Vancouver: Day Two

I have become a wolf.

I have marked my territory up and down Vancouver. If we've been in a building, I've used the restroom. No, I'm not kidding. Doesn't matter how long we're there for - I'll make time to visit the restroom. Perhaps I should have photographed them?

Anyway, we woke up early and shuffled over to Caffe Artigiano for Sunday brunch, which was yummy. Considering that it's only 3 blocks away, it's a slow process getting there. Fortunately the food was yummy and the line was short - seems that 9am on a Sunday is early by local standards in the city. However, when you're pregnant, it's never too early to eat.

We finally picked up a recent guide book to let us know all about the things that I can't walk fast enough to get to and chose to visit the Vancouver Aquarium, via taxi.

Eric asked if I could walk the 10 blocks to get there and I goggled at him. Considering that the twins have officially objected to almost any walking, the concept of walking 10 blocks is completely out of the question. So we took a cab down and had a very nice time.

We saw quite a few jelly fish, a lot of tourists and beluga whales.

Eric, under the sea.

Underwater gardening.

Turtles! Or as my mother-in-law would say, "Tur-ulls!" Da Bronx, baby. Da Bronx.

Tiny sea eels. They looked like wires.

I have no idea what this thing is, but you would never want to encounter it in the water.

Ssssssnake.

Nappin' parrot.
Otters! Doing cute little human things with their hands! And wrasslin' other otters.

Beluga whales. Those things are big!
Heron or crane? Either way, it was waiting for the Beluga whale show to start, too.
Belugas like to shake hands.
And eat hands.
"You're a handsome devil? What's your name?" [Name that movie!]*

Oh and Pacific white-sided dolphins. They were awesome!

Snacks!

Jumping like mad.
Jellies!I can't even begin to tell you how this picture in picture pleases me!

See through jellies.

Barnacles! Who knew they were so brightly colored?

A third, puffy white jellyfish.

Cool detail.

We plan on going back to Stanley Park tomorrow and taking it a bit at a time. I'm not prepared to hike all over the bloody thing in one go, but I can do a little bit here and a little bit there. So long as there are frequent potty and sitting breaks, that is. Fortunately there's a horse drawn carriage tour that we'll be trying out. That ought to be fun! No walking, yet touring still occurs - I love it!

For dinner, we went swank and ate at C Restaurant, where the food was pretty, the waiter's did their dance, the servings were small but filling and the food was memorable. Being a yuppie/foodie rocks for just this reason. The only downside is the expense. Le Sigh!

Eric at C's restaurant. Also looking very swank.

Eric's dinner: seared sea scallops, with white carrots and white baby beets, an eggplant sauce with flash fried sage leaves.

Hatchet's dinner: halibut topped with crab and a micro salad, over melted leeks with prawns over golden potatoes. Yum!

This surprised me. This is a stainless steel swanky spork! For dessert eating, dontcha know.

Eric's dessert: chocolate brownie over a cookie base, topped with a chocolate mousse and a scoop of orange brandy cream ice cream.

Hatchet's dessert: rhubarb galette, in a pool of raspberry cream sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream and an almond tuile cookie. Rhubarb never tasted so good!

The marina outside C.

We considered going down to the Canada Place convention center and walking around the piers, but I was too tired and swollen to continue on. Instead we drove back to the hotel and drew a nice relaxing bath. Our trip is low on action, but has been very nice otherwise.

Oh and it stopped raining yesterday while we were at the aquarium! Incredible! We were even able to ascertain that Vancouver really does have mountains!

Well, time for a nap. It's raining again. I find it charming and am glad I don't actually live here full time. All I'd ever do would be to sleep - rain makes me sleepy.

*Grosse Pointe Blank. Hey, if Val gets When Harry Met Sally, I claim dibs on GPB!