Vancouver or Bust

Last week Cory's mom, Gail, and I headed up to Vancouver B.C. for the night. It was our birthday present to her and Cory's way of getting me a night away. I was very excited to be going because it's one of my favorite places to go. The only thing I wasn't stoked about was driving because it's so crowded up there and their flashing green lights. It wasn't a big deal at all but more on that later.

We left Monday morning and got up there around one. At two we had an appointment to do High Tea but with the traffic and such we ended up not making it. I knew exactly where we were supposed to go but let's just say the streets don't run like they do on the maps. So, my course was a little rerouted, which wasn't a big deal but wasn't a straight shot. I have been there several times and new the layout and such but wasn't prepared for the street that is closed to traffic in the middle of the block! We cancelled tea and decided to grab something light for lunch and we would do dinner at probably my favorite restaurant other than the Melting Pot here in the states.

Once we arrived at the hotel it was kind of taken them a little while to check us in. He asked me how long ago I had made reservations and if he could see my confirmation. I showed him and after several more minutes he told me he would be upgrading us to their guest suite and if that would be OK. He told us it didn't have the two beds we requested but had a king bed in it's own bedroom and the couch made up into a sofa bed. We were like yeah, that's fine. When I walked in I wasn't prepared for what we actually got. It was so nice it had a full kitchen, dining area, living room, patio with table, bedroom and a nice size bathroom. It honestly was probably the size of my apartment I had when I first moved to Seattle.

After we got settled in we headed out to check out the city and go get sushi at Tsunami Sushi. It's our favorite sushi place up there. Located, almost across from the hotel and on Robson St. which is their shopping district, we headed on over. We sat at the bar where the sushi boats go a long and dove on in. Not literally but you get the point! I have become a huge sushi fan and I'm not talking California Rolls, that's not sushi people! What I have been trying to do is try something new each time I go out. Well this time I tried two new items. One was a "omelet" type item. At first I wasn't too sure about it but it actually was pretty good. It looked like a thick egg but when you bit into it it was a little sweet. My second choice was octopus and not just any one but baby octopus! I had seen it going a long on the boats and after they closed it down I thought I would try it but I would get the smaller one. Well when it arrived it wasn't at all what I thought but I wasn't going to let that ruin my plan of having it. After some ribbing from Gail, who loves lamb, I ate both pieces and surprisingly was very good. It reminded me a lot of calamari.

After that we headed out to Sears, and yes I said Sears. In Canada it's a lot different than ours in the States. We did some shopping and than headed down to the water front and enjoyed the weather and sites. Once down at the Pan Pacific Hotel which is located in the convention center we stopped and got a little something to drink and enjoyed outside. If you ever get a chance to stay at the Pan Pacific it's a must! Very spendy but well worth every penny. We headed back to our room but not before passing a vendor that was selling JAPA DOGS. I was really excited but I knew if I got one I wouldn't be hungry for dinner so I decided to wait because I knew there was one outside of our hotel as well.

Once we got back to our hotel we relaxed for a little while before heading down to the swanky hotel lounge where we ordered a few glasses of wine and had a some great conversation. Around eight o'clock we decided to head over to the restaurant where we would be having dinner. The Salt Tasting Room! There is a link on my blog under favorite places if you want to check it out. It was amazing as usual. What they do is very unique. They take either three cheeses or meats and pair them with a condiment and you can also have them compliment each with a wine. We let them pick because for one, I had no idea what most of the cheeses and meats even were. Some of them really aren't your every day cheeses. Once again another amazing experience and time.

We got back to our hotel around 1130- midnight watched a little television and called it a night. The next morning after having breakfast, I went and got my JAPA DOG! Now I know first off it sounds as if we just ate while we were up there but we didn't. Secondly, yes I did just have breakfast but I was on a mission to get my JAPA DOG and they were closed the night before. I headed out to their stand which was in front of the hotel and waited. They didn't open until 1130. Right after I walked up I turned around and I'm not kidding there were probably eight if not more people behind me waiting for one too!
You ask what is this JAPA DOG? It's a bratwurst with sushi! OMG it is fabulous! I got a three cheese and jalapeno brat with special sauces and seaweed on top! DELICIOUS! Cory and I watch a lot of the Canadian Television and had seen a show where it did a segment on the JAPA DOG and had always wanted to get one but never had. Until now! If your at all interested in learning more check out the website, www.japadog.com

It was a fabulous time and Cory had a good time hanging with the kids. I know it sounds like we ate the whole time we were there but we didn't and our meals we had were not your typical restaurant style meals! Cory and I talked about this and hopefully this can become a yearly tradition with a few days added onto it! One was just not enough! The pictures aren't all in order but Im sure you can figure it out and the baby octopus is out of focus but you get the picture right!?