I like to collection information on destinations, be they food, travel or otherwise. This satisfies my need for making lists, for subsequently crossing things off of lists, and for knowing where to find "the good stuff". For instance, I have a folder of bookmarks dedicated to Seattle, and this past weekend provided the perfect opportunity to check some of them out, along with discovering other gems.

After dropping our things off at the Chambered Nautilus (a great b&b near the university), we headed straight to... the Chittenden Locks! Truth be told, the locks themselves were not all that exciting. No, the real excitement was in watching the action at the fish ladder (I am not joking). Dinner afterwards consisted of multiple tapas from Essex; the cauliflower toasts and rhubarb toasts were particular hits. The pictures above were taken the next day at the Chihuly Garden and Glass, which was one of the biggest highlights of the trip. The Boat Street Cafe provided lovely lunch fare (there was a cornmeal custard thing drenched in maple syrup that was pretty fabulous), and then it was off to Bainbridge Island where we enjoyed a driving tour of the island and wine and cheese tastings (keep it up, Eleven winery!). On our last day, we quickly ran through Pike Place Market (thankfully avoiding the gum wall) before taking the underground tour. The best meal of the trip might just have been sandwiches at the Grand Central Bakery and then we left Seattle and headed for Woodinville. We were not expecting Woodinville to be a wine tasting hub, but that is what we found. And finally, we hit Trader Joe's in Bellingham for the cheese arbitrage. Next up... Portland in July!

My ship came in last week, in the form of an inspiration pass. This is a fairly new program at the library where said pass grants you (as well as 1 additional adult and 4 children) free admission to most attractions in Vancouver. Of course, due to its popularity there is a lengthy wait to get one, but because of said popularity the program may be expanded and additional passes issued. 

Stop # 1 out of 10 was the aquarium. The jellyfish have landed!  

The cobblestones at Sun Yat-Sen Garden really caught my eye. Drinking tea, admiring the penjing, and noticing the many carefully-executed architectural details was a tranquil way to relax before heading to the the Vancouver Police Museum. There we learned about the Vancouver's early race riots, were chilled by details of various gruesome crimes from the city's sordid past, and saw a replica of a coroner's lab. Then at Science World I discovered that the modern beaver had an ancestor that was the size of a black bear. This fascinates me still.

Bloedel Conservatory was a good place to go to watch exotic birds preen themselves. Other highlights from the weekend included the Museum of Anthropology (including a worthwhile tour), the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (a real gem) and the Maritime Museum (I went in with no expectations, and was pleasantly surprised). 

Fuel for all this inspiration included vegetarian poutine at Belle Potate, which ranked a solid 7 out of 10 on the poutine scale. The fries were excellent; the vegetarian gravy was... fine. This sort of lunch was balanced by a healthier dinner later on at Heirloom, which also served up a super tasty strawberry mojito - which will be super easy to make at home too!

Susannah's shop, The Curious Vitrine, is an "emporium of handmade art, curios & vintage collections". She's having a sale until June 9, so go check it out! As a fan of tone-on-tone, this cream crocheted cuff is my favourite item: it's "embellished with distressed vintage lace that has been hand-dyed with rosehip and hibiscus tea, and scattered with irridescent sequins". Charming! 

In other accessorizing news, I recently purchased this bow necklace from local artist Sarah Mulder, and today I stumbled upon an impressive array of hair tutorials. And in a final bit of foodness, if you're in Vancouver, go here for burritos post-haste!