It was really pretty cold today and on top of that it was raining fairly hard.  Since I love the rain, it wasn’t much of a problem, I just had to make sure my camera wasn’t exposed. I made a stop at Tree Organic Coffee to get some Chai Latte and as much as I wanted to try their Cheesecake (the cafe was awarded the best cheesecake in Vancouver) I had no space after the raw vegetarian breakfast I had at Whole Foods.

After the Waterfront I was walking to Robson Street, when I noticed the Stanley Park bus behind me, I did a quick 180 and got on.  I have never been to Stanley Park so I though this would be a neat little adventure.  Stanley Park was amazing.  So many beautiful trees.  I just enjoyed being around nature, usually I’m stuck in front of my laptop and it sucks…

Well after Stanley Park I walked through Coal Harbour and kept going all through Robson Street to the Pacific Center station and headed home for a bit.  When I got home I suddenly got hungry… Yes, yes, I know I should plan things out, but that is so not me. So I picked out a Japanese sushi restaurant and headed down…  Anyway the rest of the day isn’t all that interesting.

Let me just say that walking 10 km or 6 miles is no easy feat when you are carrying 30+ pounds of camera gear.  I’m so sour, I hope you guys think about my soreness, when you look at the pictures. The torment!

What we didn’t plan was the photo session that the stroll spontaneously lapsed into. The water and lights were pretty, and we decided to take advantage of them as a great background. There’s some great couples shots of Hassan and I, and some cute ones of Maria and I. Please ignore our gangsta poses. You can take the girls outta the ghetto, but can’t take the ghetto outta the girls …

Please enjoy our lameness and Maria’s inability to focus a camera. :)

Along with the expected but yummy dishes such as beef sashimi and edamame, there were some interesting combinations. The most delicious item I discovered was the Kabocha korokke, which is an unexpected combination of pumpkin, a boiled egg and Japanese mayonnaise all layered in a perfectly fried croquette. Get the defib paddles ready, ’cause I had a tastegasm that almost sent me marching to the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

In addition to the yummy, tapas-sized menu items, the restaurant was a fun take on the usual sushi bar/hibachi scene. The small restaurant offers what they describe as a traditional experience close to what you might find in a similar establishment in Tokyo. The waitresses, all Japanese, all greet you as you enter and leave the restaurant and shout out orders to the cooks from each table entirely in Japanese. While it’s loud and a little chaotic, I was overwhelmed by the authenticity of the experience.

Now for the real draw: the food porn. Arigato and sayounara for now!

–Lindsey

The Guu Restaurant canopy... Too bad it isn't a sun-setter retractable awning...

Lindsey Peacock and Maria Arshad pose with the menu.

This was Guu's special menu for the day, both menus offered something different and we used both for our order.

Maria Arshad goes through Guu's regular menu looking at the various choices.

The waitress cleans off a table and gets ready to seat another party. There were many people waiting outside the restaurant for seating.

Guu waitress walks to our table with our food in hand.

The atmosphere in Guu was definitely picture worthy. We all sat on small wooden stools or a equally small wooden bench, with only one plank. This was an experience worth noting.

Grilled Beef Skewer, the beef was cooked rare to medium rare and was absolutely delicious.

Kabocha korokke is an unexpected combination of pumpkin, a boiled egg and Japanese mayonnaise all layered in a perfectly fried croquette

Kabocha korokke, an inside view of the tastiness

So as Lindsey and I start walking to look for the Café Crepe, we saw another Craperie that was closed and mistook it for Café Crepe and thought that it hadn’t open yet.  Well it all worked out quite well as we found another restaurant to eat some breakfast called Bread Garden.  Although it didn’t seem like a chain restaurant at all, it is one of Vancouver’s own chain restaurants and is still only focused on local franchising.  Bread Garden was a really neat place, it had sofas and small tables to enjoy a nice coffee or some tea.  I had a Cinnamon Bun with a Chai Tea Latte and Lindsey had a Croissant also with a Chai Tea Latte.  I really liked my breakfast but I knew it was going to be kind of a heavy breakfast so I only ate a little bit, but it was still really good food.

After Breakfast we decided to go back to our normal plans of doing some shopping, since we live in the tundra where there are no good clothing shops.  So we jumped on the Sky Train and made our way down to Oakridge Mall, do some shopping and the errands I had to run at Apple and head back.  On our way back to the hotel we went through Granville Street and saw a crowd of people surrounding a man, so we decided to take a look at it and he was balancing things on his nose.  I thought it was so neat that he balanced a shoe on his nose and then a huge unicycle on his chin.

