The other weekend, the hubby had to work in Vancouver and I got to tag along with the kids. So while he went into work bright and early, we woke up leisurely, had an easy breakfast in our room of cereal and milk (this was first breakfast-I had bigger plans for 2nd breakfast) and got ready for the day.
And then I realized I had left all the shoes and jackets in our car and the hubby had the keys.
So this was our footwear on a pouring Vancouver day.
The three of us layered our sweaters, borrowed the hotel’s umbrella and headed out to the Bel Cafe. (We love the macarons there-they are amazing!)
And then I saw it: the Vancouver Art Gallery was right across the street.
So we checked out some amazing exhibits and had some pretty cool discussions about art. I was only allowed to take pictures in this chair room and in one other room. (My guys are BIG into rules. They made me ask the museum docents. And I did.)
And then we grabbed Japa Dog (a Vancouver favorite of ours. They even have veggie, salmon and turkey dogs!) and headed back to our hotel.
When the hubby finished work we donned appropriate apparel and walked to Fly Over Canada. Years ago he and I drove across Canada and back in little under a month. This Fly over Canada ride takes only 8 minutes but can take an infinite number of minutes in line. We thought it would be shorter and neglected to ask upfront, so altogether it took us about an hour to get through the whole experience and because we are horrible at waiting when unprepared I was totally expecting to be disappointed by this ride. But even though it was about 70 dollars for our family and we felt like we waited FOREVER, we all thought it was amazing and wanted to do it again. (We didn’t indulge but there is an option to buy a 2nd ride for half price after you go through, and the fact that we even considered it is worth something, don’t you think?) I think Christmastime is the best time to go on Fly Over Canada because the winter wonderland before the ride and the added North Pole Scenes are included in the normal price of the ride and it is so festive at Canada Place in December, that you can stretch the experience into a whole afternoon or evening of activities too.
And just around the corner from Canada Place at Waterfront station you can go on another really amazing ride for only a few dollars for each member of your family. The Seabus goes to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, a place we’re having a lot more fun visiting lately and it’s a really beautiful way to see the city. (The Londsdale Quay is very family friendly with lots of neat places to eat and shop. One of my favorite Vancouver restaurants Burgoo has a location there too!)
We capped our trip off with the Santa Parade-we didn’t realize it would be on while we were in town and it was glorious parade weather.
Vancouver is such an amazing city to explore with kids and it’s only a short 3-hour drive from Seattle so it’s perfect! We are a little biased (it’s our hometown) but we always have fun when we visit.
(PS. here is a list of Vancouver restaurants we love and some other holiday things we like when we visit.)
(PPS the featured photo is of St Paul’s Hospital where there is a beautiful light display every year.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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