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beansideGreetings from beautiful Vancouver, BC Canada.
We landed in SeaTac airport at about 9:30am PST, after a smooth flight. There was hardly an turbulence at all. The six hour flight wasn't fun, but it wasn't bad either.
We hit the ground running, collecting our luggage and then going forth to meet our driver, who was a character. He drove us to the Space Needle, which BIL looked at and declared that it was too high to go up in, so we drove on past. Then we went to Pike Place Market, which is HUGE and very hilly.
We didn't get to do everything this visit owing to physical limitations, but we did get some excellent ginger beer (Caramelized pineapple for me and white peach for Jess.) and we also got to Pike Place Chowder, which was excellent. We got various types of chowder, so we got to try them all. My favorite was mine, which was a seared scallop chowder. Jess had a coconut lime chowder, which was likewise amazing. We also went to Mee Sum pastry and got some enormous Hom Baos. Both were good, though not as good as the chowder. On the way back, we will try to get there again and stop at Piroshki Piroshki and maybe the crumpet shop. We walked through the market, and ended up at the Seattle Bag company, where we got Jess a fanny pack, as the one we had gotten at home did not fit well.
After that, we drove to a park with an amazing view of downtown Seattle for pictures.
Then, it was the 2.5 hour drive to Vancouver through some lovely mountains. Our border guard was seriously hardass, and peppered us with questions, but ultimately let us into Canada. Vancouver is gorgeous, and I loved it immediately.
The hotel...words fail me. It's beautiful, and our rooms are spacious and overlook the harbor. The view of the mountains and the water is spectacular. We relaxed for a few minutes, and then headed up to the club lounge for their appetizers, and promptly made dinner out of it. To be fair, they had an enormous spread, including garlic soy chili popcorn chicken (tasty, but a wee spicy), sundried tomato arancini (Very good for combating the burn of the chicken, and then plenty of meats, cheeses and a couple of small bites, including a crostini with minced salmon and creme fraiche (I'm not a huge salmon fan, but these were fire) and the topper for me, smoked duck breast on an endive leaf with radish and microgreens (Jebus, so good. I had like five of the little things).
Then, Jess and I came up to the room and decided that we needed to use the hot tub and pool. I wore my goth bikini, you'll be happy to know. I was brave. The hottub and pool were lovely and let us soak off some of the travel aches.
After that, we relaxed, and I showered. Then, we went to bed. I woke up to use the restroom about three, and our amazing view had mophed into something magical.
This morning, I'm a little achy from all the walking and travel, but I'm ready to explore Vancouver, with the help of the Great Canadian Hop on Hop off Trolley. Grantville Island, here we come! First, breakfast in the club lounge, and then we'll make a plan of attack for the day. I'm planning to come back to the room early, so maybe I can make use of the hot tub again. Then off to dinner with hopefully soon-to-be friends, and finish the night with Mortal Kombat.
Tomorrow, our ship will be in, and we'll be ready to sail out tomorrow! I can't wait!
It all still seems a wee bit surreal. When we pulled up to the Pan Pacific, it was just strange. I've watched a hundred (at least) videos, but this time it wasn't on a screen. The people at the hotel are just the sweetest. And this view. I was watching some cruise ships coming in and thinking "tomorrow that will be our boat."
I'm a little bit anxious about embarkation. My sister's physical endurance is much lower than I thought, so we might have to stop now and then. We'll manage, though. Soon enough, we'll be on a boat, sailing away for Alaska!
I will end it there, as I need to get dressed for breakfast. Everyone have a fabulous day!
We landed in SeaTac airport at about 9:30am PST, after a smooth flight. There was hardly an turbulence at all. The six hour flight wasn't fun, but it wasn't bad either.
We hit the ground running, collecting our luggage and then going forth to meet our driver, who was a character. He drove us to the Space Needle, which BIL looked at and declared that it was too high to go up in, so we drove on past. Then we went to Pike Place Market, which is HUGE and very hilly.
We didn't get to do everything this visit owing to physical limitations, but we did get some excellent ginger beer (Caramelized pineapple for me and white peach for Jess.) and we also got to Pike Place Chowder, which was excellent. We got various types of chowder, so we got to try them all. My favorite was mine, which was a seared scallop chowder. Jess had a coconut lime chowder, which was likewise amazing. We also went to Mee Sum pastry and got some enormous Hom Baos. Both were good, though not as good as the chowder. On the way back, we will try to get there again and stop at Piroshki Piroshki and maybe the crumpet shop. We walked through the market, and ended up at the Seattle Bag company, where we got Jess a fanny pack, as the one we had gotten at home did not fit well.
After that, we drove to a park with an amazing view of downtown Seattle for pictures.
Then, it was the 2.5 hour drive to Vancouver through some lovely mountains. Our border guard was seriously hardass, and peppered us with questions, but ultimately let us into Canada. Vancouver is gorgeous, and I loved it immediately.
The hotel...words fail me. It's beautiful, and our rooms are spacious and overlook the harbor. The view of the mountains and the water is spectacular. We relaxed for a few minutes, and then headed up to the club lounge for their appetizers, and promptly made dinner out of it. To be fair, they had an enormous spread, including garlic soy chili popcorn chicken (tasty, but a wee spicy), sundried tomato arancini (Very good for combating the burn of the chicken, and then plenty of meats, cheeses and a couple of small bites, including a crostini with minced salmon and creme fraiche (I'm not a huge salmon fan, but these were fire) and the topper for me, smoked duck breast on an endive leaf with radish and microgreens (Jebus, so good. I had like five of the little things).
Then, Jess and I came up to the room and decided that we needed to use the hot tub and pool. I wore my goth bikini, you'll be happy to know. I was brave. The hottub and pool were lovely and let us soak off some of the travel aches.
After that, we relaxed, and I showered. Then, we went to bed. I woke up to use the restroom about three, and our amazing view had mophed into something magical.
This morning, I'm a little achy from all the walking and travel, but I'm ready to explore Vancouver, with the help of the Great Canadian Hop on Hop off Trolley. Grantville Island, here we come! First, breakfast in the club lounge, and then we'll make a plan of attack for the day. I'm planning to come back to the room early, so maybe I can make use of the hot tub again. Then off to dinner with hopefully soon-to-be friends, and finish the night with Mortal Kombat.
Tomorrow, our ship will be in, and we'll be ready to sail out tomorrow! I can't wait!
It all still seems a wee bit surreal. When we pulled up to the Pan Pacific, it was just strange. I've watched a hundred (at least) videos, but this time it wasn't on a screen. The people at the hotel are just the sweetest. And this view. I was watching some cruise ships coming in and thinking "tomorrow that will be our boat."
I'm a little bit anxious about embarkation. My sister's physical endurance is much lower than I thought, so we might have to stop now and then. We'll manage, though. Soon enough, we'll be on a boat, sailing away for Alaska!
I will end it there, as I need to get dressed for breakfast. Everyone have a fabulous day!
