Designer Tea, Stanley Park, Burlesque & So Much More

Vancouver is a smorgasbord of fun and today, we dined very well.

We began our day with a stroll to the waterfront and a history lesson about the 2010 Winter Olympics. Thousands upon thousands came to see this majestic Cauldron lit. With the Games complete, the Cauldron remains as a permanent landmark on the Jack Poole Plaza. At 32.8 ft tall and set against a beautiful mountain and harbor backdrop, the Cauldron continues to attract visitors and locals alike. More importantly, it’s a reminder of this city’s extraordinary Olympic experience and demonstrated ability to host large, complex, international events.

Okay, I loved this. Digital Orca is a 2009 sculpture of a killer whale by Douglas Coupland, installed next to the Vancouver Convention Center. So cool.

Vancouver has the world's longest uninterrupted waterfront path. The 28 km Seaside Greenway is an uninterrupted pathway, including the Stanley Park Seawall, that extends from the Vancouver Convention Center to Spanish Banks Park. Perfect for a walk, cycle, or jog, it is the most popular recreational spot in the city. The Seawall is divided in to two clearly marked sections - one for walkers and joggers (closest to the water), and one for cyclists and inline skaters (inside path).

We stumbled, happily, upon Liz Magor's LightShed. It wasn't until we were about to actually touch it that we discovered it was cast in a soft grey non-shiny aluminum. Every detail is precise. Looking at them, it's like putting on reading glasses or adjusting the focus of a camera to the utmost clarity. Similarly, the slightly askew supports for the hut display vertical fissures appropriate to the wooden posts they were originally cast from. The four compositions of seaweed, mussels, and barnacles that cling to the surface of the pilings incredibly life-like.

LightShed is a ghostly remembrance shedding light (pun intended) on the structures formerly located on the waterfront wharves for servicing, sheltering, or repairing boats.

We had to explore the newly opened Laurence and Chico Café, where the worlds of fashion and food collide.

New York-based designers, Laurence Li and Chico Wang, are known for their vividly-colored contemporary accessories and womenswear brand sported by the likes of Lady Gaga, Cardi B and Solange Knowles. But in this new joint venture, the fashion duo have decided to open a stylish cafe in Laurence’s hometown of Vancouver.

They had some of the coolest washrooms ever.

Best holiday ever!!!

Lunch was at this delicious place. From their website: "Noodles have a legendary history. People have been slurping noodles in China as far back as 4,000 years ago. In Chinese culture, noodles are renowned because their length represents long life. In this proud tradition, our Legendary Noodle makers have brought their handmade noodles to Vancouver since 1997. As a teenager, the restaurant founder Brock Li, learned how to stretch, twirl and slice dough into slender strands."

The restaurant front is filled by an antique wooden waterwheel and bobbing Chinese lanterns. Past a beaded curtain, our compact space is furnished with dark wood tables and benches imported from China. Red silk cushions accent the seats. Other ancient wooden tools and garlands of firecrackers decorate the walls. By the open kitchen where chefs stretch noodles, a set of wooden screens carved with bats and butterflies are backlit by turquoise lights that offer you a slice of China.

"Sometimes legends are hidden in the unlikeliest of places, so saunter up the streets to our noodle making shops where in this case, our legend is made from dough."

Vancouver has exceptional public art. This was one of my favorites. A-maze-ing Laughter consists of 14 enormous bronze statues – in all different poses – of a shirtless guy laughing hysterically. First installed in 2009 as part of the Vancouver Biennale, A-maze-ing Laughter has quickly become the city’s most recognizable piece of outdoor art. Kids climb all over the giant, 6' tall statues and swing from the arms. Tourists stream in to mimic the funny poses and take snapshots. One couple was even married right in the middle of it all. How can you not smile at this?

Most of our day was spent with a delightful group of people. Our son's in-laws are here on vacation and they have a long time local friend who joined in the fun as well.

No trip here is complete without a visit to Stanley Park, Vancouver's first, largest, and most beloved urban park. It is a 1,000 acre green oasis in the midst of the urban landscape.

It is a natural West Coast rainforest with scenic views of water, mountains, sky, and majestic trees. There are miles of trails, beautiful beaches, local wildlife, great eats, natural, cultural and historical landmarks, along with many other adventures. The park offers a wide range of unforgettable experiences for all ages and interests.

When we came across this long defunct enclosure, I guessed it to be a Polar Bear exhibit. I was so right. The Stanley Park Zoo closed in 1996 and this is its last remaining relic: that long-forgotten polar bear exhibit. The story of the zoo dates back to 1888, the year Stanley Park officially opened. Henry Avison, the city’s first Park Superintendent, captured a baby black bear on the grounds and chained it to a stump, thus beginning a 108-year tradition of the park’s display of wild animals.

The Polar Bears came in 1962.

Being as we're all about visiting the most visited attractions, we walked to the nine Totem Poles at Brockon Point.

The collection started at Lumberman's Arch in the 1920s, when the Park Board bought four totems from Vancouver Island's Alert Bay. More purchased totems came from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the BC central coast Rivers Inlet, to celebrate the 1936 Golden Jubilee. In the mid 1960s, the totem poles were moved here.

While I was Googling "What's Happening in Vancouver", I found the Vancouver Burlesque Center Costume Shop's closing sale. The teachers of the studio cleared out their closets and hosted the biggest sale to date!

We had the most fun, ogling, buying and just marveling at the uniqueness of it all.

Pasties anyone?

This guy tried on this dress "Just because he could". After this shopping experience, I said to him and his girl, "You guys crack me up!" and he responded, "We crack ourselves up!"