Vancouver Visit with Mark and Claire

During our Vancouver visit, our days were so full that I did not even attempt to blog; on our return, we needed a couple of days to take care of things that had piled up in our absence and to begin preparations for Christmas.  Today I'll share "the rest of the story". Fair warning,  I will probably be wordy, as I am wont to do, and there will be lots of photos, but full photo collection will only appear on a Picasa album to follow later.

Our first two nights in Vancouver were spent at the FairmontPacific Rim Hotel , courtesy of Mark.  The room Mark had reserved for us there was extraordinary, with a beautiful view over the harbor, and he had also arranged to have this “light snack” waiting for us when we arrived in the room  – both lovely and delicious!  Just about everything on the plate was made by the restaurants at the Fairmont Pacific Rim, where they make their own food from scratch (including the meats on this platter) like some high-end restaurants might, but unlike most hotel restaurants do.

This change to "from scratch" preparation that Mark and his Executive Chef instituted a year ago is unique among hotel restaurants, and is making a significant impact on how hotel food is perceived here, making theirs truly destination restaurants for the discerning public not just for hotel guests.  The photos I took of our room at the hotel don't do it justice, nor do those of the view overlooking the harbor and Canada Place on the lower right in the photo below (on the lower left is the green-roof of the convention center).

We spent the first two days exploring Vancouver and eating wonderful meals, mostly incredibly fresh and well-prepared seafood, which is difficult - if not impossible - to come by in Richland/Kalamazoo, MI.

Our first evening in the city, Mark and Claire took us to a sushi restaurant where they often meet up with each other and with friends after work.  The next day, we walked around Gastown a bit, past the famous steam clock and had lunch at the aptly named "Meat and Bread" restaurant where I had the best pork sandwich I have ever eaten and John had an outstanding beef sandwich).  Later that afternoon we attended the Cirque du Soleil show "Amaluna". Having never seen one of these performances before, we found it breathtaking, tho' Mark and Claire have seen others that they said were even more spectacular.  

Before the performance began.

Following the performance, Mark had arranged for us to eat at the Lobby Lounge and Terrace at the Pacific Rim, where - following cocktails - we had the freshest, sweetest, most varied, lovely, and massive sushi platter that I have ever seen or tasted.  (Forgive the superlatives - there is just no other way to describe this experience.)  As though that was not enough, the sushi meal was followed by a beautiful tray of varied deserts - my sweet tooth was in heaven! Unfortunately, I was too busy savoring the meal to take photos of the food, although John did get a couple of the sushi, and a lovely hostess took a photo of the four of us enjoying our time together.

In the afterglow of having decimated the sushi platter!

The following day we traveled to Vancouver Island by ferry.  We were fortunate during our visit that although this particular time of year can be extremely wet and blustery in Vancouver, our days were reasonably mild (cool, not freezing), if overcast and slightly damp. Although you won't see much sunshine in the photos from this trip, we never had to resort to the full rain-suits and umbrellas we had brought with us. At 290x50 miles (460x80 kilometers), the island is the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand, with much to see and do.  Since we only had three days available to spend here this trip, and on two of those we would spend 1/2 a day just traveling to and from the island, we limited our experience to the towns and surrounds of Tofino and Ucluelet.  As before - we feasted on seafood in much simpler, homier restaurants than in the city, and prepared simple breakfasts and snacks in the condo that we rented. I don't really have the words to express the beauty of this area, the massive old-growth forests with lush growth of ferns and moss,  the rocky coast, sounds of sea pounding on rocks and cliffs, so here are some photos that say more than I am able to.

Condo with hot-tub on porch, where we listened to wolf serenades in the evenings.

Now THAT'S a tree!

Lighthouse...and is that sunshine?...

The wind was THIS strong....

The rugged beauty of this area is remarkable and addicting - we will definitely be back for a more extended time in the future.

It was a gift to be able to spend these three days with Mark in unhurried communion with nature and relaxation.

