In which Layla and Roz emulate hipsters, race to the centre of a maze, and travel in style

By Layla

The sun was shining through our floor-to-ceiling windows as we leapt from bed for our first full day in Vancouver. Alas our apartment was not located next to a coffeeshop or supermarket so I went for a wander and eventually returned with a bagel. We breakfasted on our 32nd floor balcony, looking out over the city, before catching a bus to the gay-ish West End, in time for our city bike tour. 

We always love bike tours as a way to get a handle on a new big city, though this one turned out to be less illuminating... But still fun. We headed into Stanley Park, which is this huge city park that combines beach and forest, and tons of beautiful bike trails. We cycled round the 'sea wall' with fantastic views of the city and mountains and sparkling water and queues of container ships waiting for their slot at the port. We saw totem poles, and quirky statues, and a beaver dam. Then we zoomed out of the park and along the waterfront to a beach called English Bay, before catching a very tiny ferry across to Granville Island. Previously an industrial zone, it's now an artistic enclave with studios, shops, and a big market where we had lunch. Next, along yet another waterfront, False Creek - Vancouver seems to be mostly made of waterfronts! Past the Olympic Village from 2010, into a very pretty Chinese Garden, through Gastown, and back to the shop. A fun cycle, though we both got a little sunstroke. We bought some groceries and headed back home to recover (aka eat crisps and drink wine). 

Duly recovered, we found a bus and headed off to a more obscure part of town. Past some suburbs, it suddenly appeared: VanDusen Botanical Gardens. I have mixed feelings about this trip. On the one hand, these are probably my favourite botanical gardens I've ever visited. Beautifully landscaped, waterfalls and lakes, interesting sculptures, and an absolutely brilliant maze (many of you will be familiar with my penchant for a maze). It took ages for us to find the centre. When we did it competitively, Roz beat me by miles. Great fun. But sadly every insect in the park found its way to Roz and bit her all over. Each bite swelled to the size of her head. And she has spent the rest of the holiday in itchy pain. But at least the maze was amazing! 

After the gardens, we climbed up to the Queen Elizabeth Park viewpoint and had a fantastic panorama of the entire city, before descending to Vancouver's hipster Mecca, Main Street. Interspersed with pharmacies (for antihistamines), and Chinese establishment was every craft brewery, gallery, yarn shop, and cool coffeeshop that a hipster could desire. We tracked down Shameful Tikki Room, a very cool cocktail den, with some superlative cocktails in a quirky and charming setting, with Bride of Frankenstein playing on the little television screens. If I owned a bar I wouldn't mind it being like this. Then, on a whim, we decided to go to Acorn which turns out to have all these accolades as the top vegetarian restaurant in the country. We splashed out on an array of deliciousness, and got the bus home feeling very proud of ourselves - and very hip. 

The next day I'd slept okay but Roz was miserable, covered all over with bites, and a new sore throat to match. Any energetic plans had to be shelved and instead we went to Revolver, a very exposed brick-ish coffeeshop, where Roz was able to indulge in a coffee flight! We've had wine flights, beer flights, cheese flights, cocktail flights... But a coffee flight was a new and hilarious innovation. One type of coffee done three ways (drip, aero press and clever press, in case you wish to replicate!). It rejuvenated Roz enough that she was ready for some non-mosquito fun. And thus we went to the Vancouver Gallery of Art. 

We'd read some books by Douglas Coupland but hadn't realized he is an artist too. The museum had a big Coupland exhibition, and it was really, unexpectedly excellent. We loved much of his intriguing exhibits, which all comment on how we are in the 21st century. But by the end Roz looked like she might be about to die, so I left her in an uninspiring French coffeeshop with a sandwich while I went on a medication expedition. Having filled her with every decongestant, antihistamine and steroid cream I could get my hands on, we returned to the gallery to see the permanent collection. We were particularly taken with a Canadian artist called Michael Snow. 

Then we decided on an expedition to North Vancouver (a separate city!) by sea bus. So we boarded and crossed the water, to find ice cream and beer flights. Delicious. There wasn't much else though, so after a suitable amount of consumption, we returned home to gather our energy for the evening. Or Roz did - I ran around trying to find a fax machine for a work thing. 

Heading out, we had a half hour walk through Yaletown to a ferry terminal where we boarded and headed off to Granville Island again, to see Vancouver's improv troupe. First we had a quick dinner in the market and wandered around the arty establishments, then we procured some Granville Island craft beer, and then we settled down to what was a very funny and impressive improv show - a fantastic evening. Shame Roz felt like death and yet got dragged home on another ferry followed by another half hour walk... And a sleepless night for one of us. Not me. 

On our final Vancouver day, we dropped off our luggage, coated Roz in insect repellent, then headed to Stanley Park again, this time on foot. We strolled along the scenic sea wall til we got to the TeaHouse, a posh and lovely establishment where we indulged in mimosas and lunch. And then we walked back through the forest, huge trees all around us. During our bike tour they told us that there's a small movement for the North West parts of Canada and the US to form their own country called Cascadia, based on their tall trees that are nowhere else on the continent. We certainly could see the resemblance to Forest Park in Portland. It was a lovely walk. 

And then we took the bus to... The Heliport! You see, after Vancouver we'd planned to go to Victoria. I thought the ferry was an easy and pleasant option. But it turns out to be 50 miles out of town! Then we found that a helicopter goes straight from Vancouver harbour. Then we found that they had a special discount on Twitter. And then we realized that we'd both always wanted to ride in a helicopter. And we were in!

As a commuter mode of transport, the helicopter is surely one of the coolest available. We were given our earplugs, hopped into our window seats, and soon were smoothly pottering above Vancouver. We waved goodbye to it as we went out over the water to find views that demanded photographs. Half an hour later we touched down in Victoria.