There are all kinds of vehicles in this city as there are in any other great cities, but everything seems kind of special in Vancouver.
The most expensive cars you see on the street are not driven by some mid life crisis men, but carry a tag that indicates the driver as "learner".
The bike lanes that are spread all over Downtown are hardly in use as there are not many road bikers. If you want to be one though please follow these instructions!
If you don't have your own vehicle there are plenty of public transportation options.
The bus lines which are very complicated and change due to road construction.
The skytrain which is fast and usually on time but has only three lines.
The sea bus which connects north van to the rest of Vancouver.
Well, for most purposes I prefer my own nice used hybrid bike. But when I grow up and think about buying a motorized vehicle it is good to know that this city has gas stations everywhere...
moja is one of the rising stars with a brand new, very modern, clean and stylish facility in north Van. Well maybe it is not brand new but it looks like it has never been used.
As coffee roasting is a business with lots of dust, grease and dirt it is quite rare to find a roaster that actually shines in the light.
Also they have a kind of open shop concept with a huge window to the roasters. So while you are experiencing a great cup of coffee or espresso from their Simonelli porta filter you can watch how the beans are roasted.
Many baristas I talked to call Moja the best coffee roasters in town. I have actually only tried their espresso which was rather light roasted for my taste but therefore fruity and fresh.
Also the guys at Revolver serve the Moja beans from time to time so check it out!
A bike friendly coffee shop in the middle of downtown but only accessible through the parking lots of the back alley on Burrard and Drake is a real highlight of Vancouver's coffee culture. Not because the beans are special, they buy from 49th Parallel, but the atmosphere is something completely different.
Authenticity is the main topic one should focus when visiting this place. It's bike friendly so you are allowed to bring your bike in and they even have lots of bike fixing tools provided for the eventual pit stop.
Musette really loves bikes so the store offers a whole lot of merchandise for bikers. Water bottles, shirts, toques, helmets, sweaters, socks, you name it... anything a real Vancouver road biker could desire.
They even integrate bike parts in the interior of the shop which is pretty stylish.
So are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with rock salt... delicious!
I just recognized that yesterday I hit a thousand views on my blog. So thanks to all my frequent readers, I hope you love it!
From a friend of a friend came the recommendation to visit this amazing Japanese place called Gyu Kaku where you have a BBQ grill integrated in the dining tables so that you basically prepare your own food.
There was of course lots of meat and only some veggies plus rice and amazing sauces and marinades.
Staff was friendly too, but due to the rather high prices and the two hours it took us for lunch it might not ever become a favorite spot. Sadly!
While researching roasters in Vancouver I also stumbled over the guys from JJ Bean. They've been around for quite a while and are not a franchise business as many other coffee shops are. Their warehouse is in east Van and they not only roast their coffee themselves, they also supply some independent coffee shops downtown.
My first experience in one of the really stylish locations was kind of awkward though. The baristas at Burrard Street were extremely arrogant and unfriendly and kind of ruined the first impression for me.
But as a friend of mine got hired by the Yaletown outlet I decided to give them another try.
Turns out that although they are really hipster they do have a great attitude and good coffee after all. The Yaletown guys are super friendly and attentive and the JJ espresso blend is fabulous! Also the shop features an own bakery which means that muffins and cookies are always fresh.
A definite recommendation!
On January 1 the annual polar bear swim took place at english bay and among lots of bizarre swimmers my roommate also dived into the freezing water. It was not a cold day at all but weather was rainy and wet and overall disgusting. The whole event was overlooked by the Vancouver lifeguards and even some SUPs were out. NYE hangover fighting of a different kind.
A huge crowd watched the event including a squirrel that probably had the best view.
For all participants there were public showers for warm up featuring motivation songs as: "We're so cold, we're so numb, we are really really dumb!"
I guess they enjoyed it!
2014 it is!
I hope everyone had a great night, it took me quite a while to recover after the awesome party at the Goorin Bros. hat shop in Yaletown. Thanks for Mary Jean, who works there, for her invitation to the private party for employees and friends only.
We had literally everything you could ask for, drinks, food and great company!
The dress code was kind of fancy so thanks again to Mary for giving me that awesome tie and hat to dress me up a little nicer.
The best thing about the party was the people! Interesting characters all over. A lead singer of a cheesy rock band, a world traveling art teacher, an artist who modeled a sculpture of a perfect vagina... what more can you ask for?
So a little late, but to everyone who reads my blog a happy new year!!!
