3 Things To Do in Vancouver BC

Vancouver, BC is hosting the 2010 Olympic Winter Games (February 12 – 28). This city and surrounding area is an ideal spot for an active getaway. Vancouver is consistently voted one of the greatest places to live. The region has plenty to offer residents and visitors with year-round outdoor activities (skiing, water sports, hiking, biking), breathtaking mountains and vistas, hip urban neighborhoods, markets and a cosmopolitan food community. During the late summer, my husband and I spent an enchanting weekend in Vancouver, here our favorite things to do to experience in this multifaceted city:

Worth-Standing-in-Line-For: Vij’s

Ask locals and visitors for a restaurant suggestion in and you’ll hear rave reviews for Vij’s Indian cuisine. Follow their lead to this not-to-be-missed dining experience. They don’t take reservations, so plan to arrive early to make the first seating or come a little later to mix and mingle with Vikram Vij, owner, while waiting for a table. The menu changes frequently and is skillfully prepared each day by an all female cadre of cooks. The spices are fresh and on the mark, ingredients local and the menu mouthwatering. Details: Vij’s Restaurant Inc, 1480 West 11th Avenue Vancouver, BC, (604) 736-6664

Vancouver, BC

Browse-Away-An-Afternoon: Granville Island Public Market

Granville Island Public Market - Vancouver, BC

Stretch your legs and amuse your senses at this walkable island. Check out the covered market with a varieties of deli offerings, fish, meat, cheese, fruit and bakery stalls, It’s a great place to pick up items for a picnic or make plans to spend some time in the area –there are several places to sit and enjoy. Continue to walk around the island to view the wares of local crafters, artists and other fascinating shopkeepers or checkout a show. There is something for every age in this artistic community.

Stanley Park - Vancouver, BC

Fresh-Air-And-Stunning-Vistas: Stanley Park

Consider bringing your picnic fixings to Stanley Park. It’s recognized as one of the great parks of the world. Vancouver’s first park and one of the city’s main tourist attractions, it’s an evergreen oasis of 1,000 acres in the metro area. There is always something happening in the Park, so check their website to plan your visit. The park abounds in plants, walking and biking trails, gardens and plenty of space to explore.

Do you have a favorite Vancouver experience? If so, please leave a comment below to share with others.

Bring your walking shoes and sense of adventure - enjoy Vancouver, BC.

I had the really good fortune of being on the island of Nantucket a week or so ago.  The weather was perfect, and even the 9 passenger plane ride on CapeAir from Boston to the island wasn’t bad.   We were visiting family, and had the great opportunity to get the insider’s view, not the touristy view, of Nantucket.

Nothing quite sums up summer anywhere on the Northeastern US shore better than locally caught and grown lobster and corn on the cob.     We soaked the corn for about an hour before popping it on the grill to get some of the sugars good and wet so they wouldn’t burn off.  The corn was sweet and delicious, and didn’t need even a hint of butter.

We picked 1 1/2 lb lobsters out of the tank.  Quickly immersing them in boiling water (i know, i know, its cruel but thats how you cook lobsters!), they turned to a bright red in minutes.

Dinner on the deck as the sun was setting was a perfect ending to a perfect Nantucket day. Visiting Nantucket in the summertime should definitely be up there on your “gotta get to it one day” list.

I’ve now tasted a little bit of heaven.  Charleston, SC is home to many, many , many fine restaurants.

But as far as I’m concerned, Hominy Grill on Rutledge Street DEFINITELY lives up to - and beyond -  its press!! We arrived around 1:30 pm, and were seated out on the terrace, under a great looking very SC typical tin roof.

It was tough deciding what to order, but I decided to be a purist and ordered the shrimp and grits. ( (Yes, cheese grits. They were unbelievable - here’s the recipe.)

Honey, there’s nothing better.  I savored every last morsel.  And you should too.  Definitely worth a trip to Charleston.

You could always visit the Biltmore Estates.  It’s America’s largest home, a national landmark, and a beautiful wonderful place to imagine how the fabled gentry lived in years past.   But if you’ve been there, done that (or if you’re not interested in somebody else’s 75 acre home and garden), here are a few fun things to do instead:

1. Eat at the Early Girl Eatery.  They have the BEST hand cut french fries, and, as an added bonus, they serve breakfast all day!!  On historic Wall Street in downtown Asheville. 

2. Visit Mast General Store.  The Asheville store has been a retail landmark in downtown since the mid 40s when it was built by Fain’s . . . and even before that when it was Mears Bros. General Mercantile (but in a much older building).Inside, this downtown emporium has been restored to its 1940s heyday featuring fixtures from the era and other mementos from the past.  Mast’s signature items can be found in the Mercantile Department, which is just jam-packed with cast iron cookware, pottery, baskets and other crafts, old fashioned toys, and a candy section featuring over 500 old-fashioned hard-to-find candies. 

3. Visit Woolworth Walk to see beautiful works from over 150 local artists, and have an ice cream soda at the renovated soda fountain!  The Old “F.W. Woolworth Building” was built in the 1930’s and was restored in 2001.  It has received two Griffin Awards for historic appropriateness.  It’s definitely worth the walk!