Two more memorable meals our last days in Vancouver were at Chewies Oyster Bar, and Coast, one of the restaurants that Claire manages.  

While this blog entry may sound more like a restaurant reporting than a vacation description, the best aspect of this trip was the time we were able to spend with Mark and Claire.  Since both John and Mark live at such distances from us, our time with them is precious and much appreciated.  Of particular importance to us was the introduction to Mark's world - the culinary world - about which we know so little, and want to learn so much. We reveled in this time together, being introduced to his world, his daily experience, and look forward to return trips which enable us to delve deeper and experience more.

Vancouver-Bound!

12-5-2012

We are on our way to by Amtrak to Vancouver now to visit Mark and Claire.  We love traveling by train; it is so relaxing and interesting.  Our ticket price included two nights in a "roomette" accommodation (a small private room for two in a sleeper car), three full meals a day in the dining car (not gourmet, but really nice meals, with reasonable choices for each meal) and a porter to tend to the needs of everyone in our sleeper car.  The personality and job-dedication of the porter can make a big difference in the experience, as can that of other personnel such as dining room staff. With one exception, of our 5 US train trips so far those personnel have ranged from good to great; only once did we experience a surly train crew.  This is more important that having good stewards on planes, since on a long train trip like ours crossing the country, you spend a fair amount of time with these folks, and are somewhat dependent on their attention to your needs.  This time, we really lucked out.  Our porter had us situated in our roomette with all our things comfortably stowed and complementary champagne in our hands within 10 minutes of boarding! The following morning after breakfast had been served in the dining room, he passed through our car with complimentary mimosas - twice. That was followed by him delivering the local paper to each of us that he ran out and picked up at a mid-morning train stop each morning. Every night after turning down our beds, he offered really wonderful chocolates (good quality dark chocolate infused with orange). He was unfailingly cheerful, responsive, and helpful, and seemed to really enjoy his interaction with all of us.  The dining room staff seemed to be having a ball, despite the challenge of carrying food for 4 at a time in a dining room with limited space, that rocks and rolls unpredictably underfoot. Because of the limited seating space in the dining room, people are seated at the dining booths with other passengers, 4 to a booth, in the order that you enter the dining room. That is actually one of the things we find so interesting about traveling this way: the opportunity to meet and talk with people from varied backgrounds, different walks of life, and different travel experiences.  On this trip, our dining companions included: 1) two young, fairly heavily tattooed young men wearing "gangsta" style clothing - turned out they were from Milwaukee, commuting to their jobs in the oil fields of North Dakota; they work two weeks on, two off, returning to Milwaukee for their off-weeks, living in "man-camps" at drilling sites during their "on-weeks", during which they work 10-12 hour days, 6-7 days a week.  When the weather is good, the commute by car, when it's potentially bad, they do so by train, to ensure safer travel.  They were disappointed that they were not going to be home with their families for Christmas, but figured they'd at least be back to celebrate the new year together.  2) A dear couple in their 80's, married for 60+ years, who were traveling from Minnesota to visit family on the west coast.  This was their first train trip, and they were as yet unsure if they would travel that way again, finding it difficult to steadily maneuver the narrow aisles of a rocking train, but they had charmed the train crew, one of whom had more or less adopted them and walked them wherever they needed to go so that they could feel comfortable. 3) A couple from Michigan, traveling to the coast to visit family, who were enjoying this first train experience so much they were debating trading in their return plane tickets for return by train instead. 4) A couple traveling to the coast to begin a new mission stint with a church on the coast; they had raised 13 children (his, hers, and several adopted kids), as well as served as foster parents for a number of other children, and talked about the challenges of incorporating these children from backgrounds very different than their own into their own household, talking honestly about their successes and failures in terms of trying to provide these children with a family experience that would stand them in good stead when they were returned to their own families or subsequent adoptive families. These two were also total "techies", each sporting iPhones, ipads, and macs, various interesting audio gadgets and other toys.  Who would have thought....?   There were others, but these folks stood out in my mind.

John in our "Roomette"

Dining Car

Observation Car