Our four days in Vancouver were an adventure in public transport. Our home base was outside of downtown, but close to the famous Commercial Drive, known for its immigrant communities, high number of restaurants, bars, & coffee shops, and what is repeatedly referred to as “counter-culture.” I’m still not entirely sure what that is supposed to mean, but we did enjoy wandering about the Drive.

Our first day in town, we know we wanted to get down to the Food Cart Fest and Flea Market. This weekly occurrence brings folks downtown for gorgeous views, really yummy food, and a (small) sampling of vintage and handmade treasures.

Food Carts Downtown

We got there about 10 minutes before the doors opened and there was already a line. After we lapped the circle of food carts once, we narrowed down our choices to Mom’s Grilled Cheese and Vij’s famous Indian food.

Heather went for Vij’s Rice Puff and Chickpea Salad, which included chick peas and peas served with rice puffs, cashews, peanuts, and fresh mint, topped with a mango chutney. Super delicious and really refreshing for a hot afternoon.

Drawn in by the 50’s vibe at Mom’s and the promise of comfort food, I went for a Havarti and tomato grilled cheese on multi-grain bread. I was pleasantly surprised to find some yummy potato chips hiding at the bottom of my cone. Yum!

A cold dessert treat was a no-brainer, but the choice between popsicles, ice cream, and ice cream sandwiches was slightly more difficult. We finally went with this adorable and delicious little Gingeroo ice cream sandwich from Brown Paper Packages Ice Cream.

Fresh rhubarb ice cream sandwiched between two ginger cookies – just what the doctor ordered!

On our way out of the Food Cart Fest, we admired the bike valet parking and stopped along the water to enjoy the gorgeous views. There’s just something about mountains, skyscrapers, and water all in one place that really just gets me.

Speaking of gorgeous views, one of the other highlights of our trip was our visit to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver. A few buses got us across to this northern suburb of the city and into a magical forest with some of the tallest, oldest trees I’ve ever seen.

This place is just 15 minutes outside of downtown Vancouver and yet, it feels like another world. This is the beauty of this corner of the globe – endless evergreens, blue skies, canyons, rivers, and wildlife. While it felt somewhat strange to “tour” this place, I was grateful for the opportunity to get up close and personal with nature.

We ventured onto the cliffwalk, a walkway that is built into the side of a cliff and offers views of the river below. The math and engineering involved in this is no joke.

We ventured across the suspension bridge, a 140 meter (460 foot) long bridge that swings and sways 70 meters (230 feet) above the Capilano River.

Suspension Bridge

View from the Bridge

Suspension Bridge

Walking through the treetops and along the little lagoons was a feast for the eyes. Beauty everywhere you turn.

Surrounded by such immense and complex beauty, it’s hard not to feel small. It’s a good thing to do every once in a while (or as often as you can). Food for the soul.