Hummingbird604.com » False Creek

The Aquabus

Raul — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:00:11 +0000

This past week, the sun was absolutely glorious and JT and I were headed to The Wiz (the reinvention of The Wizard of Oz by my friends of Fighting Chance Productions) and we wanted to make it on time so we had to use the Aquabus (were we in the other side, we probably could have used False Creek Ferries).

I loved the Aquabus from the first time I ever took it. I have the most fond memories of it particularly because my good friends and I always take it, particularly on good days. Whenever anybody comes to visit me to Vancouver, I always take them on a tour of False Creek on either the Aquabus or False Creek Ferries.

While I’m not happy that their schedule is in PDF format and thus not very mobile friendly, I do like their service hours (6:40am to 9:30pm). I really enjoy taking it particularly when I go for dinner close to Hornby (service is Hornby Street downtown to Granville Island on the mainland). You should check it out if you haven’t yet!

False Creek Ferries (Granville Island)

Raul — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:38:08 +0000

There are few things that warm my heart and remind me of how much I love Vancouver. One of them is to take the little ferry across False Creek, from the downtown core to Granville Island. Most of the time, I used to just walk down, take the False Creek Ferries (or the AquaBus, whichever was there) and just cross to wherever I had to go. One of my most fond memories was 2007 Pride when my good friends AF, BS and HZ spent the whole day with me and then we took the False Creek Ferries across to Second Beach.

I just found out that the False Creek Ferries are on Twitter! (@FalseCreekFerry) and I am glad that they’re also jumping on the social bandwagon (with a Flickr account no less). From their website:

False Creek ferries is the original ferry service, operating in False Creek since 1982. Starting with two 18’ electric boats running between Granville Island and the old Boater’s Village Marina on the north shore, the idea of water borne transit in the Creek slowly, but surely, became accepted. Twenty-eight years and over 11 million passengers later, the “little blue ferries” are firmly established as an integral part of the city of Vancouver, offering a unique perspective on one of the most vibrant areas of the city. The fleet now consists of ten vessels, including four 20-passenger diesel powered “supermini‑ferries,” and routes extend from the Maritime Museum in Kitsilano to Science World and the Main Street Skytrain station.

It’s way too cold (apparently it’s going to go down to -10 oC and 20 cm of snow in Vancouver) but I’m definitely down to coming and using the False Creek Ferries sometime this summer.

False Creek on a rainy and gloomy evening

Raul — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:02:16 +0000

I am always puzzled by the strangest things. For example, I walk along the False Creek seawall quite frequently and it’s only until recently that I’ve discovered that I have no clue why some stuff is located there. For example, there’s a travel agency in the Southern side of False Creek (right to the east of Granville Island).

Even more fun for me, seeing Yaletown from False Creek really made some of my photos look somewhat HDR’d. They are all taken with the iPhone camera, alas.

Even on a rainy evening, I *love* my city.

Restaurant review – Bridges (Granville Island)

Raul — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:53:32 +0000

Without a doubt, Bridges manages to offer the best mojito I’ve ever had in Vancouver. Sweet, tasty, well muddled. Everything is perfect. Moreover, it offers some of the best food I’ve had in all my time here. I had been to Bridges before, but this past weekend, with my brother’s visit, he suggested that we go for lunch to Granville Island, which to me is always a great proposition for lots of fun and great food, and an amazing view.

I wasn’t disappointed in Bridges. It is still one of the best restaurants in Vancouver. The service was very prompt (and a tad too friendly, I would say but that’s ok, I don’t mind). We ordered ceviche and a dipper platter which should have been more than enough for lunch, but I was way hungry and we finished it off rather quickly. Loved the tzatziki and the hummus, and of course, the ceviche wasn’t 100% authentic like what I would expect, but it wasn’t bad at all.

The main course I chose, a smoked salmon burger, was very good but I couldn’t finish it off. Perhaps I should have ordered a different dish, but frankly, this is a West Coast restaurant and it should provide a good salmon burger. That, they do. I was slightly surprised at how many staff members they had, but it seemed like they were having a good time.
finished it rather fast.

