HELP:Places to take someone visiting Vancouver?

[Ista]

Originally Posted by rawb

OFFICIAL TORONTO CITY TOUR

1) BREAKFAST
2) CN TOWER
3) HOCKEY HALL OF FAME
4) LUNCH
5) LATE AFTERNOON CN TOWER
6) DINNER AT THE CN TOWER
7) CN TOWER NIGHT VIEWING
8) STAND OUTSIDE MUCH MUSIC
9) ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: TORONTO, THE SHITTY CHICAGO

You sound like you've never been here....
...sad....*shakes head*

[rawb]

BEEN THERE, STAYED IN 1 KING WEST IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN, TRIED TO FIND SOMETHING UNIQUE OR FUN TO DO FOR 3 DAYS OTHER THAN SHOP.

CANT COMPARE TO VANCOUVER OR MONTREAL. NO CULTURE OR COHESIVE FEELING AT ALL.

[mekim]

my week and a bit spent in toronto was one of the most painful canadian experiences i've ever had. i'd rather go to detroit.

[Ista]

LOL .... You never tried hard enough. There's TONS of stuff to do out here , you west coast elitists have this complex.

I was in vancouver and that was a pretty painstaking experience on its own...its no different than here except its full of hippies , smells like patchoulie and paki's.

oh fun!

[miss.myra]

Originally Posted by Ista

LOL .... You never tried hard enough. There's TONS of stuff to do out here , you west coast elitists have this complex.

I was in vancouver and that was a pretty painstaking experience on its own...its no different than here except its full of hippies , smells like patchoulie and paki's.

oh fun!

BTW Ontario has no shortage of 'elitists' with complexes that think where they live is the shit too, NOT TO MENTION THEY THINK IT IS CENTRE OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING UNIVERSE


oh, and apparently it has no shortage of racists either.

[mekim]

i tried as hard as i could to find something more exciting than canada's wonderland and i had no luck. the bars were fun but that's booze-fueled, it don't count. i agree with rawb, toronto == shopping. if i want some culture out east of the west coast i'll hit up montreal. if i have to go to ontario i'll hit up ottawa.

[mekim]

btw, it's not elitism when you're better than everyone else

[diva]

Originally Posted by miss.myra

BTW Ontario has no shortage of 'elitists' with complexes that think where they live is the shit too, NOT TO MENTION THEY THINK IT IS CENTRE OF THE ENTIRE FUCKING UNIVERSE


oh, and apparently it has no shortage of racists either.

What Myra said.

Also, i've noticed that every single cool Ontarian that i've met has ended up moving to BC. I wonder why.

:P

[BongMan]

Originally Posted by gnosis

His first time to Van, huh?

Impress him.

Drop the coin and book a window table @ Grouse Nest Restaurant up Grouse mountain. When you book dinner, the lift is complimentary. Make sure you ring enviro-can to get a clear day/night.
Book your dinner for 1/2 hour before sunset. Head up an hour before while it's still light out.
Let your bud see the Lower Mainland.
Then, while you have dinner, the sun will set, and all the lights of the Lower Mainland will come on.
Spectacular!



Frosty
(can impress)

Damn man didn't think you had that in you....

[Needle Kinev]

Originally Posted by bebu*funfun

but thurlow is more "real".. andrew and i are guu conisieurs..WE KNOW. its definately more memorable if you go to the thurlow one...it makes you feel like you're out of the city.

no one ever seems to mention the guu on robson and...that street before denman (cardero? bidwell?)
good - its too busy there as it is already so ya'll keep going to the other spots

what about poutine? that's a good vancouver thing for out of towners as (ive been told by out of towners) - davie and granville

hole in the wall on davie for that "true" vancouver experience - who hasnt eaten there once in their life after clubbing? - davie and granville

feenie's for their burger - go at lunch, cheaper - one of the best burgers in town (although i have yet to try the $40 burger)

depends on when they are in town but there's lots of good arts events coming up

stanley park is a little heart breaking to see right now but is quite an experience seeing the aftermath of the storm - it's humbling and unsettling

apparently people from around the world get a kick outta seeing the 2 starbucks kitty corner to each other - but whatever

that's i can think of right now

3 days is not a lot of time

[Needle Kinev]

Originally Posted by kiMMie

"Guu with Garlic" (Robson) and the original "Guu" (Thurlow) have different variations of foods. Guu with Garlic has a nice kimchi hotpot thingy that's delicious. Also, "Hapa Izakaya" (Robson) isn't too bad either.

