A Day in Vancouver

What a great first time in Vancouver! A while back, I wrote about my impossible struggles finding award space to Seattle for the first weekend in August. I decided that flying to Vancouver first, before heading down to Seattle, would be the most sensible option.

I booked myself a business class seat on Cathay Pacific from JFK-YVR using 25,000 Avios (sweet-spot redemption to experience CX). Since it was an overnight flight, arriving at 12:45 am, I was so grateful for a flatbed.

This was my first time experiencing CX business class (I did JFK-HKG in first a few years back), and the service was just as fantastic as I remembered it to be.

Since it was so late when I landed, I took a taxi to the Point Grey area of town (which was $40) where my friend Jeff and I reserved our 2-bedroom airbnb apartment.

I slept for a few hours, and then we headed down by the Waterfront via bus and Canada Line train ($2.75) to meet up with a reader, Suzy.

Suzy reached out to me a few months ago when I started planning my trip to Vancouver, and generously offered to spend the day in Vancouver with me and show me around town.

We first started off with a nice, long, invigorating hike in Stanley Park where we were able to take great pictures of the breath-taking scenery.

Then we had a delicious and healthy lunch in her apartment before setting foot into the Gastown section of Vancouver (which reminded me a lot of Austin and San Diego).

We concluded the day by spending a few hours relaxing in the spa at the Fairmont Pacific Rim. Wow, what a spa! With a beautiful outdoor area, steam room, and infra red sauna, it’s so easy to never want to leave. Let’s not forget about the “experience shower”, where you can truly set the mood of your shower – heavenly!

Lastly, we decided to sync up with fellow BoardingaArea, Jeff (Canadian Kilometers), and we had a nice outdoor meal at The Cactcus Club followed by some outstanding gelato.

We spent a few hours walking and chatting some more up and down the convention center pier before calling it a night.

Thanks again to Suzy for such a fun and action-packed day! Thanks for showing me Vancouver from the eyes of a local, and I can’t wait to return back to this beautiful city again soon!