This is the last post of our Canada trip where we spent our last week back in Vancouver.
After Whistler, Max and I checked in to the last hotel of our trip. I think we saved the best for last which is the best way to do it imo.
We stayed at L’Hermitage Vancouver and it was amazing. I didn’t end up taking a photo of our room but it was the biggest room we’ve had on this trip and the bathroom was also huge.
The location of this hotel was good and it had a sauna, pool and spa.
On our first night here, we were exhausted from our day in Whistler so once we got to our room, we had an easy dinner across the road at a dumpling place and came back to relax. Our room was on the same level as the pool and spa pool so it was easy for us to get to. We had the spa and pool to ourselves.
The next morning, we decided to get coffee and head to a new part of town that we haven’t been to before.
Sadly Vancouver was back being ‘raincouver’ so it was a rainy gloomy day.
Our first stop was Estratto for coffee and a little pastry.
I saw this coffee shop was highly rated. It’s a small cafe and I thought the coffee was not bad for Canada.
Gastown
Estratto was on the way to Gastown and that’s where we headed next. Gastown is Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood. It still has Victorian architecture, cobblestone streets and the famous steam clock.
It also has cool shops. The first one we popped in to was The Paper Hound Bookshop.
The Paper Hound Bookshop was close to Estratto and it has a variety of new, vintage and rare books. Max found a book that someone wrote on back in 1911!
Then we went to Beat Street records. I got a vinyl here as souvenir.
It would’ve been nicer exploring Gastown when it was sunny but we couldn’t change the weather.
Then we found the famous Gastown Steam Clock.
This steam clock was built in 1977 and it’s one of the few steam clocks in the world that still works.
We stopped for lunch at this Japanese restaurant. It was actually second one we went into. We waited for so long to be served in one restaurant that we eventually gave up. That was probably the slowest and worst service we’ve ever gotten in Canada. The restaurant we ended up eating at was Guu with Otokomae and the service and food was good.
After lunch, we checked out more shops.
My favourite shop we went into was Old Faithful Shop. It’s a gorgeous homeware store and if we didn’t have luggage space restrictions, I would’ve bought a few pieces from there. It’s so nice.
We also popped into Cafe Kitsune, The Latest Scoop, One of a Few, Gifts and Things and Out & About Boutique too.
Gastown was pretty cool. The shops were interesting. We were warned though to not cross a specific area near Gastown which was West Hastings St. We did see some interesting people and it resembled something like The Walking Dead. We stayed clear from that street and after a bit of walking, we wanted to head back to our hotel.
We stopped by Nemesis Coffee on the way back.
This was another highly rated place and it looked nice. It was busy so we got our matcha and pastry to take away.
My gripe about Vancouver shops/places is that the heating inside is cranked up so highly that it’s such a contrast from the outside. It’s cold and rainy outside but once you stepped in a shop or cafe, it is boiling hot and I was instantly sweaty. The problem is that heat and being sweaty makes me grumpy so I was annoyed waiting in line and for our drinks because I was so hot but there was not point taking my multiple layers of clothing when we had to step back out again.
After our Gastown adventure, we went back to our room to rest and then I eventually popped back out to check some shops while Max stayed back. Our hotel was close to Pacific Centre so I went there to do a spot of shopping. I went back to Holt Renfrew and finally got shade matched for the Victoria Beckham foundation which I ended up buying.
For dinner, we just wanted to chill and thankfully we were close to Jollibee.
If you’re not Filipino, you might not know but Jollibee is a big Filipino institution. It’s more famous than McDonald’s in the Philippines and rightly so. The fried chicken is amazing. I miss Jollibee so much as we don’t have one in NZ. The last time Max had Jollibee was the first time he tried it back in Milan. I went back to the Philippines in Nov 2023 so I had it back then too.
Jollibee in Vancouver city was close by to our hotel so we got a whole bucket to take away and ate it on the floor of our hotel. We had a hotel room floor picnic and it was amazing. The ube pie was also next level. Sometimes we don’t need a fancy meal out, we’re also quite happy eating fast food (mainly only Jollibee) in our hotel room.