Our last stop before getting to our hotel was hitting up a chocolate store called Rocky Mountain Chocolate Company on Robson Street.  We had walked passed there when we were checking in to our hotel the day before but since we had our luggage with us we couldn’t go in, so this was our chance to take a look and, wow was it was amazing.  They had so many different types of  candied apples, from Smores-covered to chocolate and caramel dipped apples.  I got two Milk Chocolate Turtles and didn’t even know what to do in the store but eventually she got a milk chocolate truffle, or two, or three… Maria decided to get some Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Well that was our adventure for our second afternoon, the rest of the day will be put up in a subsequent post.

Enjoy the images.

We were staying at the Listel Hotel on Robson Street and I started walking around and finally found myself in a very brightly lit street and it took me a few seconds to realize that this was Granville Street, the same street I was in earlier that morning.

I walked all the way down Granville, back up and just wandered the city as much as I could.  I had a fun time just walking around and taking pictures.

Well this is a short entry because it was a short trip.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Hassan

The illuminated signs of Granville Street show the nightlife of this street.

The Future Shop store on Granville Street

Vancouver Building at night

A street artist draws the young mans face.

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After lugging our bags from the underground station of our stop, I realized just how wrong I was. As soon as we hit the open air of the city, Vancouver began pulling at my heart strings. Skyscrapers, street vendors, spectacular alleyway views of the Canadian Rockies and a diverse pedestrian population littered the streets around me, and it feels good to be back in a big city. Oh civilization, how I have missed thee.

After checking into our chic boutique hotel (more on that later), my travelling party and I were starving. We decided on a a chain-looking establishment across the street from our hotel called Don Guacamole’s. While it looks quite ordinary on the outside, I was surprised to find a full Spanish-speaking staff (always a good sign to prove authenticity of the cuisine) and a variety of dishes. I ordered what I expected to be a normal veggie burrito, but was served an overflowing masterpiece of grilled, gooey goodness smothered in a tangy red sauce. The restaurant offers traditional Spanish flavors wrapped up in gourmet packaging. Muy bueno. My compadres were as impressed with their lunches as I was, and we all took it as a sign from the gods that a random restaurant pick turning out so delicious boded well for Vancouver being a true foodie haven.

Later in the day, we took to the streets for exploration, shopping and to try the elusive Japadog. You may have seen this concoction on shows such as Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, but if not, the Japadog is a hot dog dressed up with Japanese-inspired ingredients. There are several stands around town, but we visited the closest one at 899 Burrard. The staff was extremely friendly and ready to pose for photos and explain various ingredients and hot dog types. I had the Veggie Terimayo with seaweed, Japanese mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce. I have to tell you, it was a little piece of heaven on a sesame seed bun. Despite the inevitable lineup at the stand, I could imagine gorging myself there every day.
With a delicious burrito and hot dog settled nicely into my belly, I realized it. I was in love. Vancouver, you have won my heart. Now what do you have in store for me on Day 2? We’ll find out bright and early tomorrow.

Today we finally began our three-day conquering of the major metropolis of Vancouver. After a pretty horrible day of travelling through a freak April blizzard on Friday through the night and into this morning, we were all exhausted upon reaching our destination. And I must say, when our plane landed, I wasn’t too impressed. I saw a bit of dinge and a lot of industrial space as we efficiently moved on the Sky Train toward our hotel in the western portion of downtown.  After lugging our bags from the underground station of our stop, I realized just how wrong I was. As soon as we hit the open air of the city, Vancouver began pulling at my heart strings. Skyscrapers, street vendors, spectacular alleyway views of the Canadian Rockies and a diverse pedestrian population littered the streets around me, and it feels good to be back in a big city. Oh civilization, how I have missed thee.

After checking into our chic boutique hotel (more on that later), my travelling party and I were starving. We decided on a a chain-looking establishment across the street from our hotel called Don Guacamole’s.While it looks quite ordinary on the outside, I was surprised to find a full Spanish-speaking staff (always a good sign to prove authenticity of the cuisine) and a variety of dishes. I ordered what I expected to be a normal veggie burrito, but was served an overflowing masterpiece of grilled, gooey goodness smothered in a tangy red sauce. The restaurant offers traditional Mexican flavors wrapped up in gourmet packaging. Muy bueno. My compadres were as impressed with their lunches as I was, and we all took it as a sign from the gods that a random restaurant pick turning out so delicious boded well for Vancouver being a true foodie haven.

Later in the day, we took to the streets for exploration, shopping and to try the elusive Japadog. You may have seen this concoction on shows such as Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, but if not, the Japadog is a hot dog dressed up with Japanese-inspired ingredients. There are several stands around town, but we visited the closest one at 899 Burrard. The staff was extremely friendly and ready to pose for photos and explain various ingredients and hot dog types. I had the Veggie Terimayo with seaweed, Japanese mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce. I have to tell you, it was a little piece of heaven on a sesame seed bun. Despite the inevitable lineup at the stand, I could imagine gorging myself there every day.  ?With a delicious burrito and hot dog settled nicely into my belly, I realized it. I was in love. Vancouver, you have won my heart. Now what do you have in store for me on Day 2? We’ll find out bright and early tomorrow.

