Tuesday, February 24, 2009
vancouver
We visited Vancouver, BC over the past weekend and had a marvelous time! I want to make some notes for future reference, and for anyone who happens to be looking for information online.
We took the train from Seattle to Vancouver - it was cheap and easy. Actually, we got on in Edmonds, which was a good choice because only a few other people got on at the same stop, so there was not much waiting in line. We did have to wait for a quite a while to get through customs at the Vancouver train station, but oh well. It was nowhere near the 2-hour wait at customs at Blaine that some of my work friends described recently.
Wedgewood Hotel - Absolutely marvelous. The room was spotless and comfortable, the service was excellent and cheerful, and the massages we had the spa were lovely.
Bacchus Restaurant and Lounge - the lounge is intimite and cozy, with lots of dark wood, cushy chairs, heavy drapes, and soft lighting. The drinks are expensive but delicious, the lounge menu is tasty, and the breakfast & afternoon tea are quite good. However - the main dining room is overpriced and underimpressive. It's not that the food is BAD - it's just that it's uninspired and costs much more than it should.
Diva at the Metropolitan Hotel - we had lunch this trip, and had a prix fixe dinner on a previous trip. I remember being wowed by dinner, but that was years ago and I'm sure my tastes have gotten snootier. We had a prix fixe lunch this time, and it was quite good. There were three courses - the appetizer & dessert were quite excellent, but we felt the main course was somewhat off the mark. Not that it was bad, it just didn't work as a cohesive dish. However! I would go back just for cocktails. I had one they called a "Poire Belle" and it was AMAZING, like the essence of pears distilled with vanilla and a hint of spice, incredibly smooth.
Cioppino's - don't let the generic-sounding name turn you off - we had a really terrific dinner here. The chef is considered one of the best in the city, and I can see why. We had a mushroom & chestnut soup that was to do die for. I had a bowl of cioppino for dinner which was hands down the best I've ever eaten, and R* had duck which came in 3 different preparations on one plate and was outstanding. At dessert, R* had the house tiramisu which put all other tiramisu to shame - like we may consider driving back to Vancouver just for dessert, it was that good.
Vancouver Symphony - Put Seattle's symphony to shame. The hall is run-down and chilly, the bathrooms are a little yucky, but the orchestra is terrific. Louis Lortie was the guest pianist, playing two Lizst pieces (not for the faint of heart or small of hand!) and he was stunning. I'm so pleased we went to this performance.
Kirin Seafood Restaurant - we went here for dim sum and discovered that we've only eaten cheap crappy dim sum in Seattle! The food was excellent, the staff steered us through the experience since we obviously didn't know what we were doing, and the restaurant was full of Chinese people chowing down. I would love to go back with a bigger group so we could try more dishes. (Note, the dim sum is of the order off the menu variety, not the wheeled around on carts variety.)
Vancouver Art Gallery - we visited this art museum the last time we were in Vancouver and had the same reaction: the building is lovely, the collection is nothing special, and the museum store is the best we've ever seen - and that includes MOMA and the various Smithsonian/National Gallery stores. Good news: you can shop at the museum store without paying admission to the gallery.
Bill Reid Gallery - Bill Reid was a half-Haida (Native or First Nations group) artist who put a phenomenal amount of effort into reviving and publicizing his people's native art forms, as well as bringing many of the native motifs into modern media. The collection is really lovely and features lots of multimedia stations such as videos, interactive displays, and audio recordings that help place the art in context.
Chambar - Amazing Belgian restaurant. The menu features crazy cocktails, a nice variety of Belgian beers, moules et frites in multiple preparations (yes, I am in love with mussels!), gorgeous entrees, and artistic & tasty desserts. I wish we could have gone back at least twice more.
We also bought some nice stuff at Danier Leather (R* got a coat, I got a purse) for ridiculously good prices, and I stocked up on tea at Murchie's.
All in all, a terrific vacation. Wish we could go back every couple of months.
We took the train from Seattle to Vancouver - it was cheap and easy. Actually, we got on in Edmonds, which was a good choice because only a few other people got on at the same stop, so there was not much waiting in line. We did have to wait for a quite a while to get through customs at the Vancouver train station, but oh well. It was nowhere near the 2-hour wait at customs at Blaine that some of my work friends described recently.