If you want to venture out to Burnaby/Coquitlam, "Insadong" is fantastic for their Korean hotpot.

yeah insadong if you're headed out to burnaby - lougheed and north road
although i havent found a good spot for korean bbq
sadly, the best korean bbq ive had was in toronto

[BunnyB]

Robson Sushi after 9:30...late night all you can eat for $10.95 :P

[P.A.R.T.Y]

See how people just got bored trying to help. Why would you take a Japanese person to a Japanese restaurant? The Japanese food sucks here, hands down.
Grouse Mountain eh? Go to Victoria or Harrison! Go Whale watching.
Serious folks, you are some boring cats.

[-evil-duerr-]

Originally Posted by Ista

full of hippies , smells like patchoulie and paki's.

oh fun!

what

the

fuck

[yoko*]

FYI he's not Japanese

Ista.. I've been to Toronto. My sister lives there... It was OK.:P

--------------

Thank you all for your great input/suggestions.. I read all of them and was super impressed with/intrigued by many of the things you all came up with.. Many of you would make great hosts to one lucky visitor! 3 days is a short amount of time so I've only been able to pick and choose a few potential spots. I wanted to avoid lengthy travels to tourist sites as much as possible since he's only here for a short period of time and don't want to bore him with long commutes from site to site...

First day - pick up @ airport... Casual stroll around downtown. Take the seabus tour (thx bebu and others who suggested it) to Granville Island, grab light lunch... dinner at Hapa izakaya (because they issue gift certificates and Guu doesn't... and I'm not letting him take the bill whatsover).

Second Day - Light brunch, Harbour tower for the view depending on weather, to stanley park where we will kill time before dinner at the fishhouse possibly at the aquarium (cause I'm a geek). Admire the live fish before we devour them? It's so cruel I love it.

Third day - Weather network says it may be sunny on Vancouver Island on his third day here so we'll BC ferry it up to the Island (thx stabmyhead), enjoying the scenic ferry ride (hopefully) and chasing after the sun (I'm sick of this fucking rain). Do touristy shit on the island for a few hours, grab a light lunch somewhere...

Take the last Seaplane (harbour air @ 5:50 pm) back to downtown Vancouver so he can see the City at night and so we get back by dinner time (6:30p)... @Blue water cafe? Undecided.

Last day: Chill in the morning and be lazy. Head out early to the burbs for some later afternoon brunch Sushi @ Sushi house and head to the airport w/ him.

It may sound uneventful but I figure we'll be spending time catching up/talking most of the time anyway so it doesn't really need to be action-packed from hour to hour. Thankssss again everyone!
I'll definitely have more great ideas if I ever have to be a "host" again some other time and will use your suggestions as reference

[P.A.R.T.Y]

Sounds good. No skiing?

[christoqher]

kim penh xe lua, BEST PHO EVER!!
-broadway and cambie

[Ninja_Sage]

other places to visit:

bc marijuana party HQ: to get an idea what happened to the best medicine since laudanum circa 1910. one might even get an inkling why most painkillers and tranquilizers are marijuana substitutes.

The Cambie - best eats and the closest to an London pub one might get without having to fly there. Though, asking for bangers and mash will befuddle the staff.

Eating all the way up and down Denman Street. Lots of good places here, too numerous to mention.

Crystal Mall, near Metrotown mall -- Gives you a taste of Richmond without being there. Though hitting all the malls in Richmond by bus and foot can last a whole day.

Walking along Hastings from Renfrew to Nanaimo and back -- this is a must-do to get an idea of what East Vancouver is really like. Put Grace Memorial United Church into the itinary. Between 2001 and 2004, when Rev. Feenstrah was running it, this church actually had a detente with local prostitutes and drug addicts. The addicts kept the grounds spotless, and the prostitutes didn't meet their clients there. Since 2005, this place saw the effects of the "put em all in rehab or prison" response to the social problem by local residents and parishioners.

Vancouver Buddhist Church - debate with the priest and members after service Sundays about Buddhism, or get a short history lesson of Jodo Shinshu in Canada.

I think there's gonna be some kind of rally on Sat. March 17 regarding the Olympics in 2010. On Monday Mar 12, they'll be at city hall near 11th Ave and Cambie to rain on the IOC & VANOC 530PM to 7PM.