The prices are in the higher-end-ish scale, but I really don’t think it’s too much of an issue, because really, I would only come to Bridges for a celebration or for a meal that is somewhat significant. A main course can go anywhere from $25 to about $35-$40 (which is not all that unreasonable for the kind of place that Bridges is).

The food was amazing, the company was outstanding, and I had a great time. I *will* be coming back to Bridges, for sure. This is one of the best restaurants I’ve tried in a long while.

Natural beauty, friends and short updates

Raul — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:27:47 +0000

This past couple of weeks, the weather in Vancouver has been fairly decent, and I’ve managed to take a few photos. With my recent scare (e.g. fainting spell), I just came to realize that I haven’t had a relaxed week/weekend in a long while. Thus, I figured I’d just use this short post to show you some pretty pictures I took from the very rare occasions when I have taken relaxing, leisurely walks around Vancouver.

The first set is from brunch at Deep Cove’s Arm Reach Bistro with JT.

The view from the parking lot of Panorama. Photo credit: JT.

Martinis @ Arms Reach Bistro, FTW! Photo credit: JT.

The second set is from brunch at The Nice Cafe and a long walk around the False Creek seawall, from the bridge crossing into Charleson Park to Granville Island and back (a walk I did with C and B).

The view of Yaletown from False Creek. Photo credit: Me.

I rarely use the visual editor because I find it annoying, but I wanted to see if I could adjust the code for photo alignment and size. And yes, I’m doing much better (physically and in the process of geekification). Going to take it easy this weekend anyways.

EDIT – Hat tips to Andy for fixing the code. I’m such a non geek

What I’m up to today: LaunchParty, TechVibes job fair, Green Drinks, VIDFEST 2008

Raul — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:33:54 +0000

I am awake at an absurdly early hour, so I might as well just arrange my calendar and try to see if I can squeeze all the events I am supposed to attend this week (and TODAY), along with doing some of my own work, interviewing Al Pasternak (aka Bokashiman) for my blog, attending a very close friend’s PhD defense AND still doing some of my usual socializing. Will I manage to remain sane? We’ll see. I attended two social media events last night: Third Tuesday AND Vancouver MetBlogs drinks at Library Square and I managed to survive, so let’s see if I don’t end up social-media’d out by Saturday night

So… in the interest of keeping myself sane, let’s see what I am up to today.

- Launch Party IV – Republic, 5:30 – 9:00 pm. Can’t wait to meet Maura and Jordan and all the other folks at Strutta.com. Besides, good chance for a beer with Duane, Ianiv and Arieanna, John and Rebecca, Jenn, Nadia, and I’m pretty sure there will be many other of my social media peeps there.

- Green Drinks – Steamworks – 5:45 – 10:00 pm. This is going to be a tough one. I *really* want to go, particularly since I committed myself to be a Green Greeter (one of those folks who will come to you with a name tag and if I see that you are too shy, I’ll come and introduce you to other people I myself may not even know, but still – create social circles on the spot). But, as you will see, I also have other events the same night. You snooze, you lose. I *may* make an appearance, particularly since I’m on the job market in the environmental field, I kind of have to .

- TechVibes Job Fair – Republic 3:00 – 5:00 pm. I also may show up to this, although this seems to be more directed towards web designers, software engineers, etc. But who knows, there might be something for me. And since I’ve already said that my next job will meld social media with sustainability and social change, this may be a good opportunity. More information on the Career Fair and the schedule of speakers is here.

- VIDFEST and VIGS Opening Reception – Vancouver Art Gallery – 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Well, not sure if I’m going to make it to this (I need to talk to the organizers of VIDFEST, on the one hand, and on the other – I am already double-booked). But it would be nice to make an appearance, particularly since Rochelle Grayson is covering VIGS and I’d love to see her.

Ok, after seeing my schedule, it looks as though the majority of my commitments are after 3pm, which gives me a solid morning to do actual work. That’s kind of awesome, come to think about it. Although I have NO clue where I’m going to sneak in a nap, because I mean, being awake at 6.00am after going to bed at 1.30am doesn’t really jive with me.

