Between the Palm & the Pine Trees
Vancouver is a funny place. A place that I loved. What makes it funny to me is that it’s one of the only places in the world where there are both pine trees and palm trees lining the streets as a result of its wet & cold climate. Hence this post’s name.
it’s a symbol of the city’s UNIQUE culture & vibe.
It’s a city I’ve wanted to go to for a while. My mom was headed there for business and wanted to add some fun to her trip. So of course, she asked me and I, of course, jumped on the chance.
It was a beautiful adventure for me. For a few of the days that we were there, my mom was in meetings so I was free to galavant around.
Although partially unexpected, the adventure that the city provided was also exactly what I anticipated. I already took some time to tell you about one of my favorite places I found on the trip, the Vancouver Compost Demonstration Garden.
Today, I’m taking you on a journey through Vancouver by way of coffee shops. Shout out to my lady, Alex, for the suggestions.
Each day I was there, I used whatever coffee shop I went to as the jumping off point for exploring the city. This proved to be an effective way to see it. So much so, I’ll likely try it again with other cities ...
Revolver
Located in the smack of downtown. It was what seemed like a “shady” spot of town. It was gritty, reminded me of Detroit. Not at all what I expected the city of Vancouver to look like. On the first day, I was like “what?” Nonetheless, the architecture was beautiful with various styles happening along the way.
It turns out that this coffee spot was the inspiration for my third place, Lyon Street - mostly in regards to the booths. I loved seeing where Alex got her inspiration for the booths I sit in every week.
My mom and I explored around this area. We ended up walking over to the harbor and had lunch on “The Top of Vancouver,” a revolving restaurant like the Space Needle has in Seattle. This spots are touristy but for someone who likes maps and the bird’s eye view, this is a great way to see the city.
49th Parallel
Sooo this place is the cutest. Definitely my favorite of the three spots. Mostly in part because of the aesthetic and killer pastries. They had what essentially was a pizza roll up like a savory cinnamon roll and it was awesome (I’m determined to make them myself). Their branding here is also awesome.
Located a ways out of downtown, it’s an urban suburb, as I call them - still within the city limits, yet feels like it’s quiet and away enough to not be. I loved this area of town for this fact and the fact that it was easily walkable. Most of Vancouver was. I ended up walking all around the city that day - 10 miles of walking in one day!
Matchstick Coffee Roasters
The aesthetic of this place was also pretty sweet. Simple and clean lines with wood features and a large map of South America in the back - it got me. I had one of the best cookies ever here. Not gonna lie. They also had a Speculoos latte (aka cookie butter) that was de-freaking-licious. I was duh-ying.
This was a spot located in Chinatown so once the coffee was done, I took an hour or so to walk around and see that portion of town. Ate an AWH-esome sandwich at Meat & Bread, which served, ya know, just meat and bread. JK, they had some veggie options. Chinatown butts up to the homeless shelter so naturally, some grittier parts in some cases.
We finished our trip with a day trip to Whistler. We are major ski-bums - really, my mom is. And with a trip to Medina Cafe. It was my other favorite food spot on the trip. Why? Because they served authentic Leige (aka Belgian) waffles. The food was divine and the waffles were some of the best that I’ve had outside of Belgium itself.
Because of the geography and landscape of the city, with waterways interjecting into where you think a neighborhood would be, the make up of the city in each neighborhood is distinct. Some of very affluent and others, not so much. I called it a quirky city, when in actuality, it’s simply a diverse one. Something I totally LOVE & urge you to explore yourself!
