After enjoying our buffet breakfast, my and Lynda's
1-night adventure on Holland America's
Westerdam came to an end. We disembarked and walked about ten long blocks from the port (
Canada Place) to our hotel for tonight, the
Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites Vancouver Downtown. I booked the room using a free hotel night certificate offered every year to
Chase IHG credit card holders. It's a great credit card to have if you plan to stay at an
IHG hotel at least once a year. (IHG is affiliated with hotel brands such as
InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites, Crowne Plaza and more) Used smartly, the free night certificate can be worth much more than the annual fee of $49, plus cardholders automatically receive
Platinum Elite status with the IHG Rewards Club among other benefits.
As we arrived at the hotel around 9:30am, our room wasn't ready yet. When I booked online, a king bedded room was only available, so I asked the front desk agent if we could have a room with two beds. She told me that the category we were booked in (executive king room with sofabed) was the "best room in the house", so I stuck with it. In the meantime, Lynda and I stored our bags with the bell desk and headed back out to enjoy the beautiful city of Vancouver.
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| the manholes are works of art |
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The stores downtown didn't open until 11am on Sundays, so we walked out to the waterfront and hung out in the lobby of the
Westin Bayshore Vancouver to satisfy our need to connect to the internet. Then we headed to
Kingyo for
lunch to try out their special "deluxe bento box". They only make 10 sets a day, so I wanted to get to the restaurant around when they opened just in case, even though I added a bento box request when I called to make reservations. (which I didn't know you could do until I read about it on
Yelp) We got there a few minutes before 11:30am and there was already a line in front of the restaurant.
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| "open open open..." |
Ten people were in front of us, so I hoped that we would still be able to get the bento box, in case the reservation I made for them fell through. At 11:30am, the door opened and everyone shuffled in to be seated. I gave the hostess my name and mentioned the bento box reservation. She checked something off a list, directed us to a 2-top table that had a "reserved" sign on it which she took away, and shouted something in Japanese to the kitchen. When our waitress arrived, she only asked us for our drink order and took away the menus, so that was a good sign!
Truly, it was worth the planning, the anxiety and anticipation. Lynda and I thought every bite was heaven. The small dishes included
tamago,
agedashi tofu, spicy salmon
poke,
fried oyster, light salad with shrimp, stewed pork belly over mashed potatoes, chicken
karaage, tuna
takaki, picked vegetables, tempura squash with green beans, rice and miso soup. The soup was different, with vegetables and less bean paste, which I enjoyed. Apparently you could have seconds as our waitress asked if I wanted more when she saw I had an empty bowl. I was satisfied by then, so I declined but good to know for next time! Then for dessert, we shared a frozen green tea creme brulee...it was eye-rolling good, just sweet enough. I probably could have eaten the whole serving.
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| their fresh ginger ale is the bomb |
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| 12-piece deluxe bento box |
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| a closer view of this edible art |
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| all gone! |
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| Kyoto style green tea creme brulee - delish! |
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If the bento boxes were sold out, I still would have had a wonderful meal; everything people ordered looked so good. The prices were very reasonable...just $16 CAD for the bento box, and the other lunch dishes were much less. With the current great USD exchange rate, the bento box came out to a little over $11 USD, a huge value compared to what you get at your neighborhood Japanese restaurant back home. Kingyo is a must-visit whenever I am back in Vancouver.
After lunch, we walked a few blocks to
Yes Cycle bike rental shop. One of their staff had been handing out coupons on the corner of a major intersection and we decided to help them out and use their services compared to the humongous bike shop across the street that required no advertising. The bikes were easy-riding with few gears, large seat and had a basket to hold your personal items. Helmets and bike locks were also included in the rental.
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| ready to go! |
It was a beautiful day for a bike ride in Stanley Park. The sun was shining and exploring the forested areas of the park was a delight.
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parking our bikes on the side of the trail
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| Lynda out taking pictures of the rocks... |
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...the beautiful result
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| serene path into the woods |
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taking pictures of nature...
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| ...the result |
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can you believe downtown is nearby?
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| magnificent |
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We returned the bikes to the rental shop and then went shopping. We stopped by
L'Occitane...the prices in the shop were numerically the same as in the U.S., but with the advantageous exchange rate, became 30% less, so I picked up a few Divine Collection items while Lynda was enjoying a hand massage.
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| it's nice to be pampered once in a while |
We walked back to the Holiday Inn and were able to check in to our room. It was large, with the TV dividing up the room into bedroom and sitting area.
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bed area
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| sitting area |
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TV/drawer divider
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| standard bathroom with Bath and Body Works amenities |
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For dinner, we had a hankering for oysters so we walked to
Rodney's Oyster House in Yaletown. Our server was very personable...when he found out we were from the Sacramento area, he told us of his random stop in Woodland on a bike ride down Interstate 5. I don't remember how we got onto the topic, but he spoke about a place called
Desolation Sound, a summer destination gem. Even though it's far north, the waters are
warm. I'd love to visit there one day.
Back to the food...the raw oysters were good, paired with a variety of sauces and accompaniments. My favorite dish was the pan-fried oysters...I could have eaten two or three plates of those.
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| assorted sauces for the raw oysters |
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raw oysters with shaved horseradish
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| New England clam chowder |
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pan-fried oysters...yummy!
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| oysters rockefeller, s'ok |
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After dinner, we were in search of the supermoon
total lunar eclipse. Looking up at the night sky peeking between multi-story buildings, we were trying to discern which direction to go when an older gentleman stopped and asked "Are you looking for the moon?" Why yes, yes we are! He pointed us down the street to the harbor. Tonight was clear, so we got a good look at the reddish-orange moon.
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total lunar eclipse
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| moon starting to exit Earth's shadow |
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We stopped by a gourmet grocery store called
Urban Fare for some water and snacks, then walked back to the Holiday Inn. We took a peek at the hotel gym and pool. The indoor pool was supposedly open, but we couldn't get inside.
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decent variety of equipment
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| the deep end is 3 meters! (~10 feet) |
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Tomorrow, we board the Norwegian Pearl for a 3-night cruise to San Francisco...stay tuned!
***
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