will i am's delayed diary

Missed the first Sunday mass in Vancouver cause we were in the wilderness. But our second and last Sunday was in the city, so we went searching for a Catholic church. The nearest was St Patrick's Church. Google Maps gave us the run around. Walked the wrong direction and when we asked people on the street about the location of the church, the looked at us like we were crazy. We doubled back and passed by Gene Cafe, spotting Ruven and Beardogg out front. Quickly asked him for directions but he wasn't very sure. He knew there was a church there, but not the name. We had nothing to lose, so we went for it. Turns out it was the correct place and we were just ten minutes late. Most of the congregation was made up of Pinoys. And they even had a special alcove to house Pinoy favourites like Santa Nino and the Black Nazarene. Another interesting thing about St Patrick's was the fact that they had altar girls. The hunt for the Catholic Church had left us a little tired, so we

Tater has an uncle on Victoria Island and during his last visit there, he took a sea plane to visit him. And from that experience, he strongly-encouraged us to do the same. So KH got tickets with Harbour Air and packaged it with a whale-watching company at Victoria Island. Got off the Sky Train at Waterfront station and had a simple breakfast panini from Pepe. Walked over to Vancouver Harbour that was located right next to the Vancouver Convention Centre. Only after checking in did we realize that they served free pastries and coffee to passengers. Our flight used a Sea Otter and could seat twelve passengers. Luggage is stowed in the pontoons. Very different taking off from the water. But taxi-ing out to the open waters was quite a slow process. Take off was smooth and view was amazing with no turbulence. Our altitude was low, so we were rewarded with a great birds eye view of the islands. Further out we could see how salt water and fresh water mingled judging by the dual color

Kenji and Andy took leave to spend the day with us. Actually Andy called in sick. Lol. Not wanting them to come all the way down to fetch us, we took the Sky Train to Lansdowne. Nearly everyone on the train was of Chinese-descent. While waiting, we did some shopping at Lansdowne Mall. They took us out for dim sum that day. Some say that dim sum in Vancouver is better than Hong Kong due to the freshness of the ingredients, but I don't agree. Sam Sui Wah looked like your typical dim sum place with Cantonese-speaking waiters, typical furniture and gilded Chinese characters on the walls. The prices were relatively steep but the portions gweilo-sized. Some of the stuff were good, but some I did not like. The weirdest item was the baked melon lolo. Halfway through, felt a bit 'zhai' and Kenji's stomach reacted to something we ordered too. Andy sent us back to their place so that Kenji could purge a bit. The place they live in is quite nice, with several housemates. The livi

Truth be told, our schedule for the second part in Vancouver was a bit fluid. Based on a recommendation from our hosts, we visited Granville Island. Took a bus ( she even taught us how to cheat! But we didn't do that. Actually wantend to buy the tickets on the bus, but since we didn't have any coins, the bus driver just gave them to us FOC! ) and subsequently went by foot. Nearly went the wrong way as the signage was quite bad. Doubled back from on top the bridge and walked under it instead. Along the way, we asked directions from a woman who was luckily going the same way. Started off at Net Loft, a place where the local art writers from Emily Carr University sold their wares. Most of the shops weren't open, so we had a simple breakfast at Net Loft Cafe first. Wandered in Net Loft and then the Public Market. Fantastic selections of fresh produce, arts and craft. Interesting to note that all the fruit sellers spoke Cantonese. Then went to RIP and the Kids Market.