Dual Citizenship?

My husband and I ran away to Vancouver this weekend.  It was only a day, and it rained most of the time, but something about that city just...I almost said "rejuvinates" me, but that word has been ruined by a certain surgery and no longer applies in my vocabulary.  We had fun.  How's that?  I know it seems like we have been travelling a lot lately, and well...we have.  But we don't have a boat, we don't ski, we don't do much but watch football, Real Housewives, and do laundry so when the planets align and we get some time away without kid responsibilities, we go for it.  Plus, there is something very appealing about a weekend away without cell service.  We make eye contact.  We complete sentences!

I had a meeting on Saturday afternoon (I know--that's just WRONG on so many levels) so BR picked me up when it was done and we scooted on up across the border.  After the horrific shooting last week, we weren't sure what kind of delay we would have, but we only sat there for 5 minutes while I praised these men and women for coming to work when I would just want to pull the covers over my head and never go to work again.

We have a few rituals.  They are silly, but we ooze silly.  When we get to Surrey, we always say "Surrey" 3 or 4 times like we are apologizing with a Canadian "accent".  When we get to Granville St., BR likes to drive in the right lane as close to the lamp posts as possible which freaks me the F out.  When we get into town and start driving through the shops, I like to press my face against the window and lick the glass in anticipation of shopping.  Okay, that last one is a lie--I just do that in my head.

We stayed at a new place this time.  It was close to the stadium and not as deluxe as we usually score for cheap on Hotwire/Priceline, but safely out of the hobo/rent by the hour range and the soap was hermetically sealed so we were good.  We like to hit our favorite haunts, but we were in a different neighborhood than usual so we went someplace new for our first stop.  The following is a list of our favorite Vancouver spots.  This list is in no particular order, and I would like to stress that it took us 3 years to find these places, this is in NO WAY a representation of one night's crawl or I would be
D-E-D.  (spelling intentional)

Joey's on Burrard : (not to be confused with Joey's Bentall One which is kind of lame) Friday night is full of desperate 20 year olds and techno--Saturday night is cool.  Their Panang Curry, Rainbow Roll, and Sliders are favorites. 

Steamworks Brew Pub : Do yourself a favor and follow the link.  There is also a Steamworks Men's Bathhouse and you DO NOT want to open that website on accident.  This place has a great atmosphere, and their Dry Ribs, Fish Tacos and Nirvana Nut Brown Ale are pretty dang good.  Sit in the bar if you can.

Chill Winston : I'm pretty sure we aren't cool enough to go here, but they keep letting us in.  Have a glass of Blanche du Chambly, and the meat and cheese plate is always interesting (home of the musk ox).  Plus, check out the co-ed bathrooms.  Seriously.

Guilt and Co. : Located in the basement (read: cave) below Chill Winston, this place isn't big on food, but has a great bar, live music, and largest running Jenga game I've ever seen.  Plus, again--
co-ed bathrooms.

The Alibi Room : I almost didn't put this one because the night we were there, we didn't love it.  However, it get's rave reviews, featured on Zane Lamprey's show (and we luuuuurve him) and every time we ask our waiter for a recommendation, this is where they tell us to go.  We will try it again next time.

The Revel Room : Again, almost didn't list it due to the horrific service.  We showed up at 6:30 and after being ignored, the waitress finally agreed to seat us even though they had a party coming in at 8:00.  That being said, they had a really girlie drink called the Southern Belle that was more food than drink and quite yummy.

The Beaver and Mullet : Because you HAVE to go to a place with this name.  We stumbled across them for brunch one weekend.  We got inside and ordered their breakfast poutine and my life has not been the same since.  Plus, Ceasars.  That is all.

The Donnelly Group : I have to give a little shout out to this group.  They have multiple locations in Vancouver and seem to know how to tap into the neighborhood and create a place that reflects the vibe outside.  They are clean, the staff is always polite, and they have great appetizers.  We have never been to their nightclubs or "cocktail rooms" but the Public Houses are great.  Heck, they even have a cool barber shop.

We also like to shop.  No list necessary here.  Just hit Robson Street...and Granville St...and Granville Island...Just Go.  You can't really go wrong.

Around 3:30 on Sunday, we gave a deep sigh and realized we should probably go home to start preparing for the week.  We made it about 10 miles before we had our calendars out and were planning our next trip up there.  Vancouver rocks, eh?