A week's return

Yesterday I returned to Vancouver. And oh what a joy it was.


MGMT - Electric Feel (Official Music Video) - Watch more amazing videos here
A notable song I'll likely always associate with Vancouver. Not for the lyrics, more for its ubiquity while dancing at Honey.

I know it rains here, but it does so on the Island. I know it has it's traffic and transit problems, but where doesn't it? Here in Vancouver are friends. People I connect well with, who make me laugh and laugh back with me. My sister is here...who, once living only two blocks away, I managed to see every other day. I'm very excited to see her tomorrow; 'tis her birthday!

Despite a delayed ferry departing Nanaimo, I had a pleasantly standard crossing to the Mainland. A kind friend retrieved me from the terminal, saving me the pleasure of Translink's service to downtown.

Also here in Vancouver are good eating establishments, two of which I tested yesterday:

Red Door on Granville

• Try the lettuce wraps - just the right balance between hoi son sauce, ground chicken and Chinese sausage, and the iceberg leaves were crisp and refreshing;
  
• skip the chicken curry - it's nothing to shout about, though the crispy naan was a nice change).
• I paired the meal with a pint of Dragon Tail Ale (a pseudonym for Granville Island's Pale Ale) which was tasty enough.

and Quattro on West 4th and Trafalgar:

• $10 pastas on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays - a chance to get hooked, and a too-easy opportunity to spend more on your wine than food.
  
• I had the special: gnochhi in a rose sauce with artichoke hearts. The gnocchi was well-prepared, and the dish overall was nice, but I can't say it awed me. I was much more impressed with Larissa's dish, the fettuccine with wild mushrooms in a cream sauce. That fungi was beautiful, and the pasta broad and fresh.
• Also sampled (ha) two glasses of the "organic" Malbec, a spot-on suggestion by Larissa.
• Between us six ladies, we nearly cleared a platter (yes, platter) of three desserts - all but the tiramisu which was decided to be a medium-rate attempt by Michelle's internationally-discerned pallet for this particular dessert. The two we did fully devour were the ricotta cheesecake (with a blueberry compote, I think) and the freshly-made brownie, served with vanilla bean gelato and a caramel sauce. The cheesecake was bold and the brownie was superb: soft inside, crisp outside.

Post-girls' dinner, Larry and I made our way to Gastown for more Malbec at Chill Winston. A little too chill in that Wednesday-night venue. Plus, seeing as this was our third glass, we were content to bed down for the night soon after.

I have fallen in love. With an unavailable 100-year old apartment in the West End. The beauty is currently rented by Larissa and friend, though I just may try to get myself on the wait list for this building. $1400/month for all this wood, powder room, small deck, huge windows, two huge bedrooms. And it's cleaner than the Commercial apartment building I resided in a couple months ago. (Poor webcam photos follow...)