Wedgewood Hotel - Absolutely marvelous. The room was spotless and comfortable, the service was excellent and cheerful, and the massages we had the spa were lovely.
Bacchus Restaurant and Lounge - the lounge is intimite and cozy, with lots of dark wood, cushy chairs, heavy drapes, and soft lighting. The drinks are expensive but delicious, the lounge menu is tasty, and the breakfast & afternoon tea are quite good. However - the main dining room is overpriced and underimpressive. It's not that the food is BAD - it's just that it's uninspired and costs much more than it should.
Diva at the Metropolitan Hotel - we had lunch this trip, and had a prix fixe dinner on a previous trip. I remember being wowed by dinner, but that was years ago and I'm sure my tastes have gotten snootier. We had a prix fixe lunch this time, and it was quite good. There were three courses - the appetizer & dessert were quite excellent, but we felt the main course was somewhat off the mark. Not that it was bad, it just didn't work as a cohesive dish. However! I would go back just for cocktails. I had one they called a "Poire Belle" and it was AMAZING, like the essence of pears distilled with vanilla and a hint of spice, incredibly smooth.
Cioppino's - don't let the generic-sounding name turn you off - we had a really terrific dinner here. The chef is considered one of the best in the city, and I can see why. We had a mushroom & chestnut soup that was to do die for. I had a bowl of cioppino for dinner which was hands down the best I've ever eaten, and R* had duck which came in 3 different preparations on one plate and was outstanding. At dessert, R* had the house tiramisu which put all other tiramisu to shame - like we may consider driving back to Vancouver just for dessert, it was that good.
Vancouver Symphony - Put Seattle's symphony to shame. The hall is run-down and chilly, the bathrooms are a little yucky, but the orchestra is terrific. Louis Lortie was the guest pianist, playing two Lizst pieces (not for the faint of heart or small of hand!) and he was stunning. I'm so pleased we went to this performance.
Kirin Seafood Restaurant - we went here for dim sum and discovered that we've only eaten cheap crappy dim sum in Seattle! The food was excellent, the staff steered us through the experience since we obviously didn't know what we were doing, and the restaurant was full of Chinese people chowing down. I would love to go back with a bigger group so we could try more dishes. (Note, the dim sum is of the order off the menu variety, not the wheeled around on carts variety.)
Vancouver Art Gallery - we visited this art museum the last time we were in Vancouver and had the same reaction: the building is lovely, the collection is nothing special, and the museum store is the best we've ever seen - and that includes MOMA and the various Smithsonian/National Gallery stores. Good news: you can shop at the museum store without paying admission to the gallery.
Bill Reid Gallery - Bill Reid was a half-Haida (Native or First Nations group) artist who put a phenomenal amount of effort into reviving and publicizing his people's native art forms, as well as bringing many of the native motifs into modern media. The collection is really lovely and features lots of multimedia stations such as videos, interactive displays, and audio recordings that help place the art in context.
Chambar - Amazing Belgian restaurant. The menu features crazy cocktails, a nice variety of Belgian beers, moules et frites in multiple preparations (yes, I am in love with mussels!), gorgeous entrees, and artistic & tasty desserts. I wish we could have gone back at least twice more.
We also bought some nice stuff at Danier Leather (R* got a coat, I got a purse) for ridiculously good prices, and I stocked up on tea at Murchie's.
All in all, a terrific vacation. Wish we could go back every couple of months.
Labels: travel, vacation, Vancouver
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
hello again
I've been neglecting my poor blog! As my pathetic short posts have probably hinted, I've been just overwhelmed with everything that's been going on, both good and bad. So here's a quick update on several things in my life:
School. This is this first week of 6th quarter, which is my LAST quarter of nursing school. Graduation is scheduled for March 20. I have two courses with two clinicals - advanced med-surg and nursing management. For med-surg, I'm going to the big downtown location of my employer, which will be interesting. For management clinical, I'm going to a nursing home where half the week I will supervise first-quarter students during their first clinical, and the other half of the week I will manage care for the residents and also manage the staff (CNAs et al) who work there. I am scared to death about the management part - I feel like I don't know enough to tell other people what to do!