The next morning, we tried to get into Cafe Medina which is a cafe right beside our hotel. I saw online that it’s a popular spot and it truly was because there was a huge line before they opened. We ended up joining the queue and they got our number to call us when a table is ready so we went back to our room until then.
Cafe Medina was in the Michelin guide which I think is the reason why it’s such a popular spot. They’re known for their waffles. The coffee was below average but probably okay for Canada standards. The food was good though and I enjoyed the waffles.
Sometime that day I went for another walk to the shops in a different area to the main shopping street. I wanted to check out a different Shoppers store to stock up on supplements and other beauty bits.
For this part of the trip, we really didn’t have any plans or itinerary. It was mainly to relax, explore the last bits of Vancouver and also to shop before we headed home.
Max and I ended up walking along the main street with shops along Robson Street. We ended up in Muji, Banana Republic which Max loved and lunch at this Korean place.
We also had to pop in to Aritzia which is a Canadian brand. They had a free photobooth in store. Apparently this is their flagship store.
Then we went back to our hotel and had happy hour at their lounge/restaurant. Our activities were a bit of a blur during this time as I didn’t end up taking a lot of photos especially when I was out and about in shops.
Outlet shopping day
This was the day we dedicated to going outlet shopping. Max is not usually a big shopper but since he got the job during our Canada trip, he wanted a new wardrobe. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular but while we’re on this side of the world, I also wanted to check out the outlets. We don’t have an outlet mall like this back in NZ.
I went out to get coffee first and opted for a cafe near the library called Lovelarte.
Then we headed to McArthurGlen Designer Outlet which was near the airport. My parents were close by in Richmond so we met them there and later on this day, they would check into L’Hermitage as well so we would all be in the same hotel for our last days in Vancouver.
This outlet mall is nice. The shops look like individual buildings and had a cute little town vibe. It had a good variety of stores too.
I didn’t have anything specific that I wanted so I didn’t end up buying a lot (compared to Max) in this outlet mall. I got a few pairs of shoes, the black woven ballet flats I love and still wear weekly til this day so that was a great purchase. I also got the burgundy Polo Ralph Lauren bear sweater from the men’s section – I think this was my most expensive purchase on this day. Then I got some belts from Coach for Max and Joan.
I don’t know who Max became in this place but he shopped like I’ve never seen him shop before. This man shopped til he couldn’t anymore.
He was a man on a different level this day. Most of those bags were his. He really bought a whole new wardrobe and I’m proud of him for doing this as he never buys anything for himself especially nice clothing. He loved Banana Republic and spent like $700CA there. He also bought a Hugo Boss suit for such a good price. Max really did most of the shopping on this day and he surprised himself but he won’t need to go clothes shopping for quite some time after this. The prices were so good and we couldn’t get any of these back home here in NZ.
After this shopping excursion which we were there for a whole day, we went to my uncle’s place to have a quick dinner. My parents were checking into the same hotel so it made sense to go back here and get all their bags first. We met their cute dog too. We were exhausted after this day. It was a lot of walking in the outlet mall and carrying bags. It was nice to be back in our room to relax. I think we got in the spa before going to bed.
The next morning, I went out to search for coffee as usual. I can’t sleep in so I tend to go for a walk in the morning, have coffee then I bring Max one on my way back. Then we start our day.
It finally stopped raining on this day and I could see blue skies!
I went and got a coffee and pastry at Beaucoop which was a recommendation from my cousin. It’s quite pretty in there.
I think we had a pretty chill day and didn’t end up doing much. Max was outshopped from the day before so he spent it mostly in the hotel. He was in the pool and spa more than once a day while I opted to check out more shops.
I do remember having Jollibee for lunch again though as it was on my way back. Then Max and I had a quick dinner of Japadog which was nearby and we ate it in our room again. Then we had a spa before bed. This was a nightly routine for us at this hotel.
