Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Granville Island

The Mr. and I had a little getaway last week. We took off on Wednesday afternoon and made our way to Granville Island. It's a little Island near down town Vancouver that is almost impossible to find if you don't know where you are going. At least for us it was! We had maps as well as printed and verbal directions and neither of those helped. Once we were on the island, I knew I would love it there. We made our way to the Eastern edge of the Island where the Granville Island Hotel is located. It is the only place to stay on the small Island but it is a pretty neat hotel. It is right on the water and has a sort of style that is different than a normal hotel. The floors were marble, the furniture and rugs were deep dark colors and our room had a window that looked out over the park, marina and water.







After getting settled in our room, we walked to the Public Market, where we were blown away by what was available. Amazing cheeses, deli meats, sausages and dry meats, fresh ready to cook pork, beef, poultry and about every type of seafood imaginable. One place had all sorts of meats pre-marinated and ready to bake or grill, they looked and smelled amazing. It is so weird to see rows and rows of raw meats under a counter. It is so different than the grocery store where everything is either frozen or wrapped in plastic. I just couldn't bring myself to take photos of all the meat, so these pretty flowers and fruit will have to do. :)




Fresh pasta!



Flowers and tropical greenery were everywhere, whether in bouquets, potted or freshly cut for your own arranging. There were pastas, pastries, chocolates, cookies, fancy cakes and cheesecakes, candy booths, fresh local honey, organic vegetables and fruits of all sorts. Seashells, art, crafts, clothing, baby blankets and jewelry were also to be found. There are also tea shops, herbal shops and coffee bean shops.

The food court in the market is a fun place to eat, and we ate dinner there. They have lots of ethnic foods and there aren't any chain restaurants there, so they are all mom and pop type places. My favorite was the pierogies, smoked sausages and cabbage rolls because those are my favorite foods to eat home made at my grandma's house. They also had Chinese, Japanese and Indian foods. Lots of fresh veggies and curries, sushi, soups, sandwiches, organic salads like lentil, bean or couscous. It was just amazing. Can you tell I like food?! It was just neat to see all the foods from different cultures and it was so difficult to choose what you wanted to try first. I definitely want to visit Granville Island again... and again.

15 comments:

  1. glad you had fun! i love granville island.
    did you know it used to be a sand bar until they dredged the inlet during one of the world wars and made it into a island?

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  2. AMAZING, looks soo yummy & fresh to us north mid-westerners! Looks like you had fabulous weather too Ü
    It's so great you can get away from the normal even if just for a couple of days.

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  3. I love your reports on things to do/see in the PNW (or, in this case the Canadian PSW)! Great stuff...but it made me very hungry for perogies!

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  4. Looks like a really fun place!

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  5. I've been to Granville! We went there on our higschool choir trip and we sand on the deck. You know right outside from where the market is. There were a ton of seagulls, and we had to kick away another guitar player.. were there any performers when you were there?

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  6. I LOVE Granville Island! We (the single girls) used to go hang out there and look around all day, it's such a cool place! Sort of like Pike's Place Market. I also remember numerous times getting lost on the way there. :) Glad you had a good time!

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  7. Oh, how nice for you both! Wish we could come and have such fun!

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  8. Great place, isn't it? Did you get to the bead shop? Their prices are outrageous!

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  9. Knittery- nope we didn't find the bead shop at all!

    Thanks for all the comments!

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  10. Kim- are you saying you sang there? I think you made a typo. If so, that is really cool!

    There were lots of birds and a few singers who I took movies of. :) Maybe I should post them!

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  11. LeAnne- that is so strange! Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Sounds and looks like a really neat place. All the fresh food looks so good.

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  13. Looks like you had a nice getaway. I haven't been to Vancouver in over 20 years. I bet it has changed a lot.

    My latest blog post is about Evangelism ideas at Easter. I'm telling everyone about it, because I think that Easter and Christmas are awesome times of the year to spread the word about Jesus.

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  14. Oh man that is one of my favourite places ever!
    I am drooling, I dream of going back there all the time, the fresh produce, amazing!
    Smokies, amazing, music, loved it!
    Sigh.
    I want to live near there!

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  15. I love your blog .. I am a Christian too who lives in Vancouver and can identify with your love of Granville Island and the high prices of the bead shop!!!

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