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VANCOUVER DELIGHTS, PART ONE

March 22, 2016

Stanley Park, Vancouver

Take four voracious appetites. One big car. And a wallet full of credit cards.

Vancouver, here we come.

My Mom and my kids took off early Saturday morning and prepared for the three-hundred plus mile drive north.

First up,  a long drive up here.

Big accidents on the freeway. Traffic jams all throughout the Seattle area. And then an hour and five minute wait at the border.

But there was truffle salami, Ken’s bread, and assorted cheeses to keep us nourished.

Bread from Trifecta Tavern, Portland

And one last beautiful sight before we crossed the border.

Flag at the Border

I’ve been to Vancouver ages ago,  but none of the rest of the my crew had — so we had lots to check out in our initial forays.

Stanley Park, Vancouver

There was the gorgeous English Bay.

And just a glimpse of Stanley Park. I can’t wait to come back and see more.

Lighthouse at Stanley Park

Then there was Canada Place.

Canada Place Vancouver

And the impressive skyscrapers of Coal Harbor.

Coal Harbour Vancouver

It’s always so enjoyable to watch seaplanes taking off and landing.

Coal Harbor Vancouver

Hungry, we headed to Robson Street to a place both friends and Yelp recommended.

Dinesty Dumpling House, Vancouver

It’s a dim sum place that is known for their various dumplings – especially their soup ones (their Chinese name is often colloquially abbreviated so that they are known as XLB’S).

Having been to Din Tai Fung in Seattle I know what they were going for.

Dinasty Dumpling House, Soup Dumplings

You put one of these little dumplings on a spoon and wait a minute to let it cool off. You can pinch it to let a tiny bit of the soup pool into the spoon or ingest it whole, still warm and intact.

Either way, a rush of warm savory broth and a moist, meaty pork dumpling await you.

It’s like an detonation of warm gingery pork flavor and hot stock in your mouth– and when it’s done well, like it is here, the dumpling skin is whisper-thin and tender.

Dinasty Dumplings, Soup Dumplings

If Din Tai Fung’s soup dumplings are a 9.5, these were a 8.5 — and that’s delicious enough to revel in.

More goodness awaited us.

Sauteed Pork,Dinasty dumpling HOuse

Pork and green onion pancakes.

Dinasty Dumpling House Vancouver

And Mongolian Beef. That was a hit.

And Shanghai Noodles. We loved those, too.

Shanghai Noodles at Dinasty Dumpling House, Vancouver

Eight things in all — and four very full bellies.

Desperate to walk off our gluttony, we headed to the Museum of Anthropology.

Situated on the University of British Columbia campus, it’s set on a grassy field not far from the water.

An enormous totem collection fills the main two story room when you first walk in.

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouvers

Most of the totems are really old but the colors are still pretty vivid.

Museum of Anthropology

Now that I’m a huge Seahawk fan, it seems like everywhere I looked I saw the imagery of that bird in the carvings.

But truth be told, my crew and I only had a modicum of interest in the totem world, but there were many more things of interest.

There are thousands of items on view from around the world.

Like killer kicks from China.

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And cool head gear.

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And Javanese motorcycles made out of hand-woven baskets.

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There were statues fashioned out of broken pottery.

Statues at Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

And on special exhibit, whole rooms adorned with paper cut-outs from a Taiwanese artist.

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

You can go inside some of the canopies and look up to feel surrounded by a winter wonderland vibe.

Museum of Anthropology

Up close it was stunning how intricate the cut-outs were.

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

And then there was the video of a calligrapher in action.

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

That was so beautiful to watch her swift, artful yet precise movements.

And we all saw woven artifacts that look like bacon.

Bacon Tapestry

But I have to say my favorite was a whole section dedicated to vintage pottery.

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

Here’s an Austrian plate from the 1700’s.

Couldn’t it just as easily be Anthropologie circa 2016?

(I swear you could put this piece in the store right now and it would fit right in).

Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver

There were hundreds of pieces of pottery from all over Europe and Asia — and so many drool-worthy (and amazingly intact centuries later).

A long day in the drizzling gray ended at home with unremarkable neighborhood pizza takeout for the kids and rather wonderful butter chicken from Tandoori Fusion.

Tandoori Fusion,Vancouver

Our rental VRBO is the perfect place for a fire and nice meal enjoyed with an icy cold beer.

Man I love Indian food when it’s done well.

Butter Chicken, Tandoori Fusion, Vancouver

Vancouver — so far, so good.

More meals, more attractions and family time awaits.

I’ll keep you posted.

Filed Under: Vacations Tagged With: vacation

LAKE HOUSE FAMILY REUNION, PART ONE

July 30, 2015

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Whenever we can, my extended family meets up at our Wisconsin cabin located in a little town called Land O’Lakes….

Read More »

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: vacation

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