The next morning, we planned on having breakfast with my parents at Cafe Medina. To beat the queues, we got our hotel to save us a table. I saw it on the hotel room info that they could reserve for their guests so that’s what I did. It was a good perk.
We had a nice brunch with my parents there. I think this was our last full day in Vancouver. It’s been almost 3 weeks of travel so we were all tired at this point and just wanted to relax and I wanted to do some last minute shopping.
I popped out by myself and walked around the city.
I did my last bits of shopping. I also bought a new luggage set while we were in Vancouver. We needed more luggage and instead of my parents buying another one, I decided to get what I really wanted which was a pink Samsonite set I saw in Marshalls. Then my parents could use my old matcha green luggage set (and eventually my sister can have it).
Since it was our last night in Vancouver, Max and I decided to have a nice dinner. My parents wanted to stay in their room so it was just us in the end and we went to a Japanese restaurant across the road Jinya Ramen Bar.
We had a lovely last dinner in Vancouver. There was a baseball game on so they extended their happy hour which was amazing. The food was good. We reflected back on our trip and how great it was. Max and I travel really well together.
Afterwards, we went in the spa and I had to start packing to be more prepared for the next day.
Packing looked so chaotic but I had a system going when it came to packing before going home. I had to lay everything out. I thought I didn’t do much shopping but I did. It was mostly beauty products though especially from Shoppers and Sephora that we can’t get here in NZ. I had a lot of smaller things to pack into bags while Max had mostly clothes. Anyway, we got there in the end and it was all good.
Last day in Vancouver
On our last morning in Vancouver, I went for my usual morning stroll for coffee and pastry by myself.
I ended up at Cafe Marie which had a lovely view but unfortunately the coffee and pastry were just okay.
I had a nice stroll though and slowly made my way back.
We eventually checked out of our lovely hotel and we had some time before we needed to head to the airport. Max, mum and I ended up going for a walk towards Canada Place while dad wandered off by himself elsewhere. He gets stressy on travel days.
We had a nice stroll for a last minute tourist exploration and then we had a quick drink and snack at Beaucoop where I went by myself a few days before. It was good to have some steps in before we head home and be in a plane for 15 hours.
We then sadly had to leave for the airport. L’Hermitage Hotel was great. The location was close to the main streets, the service was good and the amenities were good too. I’m so glad we decided to book here especially for the last part of our trip. It was a nice place to end our Canada trip. This was the most expensive accommodation we booked but we have zero regrets as we had a lovely stay here.
Our flight back to Auckland, NZ was around 7pm so we headed to the airport a bit early to reduce any stresses or delays. We had some food once we were checked in, I did some last bit of Duty Free shopping and got myself a Longchamp Le Pliage tote which I’ve been wanting for a while. Then it was time to get on the plane back home. We weren’t seated together this time and the flight was fuller than on our way to Vancouver but we got home in the end and that’s all that matters.
This is all for the last leg of our Canada trip! It was an amazing trip. We travelled pretty well and got a good balance of exploring, adventures, city life, scenery and shopping. I wish we had more sunny days to bike around Stanley Park but I think we did everything else I wanted to and more. There were no emergencies or any hard issues during this trip which was great.
I wish we also got to spend more time with my uncle’s family and cousins over there but we’re all adults with different busy schedules. They had work while we were on holiday there and my uncle hurt his foot and was not as mobile. I’m quite grateful we got a chance to come to Vancouver though because of my cousin’s wedding. I’m really grateful Max and I went because we had an amazing time and made more memories with my parents too.
Vancouver as a whole is a pretty cool city. It’s walkable and there are so many trees in the city and the buildings are quite nice and green. I liked that a lot of the buildings had greenery and trees on upper levels / terraces. I wish Auckland especially in the CBD was like that. The customer service especially in food places were superb and it’s probably due to the tipping culture like the US which we don’t have over here.
Overall, I really enjoyed this trip and so many good memories were made. I’m finishing the recap of our trip 6 months later and it’s made me happy going back through all my photos and reliving these memories.
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