How To Do Vancouver in 24 Hours/9 Years Of Wedded Bliss

Anker and I went to Vancouver on Wednesday, which happened to be our 9th Wedding Anniversary. Yes, we have outlasted celebrities that we won't name,..lol.. I am not bragging...ok, well, maybe I am...but I know that marriage isn't easy, and it certainly hasn't been easy for us. We have been through A LOT....illness, infertility, financial hardships, to name a few. I usually do the same speill each year on this blog, so I won't repeat myself. I will say, that the last year has been really tough, I am very happy to say, that I THINK that we are clearing it!!! Anyway...since we were going to be away, I didn't pressure him to do much for it.

I had my yearly appointment with specialist, which always includes tests one day, and seeing the Dr. the next day. My tests were at 2, at UBC Hospital, so we were on the road by 8:30. We got into Vancouver at around 1, and of course, there was construction. Thankfully, it didn't deture us too much. We got there with a few minutes to spare. I had my breathing, walking, and blood tests done, then we went back to our b and b. We stayed that the same one (well, same company) as we do every year. Douglas House is a few minutes' walk to all the shops, a funky mall, and VGH. I don't know if I would stay there again, though, as it was super close to a busy road, and there was construction at all sides. The bed wasn't the greatest, either, which meant that we didn't sleep well. Oh well. We came back, got settled, and wandered around.the mall, and we got a drink at Starbucks.  City Square Mall is a funky sopping centre a half block away from the B&B, and we love to go there. We grabbed a few things from the Dollar Store, and popped in a few shops. We got back, and relaxed a bit on the deck, before we went out to our Anniversary Dinner.

***it has now been just over a month since I started on this...ha! But I am still going to finish it***

Sept 5/16

So, we went to the Banana Leaf, (that hubby had chosen before we left, which I thought was super awesome of him!),which was really good. Anker got a bit sick afterwards, but I really did enjoy it. It has been awhile, so I can't remember exactly what we had, but I think we had the 9 Course Tasting Menu. It was SO GOOD!!!

 Anker ordered the mango slushie, and I ordered the Lychee. But we didn't like them, so we switched.

 Mango Kerabu. It was good.

 Cumin Mussels. I don't think I had ever had mussels before. They were really good.

 Satay chicken. Yum!

Roti Canai. I think I just could have eaten this. YUMMO!!! And the sauce was delish!!!

 The main course...was Rendang Beef Curry (didn't like), Samabal Green Beans (yum), Caramelized Ginger Sablefish (double yum), and Gulai Tiger Prawns with Scallops (yummo!), and they were all served with Rice. We both weren't huge fans of the rice, but it was ok. FYI: Good thing I thought to look at/for their menu, otherwise, I wouldn't have remembered the menu items!!

And for dessert....Pisang Goreng, otherwise known as Deep Fried Banana. I was a bit disappointed in it, but it was still good. It was the first time that I had had it, and I have wanted to try it for years.

The sign out front. There are 5 locations on the Lower Mainland to serve you. If you want to try something different, and you can handle some spice (thankfully, though, it isn't as spicy as other ethnic food groups)...and have a few bucks, I would highly suggest that you try it.

 We just got ourselves a silly pottery gift, as the sites say that our 9th anniversary (traditional) is pottery and willow. The modern is leather. We didn't buy any leather gifts. LOL. (yes, you know your minds went there!!!).

As we were walking back to our B&B, we saw the Willow Street sign, and since we didn't have any willow-type gifts, I thought I would snap this.

We got back, and we were SO tired, that we just pretty much went to bed. We watched the Fireworks show on TV. The Honda Celebration of Light was on TV, and very nearly went there to check it out, but we thought that dinner would be better. It was a good choice, I think. We ended up seeing it on tv, which was really cool. And yes, I took pics of it ON the TV...cause I am weird, like that.

Yes, I took more :)

We didn't sleep super well, but what can you do!!! We had a lovely breakfast the next morning, and were on our way to the doctor's for the visit. Everything was pretty good. He was pretty satisfied with on how well I am doing, and we have made an appointment to go back next year on our 10th!!!

We grabbed a coffee, and sat in the UBC (where my Dr's Appointment was) gardens, and just hung out for a few minutes. It is actually quite the peaceful place, more so than you would think. Anker loves going there, even more than VGH. They didn't have Starbucks, but they served their coffee, which was ALMOST as good!! ALMOST! Ha! I think it as cheaper, actually.

 Aren't the gardens pretty? And yes, proof that they did have Starbucks coffee!!!

The only anniversary shot that I could convince him to take with me :)

We thought about doing something else along the way, but we were really tired, and we didn't have a ton of money to spend, so we left around 12. We almost went to Granville Island (as we normally do), but we didn't. We are really glad that we didn't go, b/c there was a really bad accident there around the time that we would have been wandering around. The trip home was stressful, due to traffic, but Anker refused to let me drive. Ha! We just had one stop in Chilliwack, and made it home around 4. My Grandma gave us some money, which we found on our mailbox upon arriving home, so I ended up grabbing Greek food!!! It wasn't as good as it normally is, but it was still pretty good. Farros Lighthouse is a locally owned and operated in town, and it is takeout/delivery only. So, that was our Anniversary/Vancouver trip!! And also, that was our only getaway this summer (insert "awww" here!!)! Oh well, what can you do!!!


We were in Vancouver for (I think?) for almost exactly 24 hours! The weather was really nice!! We had some nice time together (except for the trip home....he just got too stressed with traffic, etc). The drive there and back was nice, weather-wise. We usually always encounter rain, and/or get lost. Thankfully, neither of them happened this time.


I hope you enjoyed "coming along" with us on our trip!!!