What I learned from Vancouver, as an Albertan

I finally visited Vancouver for the first time on the long weekend to see my boyfriend. I’ve been to B.C. many times but never to Vancouver – and it was about time. The city has a reputation for being a place that people either love or hate. I loved it… but for all the wrong reasons.

The first thing that I learned from Vancouver was to appreciate Edmonton traffic (something I previously thought impossible). Fortunately, we walked or took transit everywhere we went, but even then, it was hard to ignore how convoluted the streets were – at all times! We walked about ten blocks around 2:30 p.m., and although it was the middle of the afternoon, the traffic was as backed up as the High Level Bridge at 5:30 p.m. on a workday. 

The second thing I found out was how aggressive people in vehicles are in the city. As someone who has never (in four years of driving) even touched the horn in my car, I was shocked at the number of honks I heard. At other cars, at pedestrians, at anything that mildly inconvenienced these drivers. I started hearing honks in my sleep.

My favourite part of this trip by a long shot was our visit to Granville Island – the small but mighty island smacked in the middle of Vancouver. 

The island is full of lovely little shops, street performers, a huge public market, and plenty more to explore. We did a lap around the streets, then made our way to the public market. It was massive and boasted many cute restaurants, cafes and bakeries. After tuckering ourselves out by doing laps around the market, we stopped at an adorable shop called Siegel’s Bagels and picked up a half-dozen of the freshest bagels I’ve ever had. They were still warm when we sat down to munch!

Granville Island was not only fantastic, but it also taught me another lesson. Slow down, pay attention to the details, and you might stumble upon something you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. In this case: warm, fresh bagels.

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