Ok, try two on this one as I wrote it and then hit the wrong button and deleted it, le sigh.
My love of Canada, which begun when I was a child, and grew last month in Montreal has been officially cemented with this week’s trip to Vancouver. The city itself is gorgeous, surrounded by beautiful water ways, lots of green spaces, and lots of lovely places to eat and drink while looking at both water and green space.
Vancouver also has Granville Island, which is not an island, and Granville Island Market, which is a mind blowing market on the non-island.
Now I know none of you will be shocked when I say we went there with the express purpose of collecting delicacies for a picnic, but we decided to give them a decidedly Vancouver twist. My standard collection for a picnic includes; fruit, something salty, charcuterie, bread, and delicious beverages.
Fruitwise I am now just slightly obsessed with Rainier cherries, which are significantly bigger then their East Coast cousins, sweet but not cloying, and a gorgeous yellow, orange, red ombre color. If you can find some, I recommend keeping them cold till you eat them as they are delightfully refreshing when eaten while lounging in the sun.
In addition to some delightful olives we found, for a salty kick, we also bought a container of of roasted garlic. Let me say that again, a whole container of roasted garlic cloves. While you could eat them squished between cheese and a tomato, you could also just eat them plain, with your fingers.
The fine folks at Benton Brothers cheese provided us with both a giggle, and local cheese. In addition to a local sharp cheddar, with notes of grass and sea salt, we also got a triple creme brie from Montreal which may be my new favorite cheese. It was at the point of oozing out of its wrapping when we got it and by the time we made it to Stanley Park for the picnic it was ready to be scooped up with fresh bread and inhaled (we may have also been rather hungry by then).
For our Vancouver twist, we picked up three different kinds of smoked salmon from Seafood City . The spicy salmon bits were out favorite, while the sweet was nice, and the Sockeye salmon stick tasted like salmon jerky.
Our beverage of choice was beers from the “islands” eponymously named brewery, while my favorite was their False Creek Raspberry Ale, with just a hint of fresh raspberry under the refreshing ale, the others preferred the less fruity choices of the Robson St. Hefeweizen and the English Bay Pale Ale.
Once we had collected our supplies we headed for Stanley Park, which sits on a gorgeous point in the city and affords you a view of the mountains, the bay, and they city while you enjoy your day!