November 2014 Celebrated Living - page 87

S ITUATED INA uniquelystunningcornerof
Canadiancoastlinebetween themountains
and theocean,Vancouver isbothacityof the
WestCoastandof theFarEast.Famouslya
placewhereyoucanskiandswim in thesameday,
Vancouverhas longbeenamagnet for thoseseeking
good living, great foodandanunforgettablePacific
Northwestadventure—evenbefore ithosted the2010
WinterOlympics.And thecitydoesn’t lack foracco-
lades— it’sbeennamedoneofNorthAmerica’smost
livablecitiesand top traveldestinationsandrecently
became thehomeof theTEDTalksconference,which
movedhere fromCaliforniaandroutinelyattracts
smartcelebrityspeakers—everyone fromBillGates
toMarthaStewart.
Sincethepointofaholidaygetaway istoenjoysome
R&R,beginyourtripwithaWestCoastWavemas-
sageat SHANGRI-LAHOTEL, theAsian luxurybrand’s
firstoutpost inNorthAmerica.TheSenseofPlace
treatmentwascreatedexclusively fortheVancouver
propertyandusescertifiedorganicskincareproducts
made fromnaturallyharvestedseaweedsby local
companySeaflora.
NotriptoVancouver
wouldbecompletewithout
astroll through STANLEY
PARK,oneofNorthAmerica’s
largesturbanparks.During
themonthofDecember, the
parkbecomesholidaycen-
tral,hostingan illuminating
(andbeautiful)eventcalled
BRIGHTNIGHTS,which lights
uptheparkwithmorethan
3millionbulbs.Afterthat,
hoptheAquabus—thecutest
little ferryyou’lleversee—
andheadtothe GRANVILLE
ISLANDPUBLICMARKET.
Home tomore than150ven-
dorssellinghandmade
andhomegrownproducts
andproduce, there’ssuretobesomething foreveryone
onyourholiday list.
For foodies, therecentlyreopened CAFÉMEDINA
iswellworthavisit foranexoticbreakfastofspiced
Moroccanmeatballs—thebreakfastandbrunch line
usuallystretchesaroundthecorner, socomeprepared.
Over intheCrosstownneighborhood, thedecade-old
CHAMBAR,whichalmostsingle-handedlyreinvented
theneighborhoodwhen itopened,hasnowreinvented
itselfbyaddingacocktailbar,patioandprivatedining
roomtoanewspacetwodoorsdown from itsoldone.
But itsrepertoireofcarbon-neutral,organic, super-
freshfinedining isthesame.Tuck intosomeunbeliev-
ablyflavorfulmussels(theirspecialty)preparedby
chefNicoSchuermans,washeddownwithbiodynamic
andnaturalwines fromthenearby OKANAGANVALLEY.
And ifyou’re looking forexcellentWestCoast
oysters, visitchefAlexChenat BOULEVARDKITCHEN
&OYSTERBAR at theSuttonPlaceHotel. It’sa favorite
hangout forcelebrities—perhapsnotsurprising,
given the fact thatChen lastworkedat theBeverly
HillsHotel.Whilehe loves talkingoysters, comeholi-
day time,Chen ishappy toshare ideasonhis favorite
holidayhappenings. “Therearesomeamazing light
displays in thiscity, fromBrightNights to the FESTI-
VALOFLIGHTSATVANDUSENBOTANICALGARDEN to
ST. PAUL’SHOSPITAL’SLIGHTSOFHOPE —aspectacular
[presentation] that illuminates theexterior,”Chen
says, adding thatGermanstollenwithmarzipanand
rum-soakedraisins from THOMASHAAS, afinechoco-
latier, isalsoabelovedholiday indulgence.
VANCOUVER Adventure
inthe
City
BY TIMJOHNSON
BoulevardKitchen
&OysterBar
www.vancouver
.suttonplace.com/
Restaurant_Bar
.htm
CaféMedina
www.medina
cafe.com
Chambar
www.chambar.com
Granville Island
PublicMarket
www.granville
island.com/
public-market
Shangri-LaHotel,
Vancouver
From$235per night
www.shangri-la
.com/vancouver/
shangrila
ThomasHaas
Chocolate
www.thomas
haas.com
VanDusenBotanical
Garden
www.vandusen
garden.org
Toronto-based travel writer and editor TIM JOHNSON has visited 94
countries on all seven continents— but Vancouver remains one of his
very favorite cities in theentireworld.
Granville Island
PublicMarket
StanleyParkgets
bright for theholidays.
IF
YOU
GO
AA.COM CELEBRATEDLIVING WINTER
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