Weekend roundup II: The cherry blossom photowalk

Raul — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:12:44 +0000

Now that I have learned how to insert Flickr pictures directly on to my blog, I can walk you through what we did on Saturday afternoon (the cherry blossom photowalk I had talked about), and include a few photos.

I have had this conversation with Nomade Moderne, who is a phenomenal photographer, and with Arjana as well. And PatZ concurs. Apparently, Rule # 1 of Flickr is to only upload what you think are the best photos you’ve taken. Quite honestly, I have to say that I loved ALL my photos from the photowalk. Yes, I deleted about 10, but overall, I really liked them. Comments, absolutely welcome of course.

We then proceeded to drop by Cafe Crepe for a crepe-to-go (in my case, banana and dark chocolate, walking along Thurlow until we reached the cherry blossoms on Beach Avenue and proceeded to take a few more photos.

Arjana suggested to jump in the AquaBus. Since I love undertaking random adventures (and she is one of the best partners-in-crime to do so, plus Pat had never taken the AquaBus), I said “sure, let’s do it“. We crossed the water and reached Granville Island, which is one of my favorite destinations. Bumped into a street guitar player who was playing the first movement of the Moonlight sonata (which I play in the piano) and a random couple started dancing along.

We then walked along Granville Island and sat on the pier overlooking False Creek. I *love* this area, I really do. Arjana offered us some “iced tea” (you know what it was, hehehe) while we took in some of the gorgeous views of False Creek.

Finally, we ended up having a coffee at Starbucks (I was forced into it, I swear! In principle, I do not drink Starbucks – but it was the closest coffee shop and we needed something warm after a photo-walk in the cold). Absolutely loved the company of Arjana and PatZ. It was a great Saturday! And if you really want to see the rest of my photos, here is my Flickr link. I may not be the best photographer in Vancouver, but I really liked how these photos turned out.

Restaurant review – Stamps Landing Pub

Raul — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:08:00 +0000

Located tucked in between two other restaurants in False Creek (one of them being Monk’s McQueen, a phenomenal seafood restaurant worthy of another review), this is a pretty good pub. I am getting more and more used to this type of restaurant-pub type of places, as my friends really enjoy the laid-back attitude of Vancouver. I also love False Creek so I took the perfect excuse (having a casual dinner with a great friend of mine, J) to go to Stamps Landing (that’s the name of the geographical area).

The food is good and reasonably priced. The burgers are humongous and the service was actually quite nice, our waitress was attentive and willing to accommodate us (it helped that the pub wasn’t completely full – had that been a hockey night, I am not 100% sure I would have gotten such a great service).

I’d recommend Stamps Landing for many reasons, not only the food, but the wonderful walk you can take right after. And who knows, you might end up riding the AquaBus just for kicks

Restaurant review – The Cat’s Meow

Raul — Fri, 18 May 2007 06:32:00 +0000

I love Granville Island. I love the scenery, I love the fact that it used to be an industrial zone and now it is very residential/a tad commercial. It houses the Granville Market, and the Backstage Lounge, the Dockside and a few other restaurants. I always enjoyed going down to Granville Island because, for a few hours, I just got lost in the scenic beauty.

For a while there, my group of close friends and I used to go to the Cat’s Meow for brunch all the time. It was sort of “our joint”. The first few times we went there, the service was excellent. The food was awesome. One time, my scrambled eggs got cold because I was too chatty and the waitress said “oh, don’t worry – we’ll just throw them and make you new ones”. You can bet our tip was good, because I personally considered that the best service I had received anywhere in Vancouver.

Then the past few times the service went not so bad to very bad to really bad to I-really-don’t-want-to-ever-set-my-foot-in-this-place-ever-again. So now I don’t ever come back to The Cat’s Meow. Don’t get me wrong, they do have a place in the brunch and dinner scene, particularly in False Creek. But I just have been a witness to a deteriorating service.

Would I give The Cat’s Meow a chance again? Probably this fall. Not any time soon, but I am sure in the fall I will. Now, if you think I am being unfair to TCM, read these reviews and tell me again after you’ve done the reading. Hopefully The Cat’s Meow management will wake up and say “hey let’s make this place as good as it used to be”. Be prepared to shell some bucks if you go there, the brunch ain’t cheap.