November 2022 - I went on a 4 days trip to Vancouver alone. Super lucky that I can stay at my friend’s house and I had one of the most wonderful trips!
Some Special Moments
Random Encounter at Jam Cafe
There was a 40-minute wait outside the cafe, and people behind and in front of me started talking. Turns out they met before already! On the sightseeing tour!
There is a point where I decide to join the chat as I was so bored from waiting. We talked about the tour they joined, where did they go, what are we going to order later ahahaha….. When they know I travelled alone, they said I am very cool 🤩.
Discovered a very delicious cafe — Breka Bakery and Cafe
This cafe was not originally on my list, I bookmarked another one (49th Parallel Cafe and Lucky Doughnuts) as I really want to try the pistachio donut. But it was sold out already when I got there 😟
So I quickly searched are there any pistachio donuts nearby (see how desperate I am 😂) and really lucky I did found one which was Breka. There was a line outside but it was totally worth it! The donut was soooo delicious — with very thick pistachio paste inside and pistachio white chocolate as frosting!!!! So rich and yummy.
The other day I decide to go again and try the coconut lemon donut. The lemon creme inside was perfect — very lemony. Perfect match with the coconut frosting!
I brought 2 more donuts and a cheddar scone on the last day as a ‘souvenir’ back home.
It was actually a chain restaurant and never have I expected they have such great quality and delicious food. They also serve sandwiches and the prices are reasonable.
Went hiking twice in Lynn Suspension Park
I didn’t plan much to do on the last day, so… why not go hiking again ahahhaa? I missed hiking so much as Waterloo doesn’t have any hikes at all 😭 one good thing about solo travel 😉
Stayed at my friend’s house
I was very grateful that he offered this to me, as we have not met each other before — only through Zoom and Whatsapp, he is my mentor actually.
Thanks to them, I had a really nice stay there — they made homemade bread (pineapple bun and Outback bread 😋), we had hotpot night as well. Also, they took me to their friend’s gathering and we had ramen together! His kids are sooooooo cute too 🥰 I had a truly fantastic time there!
4 Days Itinerary
Day 1: Downtown Vancouver — Jam Cafe — Stanley Park
- Downtown Vancouver: Gas Town. Nothing special hahaha, it didn’t even blow steam ON TIME every 15 minutes, there is a time difference! ****Don’t go around China Town; it is unsafe
- Jam Cafe 📍2153 West 4th Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1N7: ordered an avocado benny. Flavor is as expected, did not worth an hour wait. If there isn’t a line, I will visit again
- Stanley Park, Lions Gate Bridge: I walked the whole park which took 3 hours. You can cycle as well.
- Went to Breka and brought a donut after the walk
- Hot pot night at my friend’s house
Day 2: Granville Island, Main Street
- Granville Island. I ordered a lobster Chowder Pot Pie at A La Mode, again nothing special — a very hot soup with flaky pastry outside where you crack it into the soup. Also brought chocolates at Rogers and I have not tried them yet till now hahahaa.
- Wondering around Main Street; they have lots of gift and small shops eg stationery, soap….
- Stopped at Breka (Main St) to have a coconut lemon creme donut haha for tea
- Ramen with my friends’ family📍The Ramen Butcher, 223 E Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1Z6
Day 3: Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge and Christmas Market
- Went to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge instead of Capilano coz it is a free entrance. It is shorter than that in Capilano, but I am okay with that as I mainly want to hike :)
- Christmas Market: I enjoyed the pork knuckle very much, it is very tender and juicy. Expect there is going to be a long wait, but totally worth it! Despite that, it was not very worthy IMO. You have to pay an entrance fee ($11 CAD) but the scale of the market is not very huge, you can finish the whole thing within an hour (not including eating), there were not a lot of photo-taking spots too….Side note: I DO NOT enjoy mulled wine…
Day 4: Hiking at Lynn Suspension Bridge (again), Richmond for food
- Ordered Cheung Fun at 📍囍記腸粉, Richmond before flying back home.
Conclusion
I was very grateful that I found the flight from Waterloo which was way closer than Toronto Airport. If not, I wouldn’t have traveled here. Vancouver is not on my travel list actually — I don’t like rainy weather 😞
Turns out it was my favorite so far, I fell in love with this city on the first day despite it was raining…. Lots of nature, yummy food…. A very quiet and peaceful area even Downtown…. Very convenient, can you believe you can ride a bus and go hiking in Canada?! I think I finally found a place I wanna settle in ❤️
