A day at the market.

Sunday the 9th

Today was the last day to spend with Chris. He's headed back to Victoria and then in a few months he'll be moving to Toronto. Our hearts will be closer though the kilometers will still be long between us. It was so nice to have him over the weekend. I have known him since I was eight. He's the same age as my sister and they became best friends and have not parted since. He was part of my sister's wedding party in August. Over the years we have stayed close and I am going to miss him a lot. I hope he is able to find a hot redhead in Toronto.

We slept in a while, still tired from the party the night before finally managing to wake up enough to head to Granville Island Market to explore and have lunch.

We wandered around the market for a while before I choose to have L'Epicerie. They sell delicious rotisserie meats and I have not been disappointed the times that I have had them. If you get the entree then you get a salad along with two choices of delicious sides they have.

 I had the pork belly entree with roasted sweet potato and roasted vegetables. I do not know what type of dressing they have on their salads but it is very nice.

 Chris enjoyed a bratwurst which looked very good.

Shawn and my mom enjoyed the pizza which had been my second choice.

The market is a great place to find fresh fruit, pasta, meats, and many other things. This is my third time visiting the market and I enjoy wandering amongst the stalls, looking at all the colourful fruits and flowers.

The market is open seven days a week 9 am to 7 pm. It is a fun place to check out if you are ever visiting Vancouver. If I lived closer to the market I would definitely do some of my shopping here. It makes me excited to go and visit Pike Place Market in Seattle before I leave.

After we left the market we hurried across Vancouver to drop Chris at the skytrain. It was a sad goodbye. Not the first of this week but still it was hard. Just as fast as we got there we were on our way again to get to Shawn's again.

For dinner we went to Vij's which is located at 1480 W 11th Ave in Vancouver. We arrived before the restaurant opened but there was still a line of a few people formed outside of the building. I had never been to Vij's before but my sister and her husband spoke very highly of it and had been a few times before.

While we were waiting for the restaurant to open we were able to sit on the small patio outside and I enjoyed a Boozie Chai which was very delicious. Makes me want to return to East is East and its Chai Gallery. I might get lucky tonight. While we waited, enjoying mango juice and chai we took a few selfies. I'm going to miss my mom so much.

Once inside we were sat at a table and given plenty of time to look over the menu. Servers continually brought small little tasters to our table which was great. I loved trying all the different bites they had. I hummed and hawed over whether or not to get the spicy goat but chose to get the BC Ruby trout in coconut fenugreek masala with wheat berry pilaf which was so delicious. The combination of flavours in the curry was perfect. 

 The wine marinated lamb popsicles

 My BC Ruby Trout

 The organic chicken

The food was great but I must say the service stole the show. They were constantly offering more naan, refilling water and being attentive to our needs. It was a nice contrast to some of the recent places I have been where the service has lacked.

The menu is on the expensive side ranging from about $25 for vegetarian dishes to $30 for meat dishes. I think the quality of food and service makes the price deserved. I would not go to Vij's on a regular basis but would definitely consider it for a romantic date or family dinner.

It was the first time my mom had really experienced an Indian restaurant and we were all proud of how well she did. She really does not like spicy foods so we were all surprised at how she liked everything she did try.

The days are flying by and my stomach is full of butterflies.

5 days 5 hours..