House. We're getting settled into the house. I rearranged the kitchen cabinets today, and found a place to plug in the dustbuster. One of our friends asked R* if we were happy in the house, and his answer was "Um... happier than at the apartment? We haven't lived at the house long enough to know." I concur. I think the house is going to be fine but I haven't been here long enough to be sure.
Apartment. I probably shouldn't talk too much about this, but suffice to say that we've found a lawyer and are investigating our options.
Health. Remember how I signed up with Weight Watchers October 1st? Yeah. I stuck to it just fine until the whole Sh*tland thing got underway. And when we were worrying about where we were going to sleep that night or whether we'd have poo in the bathtub, I didn't give a crap about what I ate. So I haven't lost any weight. At least I've managed not to gain any, either. I worked out today for the first time since we moved into the house... I am really out of shape. But it felt good.
Also, remember how I was having too much anxiety? I finally got my act together (and powered through my anxiety about making phone calls) and saw a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in medication management and counseling. After discussing my symptoms and my family history, she agreed with me that I seem to have a biochemical issue that is probably genetic, and changed my medications. It's only been a few weeks and so far, so good.
Kitty. Our Kismet kitty has been such a trooper through all of this upheaval. She didn't like the night she spent in a hotel with us, but she was well-behaved. And she was downright cheerful about staying in the rental condo for a week, even though she didn't understand why we were bothered by her clawing the upholstered chair. (She doesn't do that at home!) Today I took her to the vet for her annual checkup, and the doctor told us she's perfectly healthy, but Kismet registered a complaint with the vet techs. I have never heard her hiss, growl, or yowl before, but she did all three while she was getting her nails trimmed. Goodness. She is a furry purring ball of love at home.
Car. The dealership service center patched my tire and charged me $19. And they vacuumed my floor mats and left me a new bottle of water. Awesome.
Books. I've read a lot of books during my time away from school. The kind you read for fun. You can read about the books I've read and what I thought about them on my shelf at Shelfari.
Las Vegas. R* and I went to Vegas for 3 days right before Christmas. We stayed at the Bellagio and saw 4 shows and ate lots of fantastic food and drank way too much and played slot machines for no apparent reason and generally had a great time. We pretty much avoided the skeevier parts of the Vegas experience altogether. I'm just a little bit bummed that I didn't see any Elvises. (Elvisi? Elvi? Elvoose?)
Christmas. We went to my parents' house and they made Christmas for us. They'd gotten a tree and decorated and put up lights and Mom even got stockings and stuff to put in them. We played games and cards and ate homemade food and took naps and went to see "The Golden Compass" and went for a walk in the snow and generally had a lovely family time. It was really good.
Leavenworth. Because I worked New Year's Day, I didn't want to do anything major on New Year's Eve, which turned out to be just fine since the Space Needle fireworks didn't go off as planned. At all. We had planned to spend the night in a hotel downtown with a view, but we cancelled it in advance. Thank goodness. It would've been a real letdown! So this past weekend before school started, R* took me to Leavenworth to see the winter wonderland. It was so snowy and beautiful! It's not like city snow - everything was covered in this thick puffy blanket of marshmallow cream snow. Because the town is so small, the snow doesn't get all dirty and gross from air pollution and lots of traffic. We went for a walk on the grounds at Sleeping Lady prior to having dinner there, and it was so neat. The snow was about waist deep and they dug out paths between all the buildings. I felt like a mouse in a burrow. The stars came out and they looked so huge and bright because we were out in the mountainy woods - so pretty!
Anyway. I've got to get to bed. I've got clinical orientation tomorrow, oh joy. Oh snore.
Also, remember how I was having too much anxiety? I finally got my act together (and powered through my anxiety about making phone calls) and saw a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in medication management and counseling. After discussing my symptoms and my family history, she agreed with me that I seem to have a biochemical issue that is probably genetic, and changed my medications. It's only been a few weeks and so far, so good.
Anyway. I've got to get to bed. I've got clinical orientation tomorrow, oh joy. Oh snore.
Labels: family, health, medical, nursing school, travel
