Wednesday was supposed to be dim sum day, but I ended up waking at 4am, drinking tea, and then going back to sleep until almost noon. So instead we wandered Stanley Park (https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/stanley-park.aspx) a 400-hectare rainforest with beautiful beaches and an abundance of cultural landmarks and art.

We focused on the totem poles and the eastern portion of the seawall, which included a lighthouse, “Girl in a Swimsuit”, Nine O’clock Gun, and the lovely natural beauty of the park itself. We spent a lovely several hours before ending up at the Stanley Park Brewpub & Restaurant for a light nosh. We were all feeling a bit done in, so we went back to our respective hotels, and ended up dining separately.

A note about where my friends stayed: They were at the (difficult to pronounce) Skwachàys Lodge Indigenous Hotel and Gallery and enjoyed it very much. Located just at the border of Chinatown, the former Pender Hotel was transformed from a three-and-a-half-story derelict SRO (single resident occupancy) hotel to a unique Indigenous social enterprise that combines a boutique hotel with on-site housing and studio space for 24 Indigenous artists. There are 18 unique rooms located on the top two floors that support low-cost housing and workshop space to 24 artists in different phases of their career as well as personal and professional programming opportunities to help develop their careers. On the top floor is a small social area with a sauna.

They say, “The Lodge and production space are operated as a self-sustaining social enterprise. When a guest spends their overnight travel dollars at the Skwachàys Lodge there is a social impact – people are housed. Cultural tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism sector and there is absolutely a place for our urban Indigenous artists to participate in this industry as a means of reclaiming their lives and independence.”

Certainly, when I visited them and walk through the gallery space, I truly enjoyed the art of display from current residents. Particularly a trio of very large (18″ long) carved and painted wooden feathers.

My dinner that evening was at Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar. I enjoyed a half dozen Fanny Bay oysters, which had a clean, melon-y flavor and were mid-sized. My main was an absolutely perfect Seafood Linguine with mussels, clams, pacific white prawns, Humboldt squid tossed in a light shellfish butter sauce and topped with Calabrian chili breadcrumb. Perfectly cooked pasta and fish, and the heat of the chili was just enough to bring out the richness of the sauce. Gorgeous.