From the Los Angeles Times
POSTCARD FROM CANADA
Vancouver lets it all hang out
Vancouver's true spirit - freewheeling and offbeat - percolates away from the mainstream and is best revealed in these quirky activities.
Karla Zimmerman, Lonely Planet, June 11, 2006
Vancouver is an enviable place to be this time of year, when everyone heads outdoors to take advantage of the mountains-meet-the-sea locale. Sure, you can join the masses bicycling the Stanley Park seawall and hiking the Grouse Grind - they are top attractions, after all. But Vancouver's true spirit - freewheeling and offbeat - percolates away from the mainstream and is best revealed in these quirky activities.
First stop: Bowen
Hundreds of islands splash off Vancouver's coast. Bowen is the closest of the bunch, a 20-minute ride from West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay. Galleries, nautical-style pubs and a kayak rental shop line the harbor-side boardwalk.
Many visitors head inland for a hike in nearby Crippen Regional Park to view the bird sanctuary and waterfalls. Farther on, Salt Spring Island, three hours from Vancouver, has reaped fame as an artists' colony and organic farmers' haven. A vibrant Saturday morning market showcases the community's crafts and earthy produce, and many visitors return with chimes, candles, herbs and other tools for rejuvenation.
Coffee-bingeing
Vancouver nurses a walloping caffeine addiction, and the undisputed place to get a fix is Commercial Drive on the city's eastern side. Italian immigrants first opened up shop here, with artists and countercultural types piling in thereafter. The result is a peculiar place where old-world bakery aromas mingle with patchouli wafting from psychics' parlors, and skateboarders reach for tomatoes beside little old ladies at the produce stand. Everyone is united, however, in their love of energy-jiving java.
Frolicking nymphs?
The best bingeing takes place in the half-mile stretch between East 2nd Avenue and Napier Street, at four Italian coffeehouses that brew espressos, lattes and cappuccinos. Continental Coffee and Cafe Roma offer the most traditional scene, with natty, cap-wearing seniors sipping and shouting at soccer matches on satellite TV. Caffe Calabria lacks the sports viewing but compensates with kitsch: Plaster nymphs frolic throughout, and a Sistine Chapel-like fresco shows God passing Adam a cappuccino. Joe's serves its attitude-adjusting roasts amid a throng of pool tables.
The funk factor
Once buzzed, step out and explore the street's funky shops. Where else can you purchase dreadlock shampoo, belly-dancing supplies, a cape and a Che Guevara backpack in one fell swoop?
Getting naked
If the relaxed, hippy-ish islands bred with oddball Commercial Drive, Wreck Beach would be their unrepentant wild child. It's an anything-goes kind of place - and mostly what goes are your clothes, since Wreck is a nude beach (although, as long as you're respectful, you don't have to be in the buff).
For sale: Musk-ox burgers
The setting is spellbinding. A steep path behind the University of British Columbia carries visitors down to the undeveloped, log-strewn shoreline. The thick surrounding forest shields the beach so it feels worlds away from the big city, yet downtown is just a few miles away. And "undeveloped" doesn't mean lacking in creature comforts. On warm weekends in particular, Wreck Beach explodes with enterprising vendors who set up shop on the sand. Procurement of a baked potato, glass of wine, haircut, massage or musk-ox burger is equally possible.
Getting around
BC Ferries sail to the islands from Vancouver's two terminals - Horseshoe Bay in the northwest and Tsawwassen in the south. Most vessels also carry cars for an additional fee; (250) 386-3431, http://www.bcferries.com
Where to eat
Doc Morgan's Inn, near the Bowen Island ferry dock, serves fish and chips and pints of beer in a seafaring atmosphere; pub fare runs $9 to $22; (604) 947-0808. At Havana, on Commercial Drive, Caribbean fried chicken, portabello mushroom panini and mojitos can be gulped outdoors on the porch - an excellent vantage point to people-watch - or indoors on red-velvet cushioned seats; entrees $12 to $19; (604) 253-0119.
Where to stay
Downtown's pension-style Victorian Hotel can't be beat for price and low-key class. Doubles from $80; (604) 681-6369, http://www.victorianhotel.ca The ivy-covered Sylvia Hotel has welcomed families since 1912 to its oceanfront digs in the West End neighborhood. Many return year after year for their dose of stained-glass and Old World charm. Doubles from $68; (604) 681-9321, http://www.sylviahotel.com
Getting there
From LAX, Air Canada and Alaska fly nonstop to Vancouver. American, America West, United and West Jet all offer connecting flights (stop, change of planes.) Restricted round-trip fares begin at $223.60.
