First Day in Vancouver: Italian Food, Mango Lassis and More

When I got up after my first night traveling, it all hit me.  I wasn't home anymore, and I wouldn't be for a while.  Traveling was my life now, at least for the time being.  Was I sad?  Depressed?  Not in the slightest.  I was finally doing what I love best.

I got up right as one of my friends I was staying with, Alex, was finishing breakfast.  We said goodbye, and he left for work.  I had some cereal, then got ready for the day.  Maria, the other friend I was staying with, got up a bit later than Alex.  She had the day off, so she took me on a tour of the city.

We had breakfast in Float On Bakeshop and Cafe.  I had a vegan maple-glazed donut with Maldon sea salt.  Think what you will about the vegan movement, but this was delicious.  The coffee I had was great as well.

Afterward, we went on the bus and the subway to downtown, then walked to Stanley Park.  We were going to got o the aquarium, but it was fairly pricey ($29!), so we decided against it.  We walked back to Ciao Bella, an Italian restaurant that had a lunch special for 50% off any pasta dish.  I ordered the Ciao Bella linguine, which had mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a demiglaze reduction white wine sauce.  It was one of the best meals at an Italian restaurant I've ever had.  Since I got it with meatballs, it was $14.

After going to the store, I went to a soccer game with Alex and some of his co-workers.  I played goalie, which I got progressively better at (especially after Alex showed me how to kick and stop a ball properly.  I am not usually a big sports person, as you can probably tell.  It was fun, though.

There was also a game of bubbleball going on.  How it works is basically like soccer, except you get inside a spherical, plastic bubble so you can knock players over and roll around to avoid people.  I was able to get in one.  I looked silly in it, so naturally, Maria took pictures of me in it.

After we were done, we went home and ate dinner.  We had apples with peanut butter.  (They were renovating their kitchen and only had a toaster oven, so the options were limited.  I made mango lassis for them because they had bought breakfast and dessert after lunch for me.  We played a tabletop game while their cat, Cosmo, tried to sabotage us by walking all over the space we were playing.  After that, the day was done.

On food that day, I spent $14, which was exactly my limit.  Hooray for good budgeting!

We'll see what the next day has in store for me.  Until then, later!