– Lindsey

I am actually not sure what building that is but I just liked the compostion.

This man dropped one of the balls he was trying to learn to juggle with, this was right in front of the The Vancouver Art Gallery. There were people teaching and people learning to juggle.

This image was taken at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I liked the contemporary design of Robson Squre (foreground) and the classic design of the art gallery.

I liked this image because of the color and contrast. It was a hallway for people wheelchair access of Robson Square.

This is a Red Spring Artwork sitting outside a Vancouver Courthouse.

Some people sit and enjoy the Red Spring artwork sitting outside a Vancouver Courthouse.

Construction workers put up new Vancouver banners.

This is one of my favorite pictures, this is the Vancouver Public Library in Downtown Vancouver.

Another image of the Vancouver Public Library

An inside view of the Vancouver Public Library.

The Japadog street vendor prepares to take our order.

Another Japadog employee poses for an image as he fills up one of the condiment bottles.

Lindsey Peacock and Maria Arshad pose for an image.

The Japadog street vendor puts ketchup on the Japadog.

Lindsey Peacock gives a thumbs up as she prepares to eat her Japadog

My Japadog, it looked too good to take a picture of it whole.

Maria Arshad bites into her Japadog.

Another image of Maria Arshad.

Lindsey Peacock and Maria Arshad enjoying their dogs.

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Gotta run for a bit but Lindsey will be posting an updated version of this post soon. :)

Maria's Chicken Burrito with green sauce (that's what the restaurant called it) was a good mix of spice and flavor.

Lindsey's Veggie Burrito, with red sauce, was also good but I feel it lacked a some flavor, flavor that can't be added with a sauce.

I ordered the 5 Taco Plate which included Chorizo, Lengua (beef tongue), Carne Asada, Lamb and Flank Steak.

This was an order of the Guacamole and although it is aesthetically pleasing, I felt it wasn't as flavorful as my own guacamole or the gauc from Chipotlé.

The Guacamole (left) and the nacho dip (right) were a good compliment, because as I said before the gauc was lacking a little flavor, the same couldn't be said about the dips. The dips alone were worth the trip to this restaurant, I have yet to taste such strong flavors. Just be weary of the spice.

Don Guacamole Menu

Bar tender prepares drinks for the restaurant goers.

I liked how the water jugs looked with the lights in the background.

The Slush Cup started at 1 pm and lasted until 4 pm and all the while children and young adults attempted to make it across the water. While most didn’t make it all the way, many did make it across.  Besides the obvious reasons not to think you can make it across the pool, it was also a lot chillier than it had been in recent days and cold and wet are never a good combination.

It was an interesting event and I had a blast covering it. I got to meet some great people and I also got the chance to see some great snow action.

I hope I can come back next year, but we’ll have to see what’s going on.

Two children follow their friend down the slope.

A wider shot of the Slush Cup

A skier goes through the pool of water as the crowd watches on.

The crowd smiles as the snow boarder makes it across the slush bare bottomed

A snow boarder wields his light saber as he tries to make it across the slush cup.

Jeffery Stodola attempts to make it across the slush cup, instead he fell face first into the pool and lost a tooth in the process.

A skier goes down slope as I am on the lift out of the Slush Cup.

A mother and son enjoy the lift back to the top as their skies dangle on the way up there.

A snow boarder goes over the Slush Cup

The same snow boarder from the image before goes face first into the pool.

Daniel Granger in full super hero regalia hydroplanes on top of the pool. He made it all the way across the pool.

I took these images in Atlanta before one of my classes.  Most of the images were taken at during my summer semester at Georgia State University in 2009.   It really opened my eyes to all the great architecture in Atlanta that I never really thought to look at or pay attention to before.  It is odd how many beautiful things right in front of us that we overlook and this was an experience that helped me decide on toting my camera everywhere I went.

Well, I hope you enjoy the images.

So a few weeks ago Lindsey, Maria and me went to Edmonton so Maria could run an errand she needed to.  So I took this opportunity (as I do with any opportunity) to take pictures on our way there and while I was there.

We left at 3 a.m. to make it to Edmonton early in the morning.  One thing we did not foresee in this decision was how foggy it gets on the road in the a.m.

Well it was foggy.  I don’t mean “oh look at that dew and the little clouds over the ponds.”  I’m talking about full-on I can’t see 10 feet in front of me fog.  Well yeah… We had to drive 25 mph a lot of the way just  (That’s right, I used mph) (okay fine, that is 40 kph but that’s the last handout you get).

We finally got to Edmonton somewhat on schedule and that was that… Yup, no climax… I’m not Tom Clancy.  Enjoy the pictures.