrack to their performance also.  Head down to Sunset Beach before each show to experience more of the culture of each performing country on their specific day - and while you're there check out the great line-up of music at Shorefest and visit the Honda Zone!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Farmer's Market at Old Faithful Shop
11:00am - 5:00pm
Old Faithful Shop, 320 West Cordova Street
A community celebration of local labour: fresh locally grown fruits & vegetables, baked goods and specialty food items. Nelson the Seagull, Victory Gardens, Le March St. George, Revolver Coffee, Krause Berry Farms, Mikuni Wild Harvest and Earnest Ice Cream.


Mascot Racing at Hastings Racecourse
Hastings Racecourse, 2901 E Hastings St., Vancouver
The 4th annual Mascot Race is being held again at Hastings Racecourse. It is a fundraising event where company mascots gather to race benefiting the Variety the Children's Charity and family friendly.

Food Cart Fest at The Waldorf
12:00pm - 6:00pm every Sunday until Sept 2nd
1489 East Hastings Street Vancouver
The Waldorf, Yelp and Street Food Vancouver present six Sundays of food, live music, shopping, and fun.  Starting Sunday July 29, and happening every Sunday till September 2, join them for a series of free and family-friendly events. The Waldorf will be hosting food cart festivals on six consecutive Sundays in the parking lot. On Sunday, July 29th ▽MOON ▽ ROCK▽ Space Jewels + Rare Vintage x Upcycled Gems (www.hellomoonrock.com) will be hosting SUMMER DREAMS, A Summertime Fashion + Art Market in conjunction with the Food Truck Fest at The Waldorf Hotel!

Worldwide Instameet Weekend
3:00pm
Olympic Cauldron
VANCOUVERITES, represent our city at the Worldwide Instameet Weekend this Sunday! The details are on the photo above and will be happening rain or shine. We picked a fun and scenic route (Coal Harbour, Lost Lagoon, EnglishBay) so wear comfy shoes and follow the #instameetvancouver hashtag throughout the week.

Gastown is one of Vancouver's oldest neighbourhoods full of history and charm. As a local, I should be very familiar with it but I was not. I've only been to Gastown a couple of times and have never bothered to look up the history of it. Taste Vancouver Food Tour had a 2 for 1 Groupon for the tour so I jumped on it as soon as I heard about it. This was the first time I had attended a food tour and I was excited. I always love being a tourist in my own city and so does everyone else! Most of the attendees on our outing were locals. This tour covers 9 stops in Gastown, 8 food places and 1 shoe stop.



We started off the tour at the Starbucks at Canada Place where we met our tour guide. Banana loaf and Cool Lime Refresher were waiting for us while we waited for others to arrive. We weren't giving an audio headset despite what the tour description said so sometimes it was hard to hear our guide. I suggest staying at the front of the group.


Our tour guide was non other than Gassy Jack himself complete with accent. Awesome.



When everyone arrived, Gassy Jack took us on a walk to Gastown.



We stopped by the Province building where he told us some history about Gastown and how this building relates to it via the freeway that was never built in Vancouver. Thank goodness!


On we went to Waterfront station. More interesting history told here about the train station and Starbucks.


Have you ever looked up and seen the artwork and clocks up near the ceiling? I have never noticed them until this tour.


Our first official stop of the food tour was Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar which used to be the ladies waiting area for the train. Yes. The whole restaurant!


We sat down and were served a sample of Lobster Mac n' Cheese. Yummy, but very rich. I don't think I could take more than this portion size.


Next we hopped next door to Steamworks Brewing Company.


We headed down to the basement where Steamworks brews their beer.


In these large vats which are powered by steam!


Oatmeal stout beer was the beer of the day. It's a very dark beer but tastes ok.


I spotted a cool table made out of a door as we left.


Going further into Gastown, we were hitting up the desserts already. Rogers' Chocolates & Ice Cream was our next stop followed by Maple Delights.




We got to try a Sea Salt Caramel chocolate while Gassy Jack told us the history about Rogers' Chocolates and how he didn't start out making chocolate exclusively.



At Maple Delights we were ushered to the Tasting Station where we sampled a variety of maple syrup products.

Regular maple syrup,


cranberry maple syrup,


maple butter,


and maple tea.

The maple syrups were very sweet. I liked the cranberry one more which was a little tart in taste. I would have liked the maple tea first because after all the sweetness I couldn't really taste it. Though after a few sips, I decided I like this tea!


More interesting tidbits of Gastown architecture. The building on the left has the same style windows as San Francisco and the ceiling on the right may be only tin ceiling in all of Vancouver. It was saved from some place. I forget where.


Our fifth stop was Brioche Urban Baking & catering.


We get good Italian cooked meals here.


I love the decor. It's very rustic and homely.


We were served a very decent portion of 3 Cheese Tortellini with some bread. This was the dish that filled us up for the tour.





After that we went on to dessert at Trees Organic, a place what was voted to have the best cheesecake in town!



We were given a choice between two cheesecakes, Lime or Mango Splash. Mango Splash was the featured cheesecake so I decided to try that. I wish we were allowed to have both samples. The portion is pretty small.


We headed down the street to the famous Gastown Steam Clock and I became a statistic at the most photographed attraction in Vancouver.



After listening to the steam clock chime the Westminster Quarters, we crossed the street to Water St. Cafe where we sat upstair in the private dining room while listening to the morbid history of the hotel and how it might be haunted. It is the only original building left from the fire that burnt down Gastown.



To cheer us up, we were given a quarter of a the cafe's West Coast Crab Cake to try which was on the menu since the restaurant opened.


From there we went to a stop that didn't really fit into a food tour, which was the John Fluevog shoe store. We just stopped by long enough to hear a bit of history about this building, which isn't a building at all but an area between buildings. We were told we could come back to shop after the tour with the 10% off coupon we got for being on the tour.




Peckinpah was our 2nd last stop, serving authentic Carolina style BBQ and we sampled some of their pulled pork with two sauces.




Peckinpah smokes their meats in-house.



I preferred the BBQ sauce which despite what the label says wasn't spicy at all. The other sauce I have no idea what it's suppose to taste like because I couldn't taste anything at all.


The last stop was in an alleyway where the jails and stables used to be. First we were given a history of Blood Alley where blood from the butcher shops coated the cobble stones and muggings and murders were a common thing. How nice.


After promising never to walk alone at night in Blood Alley, we went into Après-midi Premium Teahouse which is being renamed to Gastown Tea Company. It is housed in what use to be the stables for the police horses.


Smells really nice inside with all the different teas available for purchase.


We were given a quarter of a oatmeal coconut cookie


and a small cup of lemon maple tea. (or was it just maple tea again?)


Sadly our tour ended at the Gassy Jack Statue where we parted ways with our guide.


I really enjoyed the tour and at $19.50 (with Groupon) it was well worth it. It was a nice to spend the afternoon learning about the history of Gastown. Sometimes I felt like it was a promotional food tour though. I was more interested in the history. Our guide was very entertaining and the food was good despite the small portions.

Gastown Food Tour is $39 regular price and you can book on the Taste Vancouver Food Tour website here.