Canada Adventures: Vancouver Aquarium
It’s Day 3 of our Canada Adventures! Another day filled with more exploration! However, we decided to take it easy today with ONE main stop, since we have been doing a lot of walking on Day 1 in Downtown and Day 2 in Granville Island.
Of course, the start of all our adventures begins with a hearty meal!
11:15 AM - Giovane Caffe
Po was determined to go to Giovane Caffe again (we went here on our first day), because he loved the paninis and the coffee. While it’s good to take advantage of favorite spots in places you rarely visit, I’m definitely more in the “try something new” camp. Alas, Po won this round.
I suppose I also had my sights set on trying an Italian pastry, so perhaps I was easily convinced?!
Po ordered the Genoa Panini. For $14 CAD, you get fluffy foccacia bread with salami, spicy capicollo, havarti cheese, tomato, spinach, hot banana peppers, red onions, honey, mustard, and mayo stuffed in between.
I decided on the Ceici - a chickpea, tomato, and cucumber salad for $12 CAD - to “balance out” the Hazelnut Bigne pastry that was the main star of lunch! (You can see the photo here.) It’s basically a giant cream puff - flaky, slightly crisp choux exterior stuffed with a generous mound of creamy hazelnut custard. A complete indulgence and was so delicious!
Quick Tip: Before heading out for the day (or better yet, at the start of your trip), check with your hotel concierge to see if there are any discounts or bundled tickets available for local attractions. They’ll also tell you about other tours or attractions that you might not have considered!
Our plan for today was to visit the Vancouver Aquarium, and there weren't any discounts during our visit, so we ended up paying $50 CAD per person, but it's always worth asking!
1:00 PM - Vancouver Aquarium
Since we stopped by the hotel concierge first, we ended up getting a later start to the day, and the aquarium closes at 5pm. Getting there at 1pm meant that we would have 4 hours of marine life perusing, so we opted to take a Lyft. From our hotel, we could have done the scenic Seawall Water Walk (about 30 minutes), but the Lyft took 10 to 15 minutes (depending on traffic).
Upon arrival at the Vancouver Aquarium, we learned it was Sea Otter Day! We got to watch a live feeding and learn more about the resident otters. It did get very crowded, so it was hard to get a good view, but we still got a glimpse of a few seat otters. One of them swam by with a whole buffet on its belly!
In addition to sea otter feedings, they also had a seal feeding and sea lion training, which we had a front and center view of, since we got there early.
The aquarium has a vast assortment of exhibits, such as our all-time favorite jellyfishes, an Amazon gallery, a monster level, and 4D shows (included in ticket price!). The 4D show we watched was “Turtle Odyssey,” which followed the life of a sea turtle and was really cute and educational.
We spent the entire 4 hours there, so it was worth the time and money! It’s a very beautiful aquarium as well. We highly recommend making this a stop in your travel plans if you like aquariums and can spend a few hours looking at everything. However, Po and I do take our time at aquariums, especially since he likes to takes photos and I sketch! We also had a mid-afternoon coffee break at the aquarium cafe. But by the time we got to the Monster Level (bottom floor), we were dragging our feet. So even 4 hours wasn’t enough for us to see everything!
Despite spending most of the time on our feet, after a little sit-down, we decided to walk back to the hotel via the scenic Seawall Water Walk. It was a peaceful and beautiful route along the water, with great views of the harbor and city skyline. If you're not in a rush, we highly recommend this stroll as a relaxing way to wind down the afternoon.
5:20 PM - Breka Cafe
But even a gorgeous scenic walk couldn’t keep away the tiredness, so we stopped at Breka Cafe on Denman Street for an energy boost! This time, Po got the Chocolate Eclair ($5.75 CAD), I tried the Cheddar Cheese & Green Onion Scone ($4.25 CAD), and we shared a big cup of black tea.
I wanted something more savory, but the scone would have been better warmed up. Po enjoyed his chocolate eclair, although…can you ever go wrong with a chocolate eclair?!
With baked goods and tea fueling us up, I managed to convince Po to walk just a tiny bit further down the street to a Safeway so I could buy…
KETCHUP CHIPS!
My sister wanted me to bring some back for her, but I also wanted to try this beloved Canadian snack that you can’t find in most grocery stores in the States. There were quite a lot of brands to choose from, and I didn’t know which was the legit one, so I went with Lays and Old Dutch. If you are a ketchup chip connoisseur, let me know in the comments which brand is best and that I should try the next time I visit Canada!
My honest review: I tried the Old Dutch brand, and the chips have a tangy, tomato-y, kind of sweet and salty flavor. It wasn’t bad, but I do prefer savory and salty flavors, so even if these were offered back home, I’m more likely to reach for a bag of cheddar and sour cream chips or dill chips.
However, if you’re curious about regional snacks, they are definitely worth trying or bringing home!
8:00 PM - Dinner at Prestons
By the time evening rolled around, we were feeling the effects of all the walking. Instead of venturing out for dinner, we decided to stay in and eat at Prestons, the hotel restaurant. Typically, we don’t like to dine at the hotel restaurant, because it can be overpriced for what it is. Especially if there are a lot of other better options around (which downtown Vancouver does have).
But only having to go down the escalator and a quiet, non-crowded atmosphere made it the right choice. Po ordered fish & chips ($28 CAD), while I went for a comforting bowl of mushroom risotto ($26 CAD). Just what we needed after a full day of exploring!
And with that, we wrapped up Day 3 - tired, full, and happy! If we could do it again, we might budget a little more time at the aquarium earlier in the day, so that we would have time to visit more of Stanley Park (where the aquarium was located). Unfortunately, Stanley Park will have to wait until the next time we visit Canada!
We only have one more full day in Vancouver before we head out, and we’re going to visit a tourist attraction… Can you guess what’s coming up next? See you there!
Helpful Travel Links
Giovane Caffe - Italian coffee shop for espresso drinks, pastries, sandwiches, and salads (multiple locations)
Vancouver Aquarium - Canada’s largest public aquarium located in Stanley Park with conservation programs and a variety of exhibits
Seawall Water Walk - the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront pathway for walking, cycling, jogging, and inline skating
Breka Cafe - 24-hour bakery and cafe with a lot of sweet and savory options (multiple locations)
Prestons - relaxed restaurant and lounge located in the Coast Coal Harbour Hotel, serving American food and cocktails
This travel blog is part of a bigger project to create my first ever printed travel zine / picture book. While I work on the illustrated book, I share my process and all the initial sketches with my Wonderscouts on Patreon. If you would like to get a behind-the-scenes look on this project and support the making of this book, please consider joining us on this adventure!
Or you can purchase the Canada Adventures Collection below for only $5 and see all the sketchbook drawings and photos from our trip!
